Die Jade Insel & darüber hinaus

Hongkong besteht aus vier verschiedenen Teilen: die Insel Hongkong, Kowloon, die New Territories und die unzähligen entlegenen Inseln. Die Insel Hongkong ist sehr dicht bebaut; hier finden sich gewaltige Banken und Finanzhäuser, enorme Wolkenkratzer mit futuristischer Architektur, opulente Hotels, Wohnanlagen am Victoria Peak, wunderschöne Badeorte und hier leben einige der ältesten chinesischen Gemeinden der Region. All dies zusammen macht Hongkong zu einem der exotischsten und aufregendsten Häfen auf der ganzen Welt und trägt dazu bei, dass es von Touristen wie auch von den geschäftstüchtigen Einheimischen gleichermaßen geliebt wird.

Hongkong besteht aus vier verschiedenen Teilen: die Insel Hongkong, Kowloon, die New Territories und die unzähligen entlegenen Inseln. Die Insel Hongkong ist sehr dicht bebaut; hier finden sich gewaltige Banken und Finanzhäuser, enorme Wolkenkratzer mit futuristischer Architektur, opulente Hotels, Wohnanlagen am Victoria Peak, wunderschöne Badeorte und hier leben einige der ältesten chinesischen Gemeinden der Region. All dies zusammen macht Hongkong zu einem der exotischsten und aufregendsten Häfen auf der ganzen Welt und trägt dazu bei, dass es von Touristen wie auch von den geschäftstüchtigen Einheimischen gleichermaßen geliebt wird.

Visit the Dutch colonial Old City of Zuoying, or enjoy the scenic seafront at Sizihwan and see the pesky Formosan rock macaques at the Shoushan Monkey Mountain nature park.

Located on the Pacific coast of Taiwan island, where the Hualien River enters the sea, Hualien is a gateway to the island’s most spectacular natural splendors. It was here that Portuguese sailors in the 16th century caught a first glimpse of the grandeur and named the island Formosa. For a first visit nothing could beat a tour to the Taroko National Park, a swathe of mountain peaks, deep-cut canyons, rivers and waterfalls that is simply breathtaking. The rivers here have carved deep gorges into the marble cliffs, and attractions such as the Tunnel of Nine Turns make it even more dramatic. This path leads through marble-walled tunnels, interrupted by natural windows that let the light stream down from above, culminating in a rushing waterfall.

Closer to Taiwan than to Japan’s main islands, the Yaeyama group is a volcanic archipelago known (though not widely) for its coral reefs and clear waters. Ishigaki is the main hub, and attracts mostly Japanese visitors with inside information about the Caribbean-like appeal of the place. A part of the Okinawa Prefecture, the island is ringed by beaches that vary from sandy expanses to whole strands made up entirely of broken, bleached and tumbled coral. The land itself is mostly given over to palm forests and pineapple plantations. Capes such as Hirakubozaki on the west side, or Uganzaki at the northern tip, are marked by lighthouses and offer nice views. At Kabira Bay no swimming is allowed, due to culture of black pearls, but glass-bottom boats offer views of the colorful sea life. Other beaches welcome snorkelers, swimmers and windsurfers.

The Amami Islands is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest of Kyushu. Administratively, the group belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

Takamatsu is located on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, in the Kagawa Prefecture on the Seto Inland Sea. During the Edo period, it was famous for its seaside castle, one of the few with a moat utilizing seawater. The castle was destroyed during the Meiji period, and today the so-called Sunport waterfront project has substituted the Symbol Tower, Takamatsu’s tallest building, for the castle tower that once graced its flag. Long an important port for Japan, Takamatsu was nearly destroyed in 1945 by Allied incendiary bombing. A portion of the famous castle, including foundations and part of the wall, still strand on the city-center park, and there are plans to reconstruct more of it. The Ritsurin Koen garden, first built in the Edo period, survives, and makes a welcome oasis in the city, with a folk museum, rest houses and a tranquil tearoom among lakes, hills and groves of cherry trees that bloom in the spring and flame into color in the autumn. The Shikoku Mura is an open-air museum with traditional buildings gathered from all over Shikoku on display. The Yashima area boasts an Isamu Noguchi Museum dedicated to the late designer, artist and sculptor, with several traditional buildings he relocated and used as work spaces and galleries, along with many finished and unfinished sculptures. There is also a lovely Yashima Temple halfway up the mountain, and at the top, an observation deck with breathtaking views of the city and port.

