2024-04-15, 16 Nikko

Detailed description of Nikko

Nikko (pop 80 000), nestled amidst the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, is a city steeped in history, natural beauty, and cultural significance. It's renowned for its UNESCO World Heritage Shrines and Temples, breathtaking landscapes, and charming traditional atmosphere.

Toshogu*** Shrine: This UNESCO World Heritage Site is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. The shrine complex is known for its elaborately decorated buildings, which are covered in carvings of dragons, mythical creatures, and other auspicious symbols.

Kegon Falls: is ranked among Japan's three most beautiful waterfalls. The waterfall is located in Lake Chuzenji National Park and offers stunning views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

Detailed description of Nikko

Other ports in the Japan voyage

2024-04-06 Tsuruga, Japan

Detailed description of Tsuraga.

Tsuruga is a port town right on the coast of Tsuruga Bay south of Fukui Prefecture with a prosperous history as a strategic transportation center. In addition to its coastline, forests, and wetlands, Tsuruga has ancient temples. It also has well-preserved historical sites that provide a glimpse into times past. It is, of course, famous for seafood.

Kehi Jingu Shrine in Tsuruga, Fukui prefecture, is the icon of the city. It has been called 'Kei-san (not Kehi-san)' and loved by local people for centuries. Originally built in 702, it was burnt down many times by wars and fire, and the current shrine buildings were all reconstructed after WWII except for the red torii gate at the entrance. This torii is the third tallest wooden torii in Japan. Built in 1645, it still stands strong and welcomes visitors with its magnificence.

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Detailed description of Tsuraga.

2024-04-06 Sakaiminato, Japan

The city (pop. 32 000) is home to a number of museums, including the Mizuki Shigeru Museum, the Sakaiminato City Museum, and the Yumigahama Aquarium. Sakaiminato is also a popular destination for seafood lovers, and the city has a number of restaurants that serve fresh crab, tuna, and other seafood.

In 1928, Shigeru Mizuki was born in Sakaiminato. Mizuki went on to become a famous manga artist, and his work often featured yokai, or Japanese spirits and monsters.

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Detailed description of Sakaiminato

2024-05 Canadian Rockies

Detailled description of the Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies mountain range spans the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. With jagged, ice-capped peaks, including towering Mt. Robson, it's a region of alpine lakes, diverse wildlife and outdoor recreation sites. Yoho National Park is home to the massive Takakkaw Falls. Other national parks are Jasper, with the famously accessible Athabasca Glacier, and Banff, site of glacier-fed Lake.

The Okanagan Valley is stretching over 250 kilometers north from the US border down to Kelowna. It's known for its diverse landscape, culture, and abundance of delicious food and drink. 

Banff and Lake Louise area is a stunning region in the Canadian Rockies, located within Banff National Park in Alberta. It's an incredibly popular destination known for its breathtaking scenery, diverse outdoor activities, and charming mountain towns.

Jasper National Park is a the second-largest national park in Canada and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, renowned for its breathtaking scenery, abundant wildlife, and endless outdoor activities.

The National Park is dotted with pristine lakes, fed by glacial meltwater. Some of the most popular lakes include Maligne Lake, the second-largest lake in the Canadian Rockies, and Pyramid Lake, known for its stunning emerald green waters.

Detailled description of the Canadian Rockies

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2024-05 Victoria, Vancouver Island

Detailled description of Victoria and Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island off the mainland coast of British Columbia. It features diverse landscapes, including towering mountains, ancient rainforests, rugged coastlines with sandy beaches and rocky headlands, and inland lakes. Rich indigenous history and presence of Coast Salish peoples for millennia.

Victoria

The city of Victoria has retained a large number of its historic buildings, in particular its two most famous landmarks, the Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel (opened in 1908). The city's Chinatown is the second oldest in North America, after that of San Francisco. The region's Coast Salish First Nations peoples established communities in the area long before European settlement, which had large populations at the time of European exploration.

