Star Collector: Alaskan Wonders & Japanese Mysteries

Vancouver is a sophisticated coastal city located to the south of British Columbia, Canada. The city is linguistically and ethnically diverse as reflected in the fact that 52 percent of its inhabitants do not speak English as their first language. Ranked highly in worldwide ‘liveable city’ rankings for many years and being surrounded by nature’s scenery at its best, makes tourism its second largest industry. Read more about Vancouver, Canada

Kingstown is the chief port of the island of St Vincent and the capital of the St Vincent and the Grenadines island nation in the Southern Caribbean. Often referred to as the ‘City of Arches’, Kingstown is a lively town, and the close proximity of the wharf adds vitality, noise, and colour to the small but busy capital. Arches, cobbled streets, magnificent churches and historic stone buildings blend with the functional and the modern. Read more about Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Misty Fjords National Monument is a region of 928,000 ha along the Inside Passage coast in extreme southeastern Alaska. It lies about 60 km east of Ketchikan, Alaska. Because of the remoteness of the area, most visitors arrive by cruise ship or fly over the monument in tourist aircraft from Ketchikan or Juneau. Read more about Misty Fjords, USA

Wrangell (pop. 2400) is located on the northern tip of Wrangell Island, an island in the Alaska Panhandle. It lies just south of the estuary of the 610 km Stikine River that empties into the Eastern Passage separating Wrangell Island from the mainland. Read more about Wrangell, USA

Tracy Arm is an enormous fjord located 72 km south of Juneau, and lies inside the largest temperate rain forest in the world - the Tongass National Forest of Alaska, USA. Tracy Arm is comprised of Yosemite-like granite rocks, countless waterfalls, glass-smooth water, and mountain peaks rising over 2000m. The ‘arm’ itself penetrates about 40 km into the Alaskan wilderness, bending between near-vertical mountain chasms with numerous waterfalls cascading from spruce and hemlock-forested valleys. Read more about Tracy Arm, USA

Standing out is the scenic beauty of Haines, probably the best of any Alaskan town. It is in the northern part of the Alaska Panhandle, near Glacier Bay National Park. Skagway is 25 km away further along the fjord. Read more about Haines, USA

Built on a narrow shelf between Mt. Juneau and the deep waters of Gastineau Channel, Juneau is Alaska's state capital and a rewarding destination for glacier viewing. Juneau is a blend of fishermen and teachers, legislators and artists, homemakers and lawyers, union workers and frontier entrepreneurs, students and Native elders, all sharing an active port city within an inspiring wilderness setting. Read more about Juneau, USA

Sitka, the fourth largest city by population in Alaska, is nestled on the west side of Baranof Island, and is thought to be the most beautiful of SE Alaska cities. The flora and fauna of Sitka and its surrounding area are notable attractions. Residents and visitors alike enjoy fishing, hiking, wildlife viewing, and simply experiencing all this dynamic town has to offer. Read more about Sitka, USA

Seward is the most often used cruise ship port for Anchorage, Alaska. (Whittier is used by Princess Cruises.) It lies at the head of a fjord that enters the Gulf of Alaska in the North Pacific Ocean. Seward is a two to four hour trip by car, bus or train from Anchorage. Read more about Anchorage (Seward), USA

Osaka, the heart of the Greater Osaka Area, is located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, and is the third largest city in Japan. Historically it is also regarded as the commercial capital of Japan, as evidenced by its daytime population being over a million greater than its night time population. From above ground and underground shopping malls and specialised shopping complexes, to the unusual America Mura which offers both new and used clothing, as well as flea markets, and the Asia Pacific Trade Centre with its international wholesale market, shopping here truly is a fascinating experience. Read more about Osaka, Japan

The modern Japanese city of Takamatsu, facing the Seto Inland Sea, is the main gateway to Shikoku Island. While the downtown is relatively easy to navigate on foot, many visitors choose to rent a bicycle. Takamatsu has a number of long arcade-style shopping streets, giving the city's shopping a more traditional feel. Read more about Takamatsu, Japan

The modern Japanese city of Takamatsu, facing the Seto Inland Sea, is the main gateway to Shikoku Island. While the downtown is relatively easy to navigate on foot, many visitors choose to rent a bicycle. Takamatsu has a number of long arcade-style shopping streets, giving the city's shopping a more traditional feel. Read more about Takamatsu, Japan

The capital of the prefecture of the same name, Hiroshima, situated at the centre of the Chugoku region in western Honshu – Japan’s largest island – is possibly best known for being the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon. Today, though, it is a modern cosmopolitan city with wide boulevards and criss-crossing rivers. Many of the famous attractions are connected to the horrific split second of the bomb blast on August 6, 1945, and are truly well worth visiting. Read more about Hiroshima, Japan

Karatsu (pop.120,000) is a city in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. The port is a quiet port facing the Genkai Sea that flows into the Sea of Japan, and historically has flourished as a trading hub with the China and Korea. The eastern part of the port forms a section of the Genkai Quasi-National Park, that also is the site of Niji-no-matsubara pine grove and Karatsu Castle. Read more about Karatsu, Japan

Busan (formerly Pusan), the second largest city and principal port of South Korea, is situated in the SE of the peninsula on the Korea Strait. The city has many steep hills, creating a delightful mix of mountains and ocean. While Busan was relatively untouched during the Korean War, the flood of refugees has shaped the city. Read more about Busan, South Korea

Read more about Hashima Island, Japan

Nagasaki City, on the island of Kyushu in Japan, lies at the heart of Nagasaki-hanto Peninsula. As one of Japan's closest port cities to the Asian mainland, Nagasaki has played a prominent role in foreign trade relations for many centuries. This is a port city that developed up the steep slope of a mountain, while also stretching horizontally to hug the Nagasaki Gulf. Read more about Nagasaki, Japan

Kagoshima lies on the southern tip of the island of Kyushu in Japan. It is the picturesque capital of the Prefecture of the same name. Due to its active stratovolcano Sakurajima – Kagoshima's Vesuvius, seen east of the port – and its 'excitable' inhabitants, it is often compared to its Italian sister city, Naples. Read more about Kagoshima, Japan

Shimizu is located on the coast of Suruga Bay, 140km SW of Tokyo, on the island of Honshu, facing the Pacific Ocean. Shimizu-ku is actually a ward or sub-division of the city of Shiuoka. The Kakita River flows through the town. Read more about Shimizu, Japan

Tokyo, located on the eastern side of the main island of Honshu, is the core of the most populated area in the world (urban area 38M). The small fishing village of Edo was fortified in 1457 with Edo Castle (The Imperial Palace now stands at this location) and became one of the largest cities in the world by the 18th C. Its stringent policy of seclusion ended in 1854 and opened Japan to outside trade. Read more about Tokyo, Japan