Busan ist die zweitgrößte Stadt Südkoreas und die Wasserverbindung des Landes mit Japan und dem Westen. Die wundervolle Landschaft, das Internationale Filmfestival und die nahegelegenen heißen Quellen machen Busan zu einem beliebten Reiseziel. Busan kann die Eleganz einer Großstadt und die berühmten Strände, die Besucher aus der ganzen Welt anziehen, miteinander vereinen. Die Stadt ist des Weiteren ein Mikrokosmos Südkoreas, eine Nation, deren wirtschaftlicher Erfolg für Menschen aus dem Westen oft eine der fantastischsten und altehrwürdigsten Kulturen Asiens verdeckt.

Busan ist die zweitgrößte Stadt Südkoreas und die Wasserverbindung des Landes mit Japan und dem Westen. Die wundervolle Landschaft, das Internationale Filmfestival und die nahegelegenen heißen Quellen machen Busan zu einem beliebten Reiseziel. Busan kann die Eleganz einer Großstadt und die berühmten Strände, die Besucher aus der ganzen Welt anziehen, miteinander vereinen. Die Stadt ist des Weiteren ein Mikrokosmos Südkoreas, eine Nation, deren wirtschaftlicher Erfolg für Menschen aus dem Westen oft eine der fantastischsten und altehrwürdigsten Kulturen Asiens verdeckt.

One of Japan’s best-preserved cities, Kanazawa escaped war damage and natural disasters to reward visitors with a wealth of architecture as an important clan castle town from the mid-17th century until the middle of the 19th. The mighty Kanazawa Castle did not survive intact, but its famous Ishikawa Gate, the Sunjikken Longhouse and lavish Kenrokuen Garden hint at the grandeur. Of special note are the surviving Higashi Geisha District and Samurai District streets. The Temple area holds the Myoryuji Temple with its hidden passages and secret doors giving it the nickname the Ninja Temple. The Oyamajinja Shrine is a later addition, its three-story gate with impressive stained glass windows reveal a Dutch influence. Museums worth exploring include the Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum, with examples of the arts and crafts using the pure gold decoration for which the region is famous. Another museum celebrates the Buddhist philosopher D. T. Suzuki, credited with introducing Zen philosophy to the West, and a striking 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. Nearby Mt. Utatsu is renowned for its Three Shrines.
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One of Japan’s best-preserved cities, Kanazawa escaped war damage and natural disasters to reward visitors with a wealth of architecture as an important clan castle town from the mid-17th century until the middle of the 19th. The mighty Kanazawa Castle did not survive intact, but its famous Ishikawa Gate, the Sunjikken Longhouse and lavish Kenrokuen Garden hint at the grandeur. Of special note are the surviving Higashi Geisha District and Samurai District streets. The Temple area holds the Myoryuji Temple with its hidden passages and secret doors giving it the nickname the Ninja Temple. The Oyamajinja Shrine is a later addition, its three-story gate with impressive stained glass windows reveal a Dutch influence. Museums worth exploring include the Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum, with examples of the arts and crafts using the pure gold decoration for which the region is famous. Another museum celebrates the Buddhist philosopher D. T. Suzuki, credited with introducing Zen philosophy to the West, and a striking 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. Nearby Mt. Utatsu is renowned for its Three Shrines.
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Located on the northernmost harbor of Japan’s main island of Honshu, Aomori is the traditional departure point for Hokkaido Island. It is famous for its summer Nebuta Matsuri festival, and has a museum that recaptures the color and pageantry for those who visit in other seasons. Explore the earliest prehistoric cultures of Japan at the Sannai Maruyama archaeological site, or visit the Aomori Museum of Art for a look at more contemporary works. Nearby Hirosaki boasts a 17th Century castle. Visit either the Auga or the Furukawa public fish market, where you can create your own version of a donburi rice bowl with pristinely fresh local seafood.

