Kochi, Hakodate, Kushiro, Seward, Prince Rupert, Seattle

Kōchi is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture located on the island of Shikoku in Japan.

Kōchi is the main city of the prefecture with over 40% of its population. A symbol of the city is its most famous dish, katsuo tataki, made by lightly searing and seasoning tuna.

Kōchi Castle still exists in its pre-restoration form, and is one of the main tourist attractions. Other places of interest in the city centre are the Obiyamachi shopping arcade, the regular Sunday street markets which are close to a kilometre in length, and Harimaya-bashi, a bridge that featured in a famous Kōchi song about the forbidden love of a Buddhist priest.

Kushiro is located in Hokkaido, Japan. The Kushiro area is volcanically active and small tremors from off-shore earthquakes occur regularly. Kushiro is a rural area and home to Japan's largest marshland. The city is very popular to bird lovers because it offers them the chance to watch the endangered Japanese cranes all year-round. It is worth visiting the Kushiro City Museum with the unique architecture, where many excellent exhibits representing the natural history of the area can be found.

One of the oldest and most picturesque communities of Alaska, known as the"gate" to the National Park Kenai Fjords. Visit Alaska Lifestyle Center and watchelephant seals, sea otters, seals, fish and other forms of local marine life in their natural environment.

Located on Kaien Island, Prince Rupert's sheltered harbour is the deepest ice-free natural harbour in North America and the 3rd deepest natural harbour in the world.  It is visited by many cruise ships during the summer en route between Alaska to the north and Vancouver to the south. Prince Rupert is also the starting point for many wildlife viewing trips, including whales, eagles and grizzly bears. 

Seattle is a coastal seaport city, the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of North America and the northernmost city and the fastest-growing major city in the United States. The city lies on several hills and has over 2.242 ha of parkland. Among its highlights, visit Pike Place Market, its downtown public market which has been in business since 1907, Space Needle, the vertical icon of the city looks like a spaceship on stilts and gives a great view of the city from the top, the Olympic Sculpture Park, an outdoor sculpture garden. which spreads over 9 acres of a seaside bluff north of downtown, transformed from an industrial backwater into the home of artwork, Seattle Art Museum and Seattle’s Chinatown, which is almost as old as the city, emerging in the 1880s. Take a long walk at downtown waterfront, a broad sidewalk along the harborfront with shops, eateries (fish and chips is always a favorite) and wooden piers, make a stop at Seattle Aquarium and take a ride on Seattle Great Wheel, a 175- foot tall Ferris wheel, which offers magnificent views.