Star Collector: Alaskan Wonders & Japanese Mysteries

Vancouver, a bustling west coast seaport in British Columbia, is among Canada’s densest, most ethnically diverse cities. A popular filming location, it’s surrounded by mountains, and also has thriving art, theatre and music scenes. Vancouver Art Gallery is known for its works by regional artists, while the Museum of Anthropology houses preeminent First Nations collections.

Ketchikan is an Alaskan city facing the Inside Passage, a popular cruise route along the state’s southeastern coast. It’s known for its many Native American totem poles, on display throughout town. Nearby Misty Fiords National Monument is a glacier-carved wilderness featuring snowcapped mountains, waterfalls and salmon spawning streams. It’s also home to rich wildlife including black bears, wolves and bald eagles.

Misty Fjords National Monument is a national monument and wilderness area administered by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Tongass National Forest.

The City and Borough of Wrangell is a borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,369, up from 2,308 in 2000. Incorporated as a Unified Home Rule Borough on May 30, 2008, Wrangell was previously a city in the Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area. Its Tlingit name is Ḵaachx̱aana.áakʼw.

The City and Borough of Juneau, commonly known as Juneau, is the capital city of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the second-largest city in the United States of America by area.

Hoonah is a largely Tlingit community on Chichagof Island, located in Alaska’s panhandle in the southeast region of the state. It is 30 miles west of Juneau, across the Alaskan Inside Passage.

Sitka is an Alaskan city and borough near Juneau, the state capital. It’s spread over Baranof Island, part of Chichagof Island and others. It was part of Russia until 1867 and St. Michael’s Orthodox Cathedral is topped with an onion dome. The 1842 Russian Bishop’s House is nearby. Sitka National Historical Park is the site of Russia’s defeat of the indigenous Tlingit people and has a trail dotted with totem poles.

Kenai Fjords National Park is an American national park that maintains the Harding Icefield, its outflowing glaciers, and coastal fjords and islands. The park covers an area of 669,984 acres on the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska, west of the town of Seward.

Seward is a port city in southern Alaska, set on an inlet on the Kenai Peninsula. It’s a gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, where glaciers flow from the Harding Icefield into coastal fjords. Surrounded by peaks, the fjords are a whale and porpoise habitat. The city’s Alaska SeaLife Center has seals and puffins, and fishing boats fill Seward Harbor. To the west, a trail leads to the summit of Mount Marathon.

Yokohama, a Japanese city south of Tokyo, was one of the first Japanese ports opened to foreign trade, in 1859. It contains a large Chinatown with hundreds of Chinese restaurants and shops. It’s also known for Sankei-en Garden, a botanical park containing preserved Japanese residences from different eras, and the seaside Minato Mirai district, site of the 296m Landmark Tower.

Shimizu-ku is the easternmost of the three wards of the city of Shizuoka in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Shingū is a city located in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on October 1, 1933. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 28,749 and a population density of 110 persons per km². The total area is 255.43 km².

Kagoshima, a seaside city on Japan’s Kyushu Island, is the capital of Kagoshima Prefecture. It’s best known for Sakurajima, an active volcano that faces Kinko Bay. At its base, the Nagisa Lava Trail winds through lava fields filled with boulders. Once set on an isolated island, the volcano became connected to the Osumi Peninsula after an eruption in 1914.

Nagasaki is a Japanese city on the northwest coast of the island of Kyushu. It’s set on a large natural harbor, with buildings on the terraces of surrounding hills. It is synonymous with a key moment during World War II, after suffering an Allied nuclear attack in August 1945. The event is memorialized at the city’s Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park.

Busan, a large port city in South Korea, is known for its beaches, mountains and temples. Busy Haeundae Beach features the Sea Life Aquarium, plus a Folk Square with traditional games such as tug-of-war, while Gwangalli Beach has many bars and views of modern Diamond Bridge. Beomeosa Temple, a Buddhist shrine founded in 678 A.D., is at the base of Geumjeong Mountain, which has hiking trails. ― Google

Karatsu is a coastal city on Japan’s Kyushu island. The reconstructed 17th-century Karatsu Castle offers bay views. Thousands of pine trees form the nearby Nijinomatsubara pine grove, first planted in the 1600s. The Kawamura Museum displays both Western and Japanese art, with a special focus on the early-20th-century painter Shigeru Aoki. To the north, at Nanatsugama, is a series of basalt caves carved by the ocean.

Hiroshima, a modern city on Japan’s Honshu Island, was largely destroyed by an atomic bomb during World War II. Today, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park commemorates the 1945 event. In the park are the ruins of Genbaku Dome, one of the few buildings that was left standing near ground zero. Other prominent sites include Shukkei-en, a formal Japanese garden, and Hiroshima Castle, a fortress surrounded by a moat and a park.

Takamatsu is a port city on Japan’s Shikoku Island. It’s known for the sprawling Ritsurin Garden, with a teahouse, koi ponds, landscaped hills and pine forests. To the east, atop Mount Yashima, Yashima-ji Temple offers panoramic views over the Seto Inland Sea. Nearby, Shikoku Village is an open-air museum with a collection of historical buildings from around the island. To the south are the hot springs of Shionoe.

Kobe is a city on Osaka Bay in central Japan. It is known for its signature marbled beef and scenic setting of mountains framing the harbor. The Ikuta Shrine, dating to the 3rd century, is among Japan’s oldest Shinto shrines. Antique cable cars connect Kobe to Mt. Rokko, which offers panoramic views over the port. Beyond the Mount Rokko hills are the outdoor hot springs of Arima Onsen.