Miyako Island is 300 km south of Okinawa island, and is famous for its beaches, said to be Japan’s most beautiful. Maehama beach is for swimmers, while Yoshino has great coral reefs for snorkelers and the white-sand Sunayama has dramatic rock formations. Cape Higashi-Hennazaki is a long, narrow cape with the picturesque lighthouse at the end. The city’s Botanical Garden boasts over 1600 tropical varieties. Nakasone Tuyumya was an important leader of Miyako and the Okinawan people in the 16th century. Near the port in Hirara is memorial to him and his descendants, a designated national cultural asset. At the island’s north end, the graceful Ikema Ohashi bridge leads to the small Ikema Island.

This important port on Japan’s northern Hokkaido Island was the first to be opened to European and American trade. The result of this is a trove of Western-style buildings in the suburb of Motomachi that gives the impression of a movie set. The bell of the distinctive Haristo Greek Orthodox church is designated one of Japan’s official treasured “100 soundscapes.” Hokkaido is famous for its hot springs, much beloved by the Japanese. Yunokawa Hot Spring enjoys a commanding view of the sea, and its botanical garden is home to the Japanese macaques called “snow monkeys” because of their habit of soaking in the hot springs during the northern winter. Goryokaku is a 150-year old star fortress that holds the Magistrate’s Office, an excellent example of traditional Japanese architecture. Get a panoramic view from the observation platform atop the Goryokaku Tower.

Blessed by a protective range of mountains and a relatively warm ocean current, Kushiro gets less than a third of the winter snow of its Hokkaido neighbor Sapporo, and twice as much sunshine as the nearby Kuril Islands. Thus it is an important reliably ice-free port during the winter. Like all of Japan, it is riddled with semi-active geothermal features and occasionally rattled by tremors. Scenic Lake Akan is ringed by hot springs. It also has an Ainu Koten museum with a replica village and folklore performances of the indigenous Hokkaido people. The Japanese Crane Reserve is a good place to see breeding populations of these large and graceful birds, so respected by the Japanese. The city encompasses Japan’s largest wetland, and the Kushiro City Marsh Observatory has a boardwalk to see it, as well as the Fureai Horse Park which offers equestrian tours into the forest.

The largest of the Aleutian Islands, Kodiak is also Alaska’s largest island the second largest in the United States. Although occupied by native people for some 7,000 years, it languished in relative obscurity until the Second World War, when it housed as many as 25,000 troops. Fort Abercrombie, once the major center of North Pacific operations, today is a State Historic Park and a good place to learn the history. At the other end of the road system is the United States Coast Guard’s largest base, with a fleet of orange and white watercraft and aircraft that serves the Alaskan fishing fleet and other shipping and maritime activities in the Pacific area. Kodiak harbor is seasonally home to a fleet of some 650 fishing vessels, including huge trawlers, long-line and crab boats. Fishing is also a popular draw for visitors, but they also are attracted by opportunities to view and photograph local birds and wildlife, including the island’s massive brown bears, the males of which weigh as much as 1,500 pounds and stand ten feet tall. In the town, the fur warehouse originally built by the Russian American Company in 1808 is now the Baranov Museum, the oldest standing building in Alaska.
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Designated as an International World Heritage Site in 1992, Glacier Bay is also a National Monument, a National Park and a designated Biosphere Reserve. Over millennia, Glacier Bay has experienced many major advances of its glaciers. When first surveyed in 1794 by a team under the command of British captain George Vancouver on HMS Discovery, its vast glaciers extended well beyond present-day margins of the bay. Temperate, coniferous rainforest dominates its southern shores. Black and brown bears, wolves, moose, eagles and ravens all go about their daily routines, while harbor seals and whales frolic within the bay waters. Glacier Bay has two major arms, East and West, and over fifty named glaciers, some of which push forward at three to six feet per day. Combined with Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Canada’s Kluane National Park and Alsek-Tatshenshini Park, Glacier Bay encompasses the largest protected wilderness area on earth. This is a truly a place of awe-inspiring beauty and an icon of wild Alaska. VIEW CRUISES Skip Footer Content About Us