Craigdarroch Castle

Visitors can appreciate the Craigdarroch castle’s stained-glass windows, intricate woodwork, ceiling murals and Victorian furnishings. There are numerous staircases, but no elevators. A self-guiding tour includes four floors of the castle and an 87-step climb to the tower, which offers stunning views of Victoria, the strait and the Olympic Mountains. An audio tour and an iPad tour also are available. 

Butchard garden

The Butchart Gardens is a group of floral display gardens that Jennie Butchart began to shape in 1904. She established, in the style of the grand estates of the period, several distinct gardens to evoke a range of aesthetic experiences. An abandoned limestone quarry was transformed into the dramatic Sunken Garden, a reflection of the early 20th-century beautification movement and an exceptional achievement in Canadian gardening history.
The gardens receive over a million visitors each year and have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

Vancouver island

Cathedral Grove**, located in MacMillan Park, is one of the most accessible stands of giant Douglas fir trees on Vancouver Island. The park protects and preserves an internationally significant representative example of Douglas fir old-growth forest within the Coastal Western Hemlock Biogeoclimatic Zone. 

Tofino*** is a small town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It's located on the tip of the Esowista Peninsula in Clayoquot Sound, at the western end of Highway 4. Tofino is known for its natural beauty, including lakes, inlets, ancient rainforest, and sandy beaches. It's also home to many activities,

Detailled description of Victoria and Vancouver Island

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2024-03-22 Keelung, Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei

Detailed description of Taipei and Keelung

Taipei, the capital of Taiwan (pop. 2 500 000), is a vibrant metropolis that blends modern skyscrapers with traditional temples and markets. Taipei is home to a rich culture and history, dating back centuries.

Taipei 101 tower was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2005. It became the world's first skyscraper to exceed a height of half a kilometer.

The National Palace Museum houses one of the world's largest collections of Chinese art and artifacts, with over 690,000 pieces in its collection. The museum has one of the world's finest collections of jade carvings, dating from the Neolithic period to the Qing dynasty.

Bangka Longshan Temple is a Chinese folk religious temple dedicated to the Buddhist deity Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy), the temple gather diverse religious influences, incorporating halls and altars for other deities like Mazu (protector of seafarers) and Guan Yu (God of War).

Keelung

Keelung (pop. 372 000) is a port city in northern Taiwan that has small temples, a historic fort, local shopping and dining options, and a few hiking trails. While exploring Keelung can make for a relaxed day, the real purpose of Keelung is to serve as a gateway to Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, which is 18 mi/ 30 km inland.

Zhongzheng Park The white statue of Goddess of Mercy is 25-meter-high statue has become one of the characteristics of Keelung. The park overlooks Keelung City and the harbor. On the first level is a historic canon fort. On the second level is a Buddhist library, Martyrs' Shrine and Zhuputan Temple. On the third level visitors can see the entire Keelung and the ocean.

Gangziliao Fort is a popular tourist destination. Visitors can explore the fort's ruins, which include gun emplacements, tunnels, and barracks. The fort also offers stunning views of the Keelung Harbor and the surrounding mountains.

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Detailed description of Taipei and Keelung

 

2024-03-21 Hualien, Taiwan

 Hualien lies on the eastern coast of Taiwan, and it is the island’s 8th largest city with a population of 110,000 people. The city is both culturally and geographically fascinating, and you are sure to have a memorable travel day whether you choose to head into nature or immerse yourself in the city.  

Taroko Gorge has long since been considered Taiwan's top tourist attraction, and rightly so. Imagine a world sculpted by water and time, where towering marble cliffs rise majestically above a roaring river, shrouded in lush rainforest and echoing with the whispers of ancient legends. This is the wonder of Taroko Gorge, a 19-kilometer canyon in Hualien County, that holds the soul of the island in its breathtaking embrace.

The Changchun Shrine, also known as the Eternal Spring Shrine, is a memorial dedicated to the 226 workers who lost their lives during the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway

The shrine itself is a traditional Chinese structure with red pillars and intricate roof carvings. It sits gracefully above the cascading waters of the Liwu River, offering views of the gorge's cliffs and greenery.

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Detailed description of Hualien