Pacific Frontier Escape

Tokyo is a dazzling introduction to Japan and its utterly unique culture. With more neon than Las Vegas and more Michelin stars than Paris, it's a real assault on the senses, but an efficient public transport system means it's easy to explore. Asakusa is an atmospheric district where you'll find Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple, Akihibara spills over with shops selling electronic gadgets, and Harajuku is the place to marvel at the latest colourful Japanese fashions. It's also easy to escape the crowds and find a spot of peace and quiet, with tranquil parks, shrines and lotus ponds dotted around the city.

Sendai is the largest city in the Tohoku region, founded in the 16th century by the powerful samurai lord Date Masamune. His legacy lives on in the ruins of Sendai Castle, heavily damaged by Allied bombing during the Second World War. The city also plays host to the colourful Tanabata Matsuri festival every summer.

Cave exploring, kayaking, and coastal hiking is what visitors to Miyako, on Honshu's eastern shore can expect, with its dramatic, rocky shoreline of bays, cliffs and coves along the 300-km Sanriku Coast. Don't miss the stunning white pebbled shores of Jodogahama Beach, punctuated by jagged, rocky islands.

The city of Aomori, at the northern tip of Honshu island, is best known for its summer Nebuta Matsuri festival, which lights up the streets every August. There is still plenty to see during the rest of the year, including elegant Hirosaki Castle, pretty Lake Towada and the Seiryu-ji Temple, home of the largest Buddha statue in Japan.

Kodiak is known as Alaska’s ‘Emerald Isle’ thanks to the lush green countryside, a landscape crisscrossed by gushing salmon-filled streams that provides a home to around 3,000 Kodiak bears, the world’s largest. Ships dock in Kodiak city, an important fishing port with a fascinating Russian heritage.

Situated at the northern end of the Inside Passage, Skagway is an impressively well preserved former gold rush town, with a charming historic centre that’s easy to explore on foot. Popular activities include hiking to the pristine Lower Dewey Lake and the scenic train ride along the old gold rush route.

Alaska's state capital is isolated and remote, accessible only by plane or by boat thanks to its dramatic hillside location. The wild hinterland is thick with forest, sculpted by the glaciers of the Juneau Ice Field, while down at the water's edge the harbour bustles with fishing boats and seaplanes.

Ketchikan is a great introduction to Alaska’s natural attractions, situated at the foot of towering Deer Mountain and within easy reach of the Misty Fjords. The colourful wooden buildings of Creek Street, the old red light district, are a reminder of Ketchikan’s former status as a rough and ready frontier town; these days, things are rather more civilised!

Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and Canada’s westernmost city, with a distinctly English feel that occasionally borders on the twee. It’s a very walkable city, with handsome 19th century architecture, verdant parks and a lively harbour, and, this being Canada, the great outdoors is never far away.

Renowned for its food, its misty mornings and its vertiginous streets, cosmopolitan San Francisco is quite unlike any other American city. Highlights include the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the delightful waterfront and the bohemian quarter of Haight Ashbury.