A stroll through the streets and National Historic Park of Sitka is a glimpse into its unique and colorful past. A blend of Tlingit and Russian cultures defines this first capital of Alaska. Although fish canning and gold mining were the initial catalysts for growth in Sitka, the construction of an air base during World War II truly paved the way for Sitka to come into its own. One of Sitka’s most intriguing structures is the Cathedral of Saint Michael, built in 1848 to honor a Russian Orthodox bishop. Sitka’s history begins thousands of years ago with the Tlingit people and their use of the land for sustenance and spirituality. Old Sitka, located just north of the present-day settlement, was founded by Russian-American Company trader Alexander Baranov in 1799. Originally named Novo-Arkhangelsk (New Archangel) under Russian rule, its name was changed to Sitka after Alaska was purchased by the United States in 1867. Sitka is a Tlingit word meaning ‚by the sea.’

Prince Rupert, set amongst the coastal mountains, is the jumping-off point for travelers joining the coastal ferries to Haida Gwaii, Vancouver or north to Alaska. Highlights include the quaint Cow Bay with its shops and restaurants, the Museum of Northern British Columbia, the totem carving house or the stunning sunken gardens. Prince Rupert certainly has abundant wildlife. Whether you join a local boat for whale-watching, hike along the Butze Rapids or take a scenic flight, you are sure to be pleased. The region is home to the highest concentration of grizzly bears in North America. The Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary, established in 1994, was the first area in Canada to be protected specifically for grizzlies and their habitat. Founded in 1910, the town was named for Prince Rupert, who was a governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670. Prince Rupert is the northern terminus of the Canadian National Railway and an important port for goods moving towards Alaska. VIEW CRUISES

The upper latitudes of North America’s Pacific Coast are blessed with a long strand of islands scattered just offshore of the mainland. These islands provide shelter from the swells generated across the expanse of the world’s largest ocean, and offer one of the most scenic passages for ships to be found anywhere on the globe. Stretching from Washington State’s Puget Sound northward through British Columbia, Canada onward to the Panhandle of Southeast Alaska, it threads between forested islands and coastal mountain ranges, encompassing a total of over 45,000 miles of coastline, thousands of islands and innumerable coves. It is comprised of the Strait of Georgia, Johnstone Strait, the more open Hecate Strait near the Haida Gwai (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands), Fitz Hugh Sound, and the Princess Royal and Grenville Channels. These waterways are subject to tidal currents with variable velocity resulting from their restricted channels. At the northern end, diurnal tides can change the sea level by as much as 30 feet (9 meters), underlining the importance of using knowledgeable pilots during any passage. A wide variety of vessels pass through the Inside Passage in both directions. People on board enjoy the scenic land- and seascapes, as well as frequent sightings of wildlife including whales, seals, birds and occasionally bears. VIEW CRUISES

The humble beginnings of the City of Vancouver, in the settlement of Gastown on Burrard Inlet, rose out of the old growth forests and the sawdust of the old Hastings Mill. Its location between the Pacific Ocean and the snow-capped coastal mountains creates one of the most idyllic settings of any city in the world. As a world-class city it has the best of both worlds, intermingling urban sophistication with a sense of wilderness and outdoor adventure. Whether you are exploring Vancouver’s diverse downtown core, strolling through the giant trees of Stanley Park or taking in the 20 miles (30 km) of uninterrupted waterfront trails along the seawall, you are bound to fall in love with Canada’s third largest metropolitan center, which is consistently ranked as one of most livable cities on earth. In 1886, the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Vancouver, completing Canada’s ‚National Dream‘ of a connection between east and west, and opening up new trade routes between Asia and Europe. The city was named for British captain and explorer George Vancouver.