The Best Of Japan

Maizuru is a small but major port city in Kyoto Prefecture, on the island of Honshu, situated on an inlet off the Sea of Japan. Maizuru harbour is a spread of drowned river valleys, established as a naval port since 1901. After WWII, Maizuru was a key port for returning Japanese servicemen. Read more about Maizuru, Japan

Sakaiminato is an important fishing port facing Mihio Bay and the Sea of Japan to the east, and inland Lake Nakaumi to the west. It lies in the middle of West Japan. South of the port is the sweeping 15km Yumi-ga-Hama Beach, and 30km to the ESE rises the great snow-capped summit of Mt. Read more about Sakaiminato (for Matsue), 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

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

Uwajima city is located in Ehime Prefecture, on Shikoku the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It faces Bungo Channel that separates Kyushu from Shikoku.Shikoku is south of Honshu island, with the Inland Sea in between; and it is the only island with no volcanoes. In 1945 the centre of the city was largely destroyed by bombing. Read more about Uwajima, 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

Popularly known as Miyajima, the Shrine Island, Itsukushima is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the NW of Hiroshima Bay. The island lies 12 km WSW of the port of Hiroshima, and is famous for the Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The gigantic red gate to the shrine can be reached at low tide off the north side of the island. Read more about Miyajima, Japan

Tamano is a city of 60,000 located in the southern Okayama Prefecture, Japan, on the island of Honshu. It faces SE to the waters of the Seto Inland Sea, one of the first national parks designated in Japan. The port is a terminal for a number of ferries that service the region, and the port area has been developed as a cultural exchange zone. Read more about Tamano, Japan

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