Guam is blessed with spectacular natural beauty and a rich cultural history. Apra Harbor is a deep-water port located on the western side of the island near the Mariana Islands and the Mariana Trench, which is the deepest part of the earth’s oceans, and the deepest location of the earth itself. The port serves both as a U.S. naval station and Guam’s main commercial port. The harbor, formed by the Orote Peninsula to the south and Cabras Island in the north, is considered to be one of the best natural ports in the Pacific. 

The Northern Mariana Islands are a chain of 15 tropical islands in the western Pacific Ocean, about 120 miles (193 km) north of Guam. At 12 miles in length and 5 miles wide (19 x 8 km), Saipan is the largest of the 15 islands, and site of the CNMI capital. Settlement of Saipan and its neighboring islands occurred circa 2000 BC by the Chamorro people who arrived via similar routes as their cousins in Guam. Ferdinand Magellan first sighted the Mariana Islands in March 1521 and claimed “Las Islas de las Velas Latinas” for Spain. 

Among the 15 islands of the Northern Marianas, Pagan Island consists of two stratovolcanoes joined by a strip of land that is less than 600 meters (2,000 feet) across at its narrowest point. The island was completely evacuated in 1981 when a large eruption forced the small Micronesian community to relocate to Saipan. Pagan, the northern volcano, is still active, and one of the more recent lava flows has come close to the small former settlement on the west coast. 

Three small elongated islands up to 2.3 km (1.4 miles) in length are all that remains of Maug volcano. The islands form the northern, western, and eastern rims of Maug’s largely submerged caldera. The highest point reaches 227 meters (745 feet) above sea level and the caldera has an average submarine depth of about 200 meters (656 feet). The natural harbor contains a twin-peaked central lava dome that rises up from the seafloor to within a few fathoms of the surface. This perfect natural harbor often shelters dolphins near the southern entrance. 

While at sea, enjoy wine tastings, designer boutiques, language, and dance classes. Take in a matinee movie, check the market or your e-mail in the Internet Point, slip away with a novel from the library to a sunny chaise, or with a movie to your suite. Or just take in the sun pool side. The choice is yours.

The remote Bonin Islands are known in Japan as the Ogasawara Islands. This archipelago has earned the nickname, “Galapagos of the Orient” and was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2011 for the unique plant and animal species that have evolved here. Chichijima, the “father island,” is the largest in the Ogasawara family of islands and yet another fantastic avian destination with several endemic species. Minamijima, a small uplifted coral island just south of the town, has a much photographed natural stone arch reflected in the small turquoise blue lagoon.

The name Torishima translates to “Bird Island” and is a fitting name for this stark, uninhabited volcanic island that Japan has declared a Bird Sanctuary, Natural Monument, and National Wildlife Protection Area. Located in the Izu Islands chain about 600 kilometers (370 miles) due south of Tokyo, Torishima is home to about 1500 mature short-tailed albatrosses. This rare species is known to breed on only four islands in the North Pacific, with close to 80% nesting on the volcanic ash slopes of Torishima.

While at sea, enjoy wine tastings, designer boutiques, language, and dance classes. Take in a matinee movie, check the market or your e-mail in the Internet Point, slip away with a novel from the library to a sunny chaise, or with a movie to your suite. Or just take in the sun pool side. The choice is yours.

On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 am, a massive chunk of metal known as Little Boy fell from an American plane, and the sky ignited and glowed for an instant. In that brief moment, however, it became as hot as the surface of the sun in Hiroshima, until then a rather ordinary workaday city in wartime Japan. Half the city was leveled by the resulting blast, and the rest was set ablaze. Rain impregnated with radioactive fallout then fell, killing many that the fire and 1,000-mph shock wave had not. By the end of this mind-boggling disaster, more than 140,000 people died.

The small island of Miyajima (“The Shrine Island”) is known for the Floating Torii Gate, which is one of “The Three Most Beautiful Views” of Japan. Built in the water, the Torii Gate leads to the Itsukushima Shrine and at high tide it seems to float. The Torii Gate is one of the most photographed sites in all of Japan. There are many more shrines and paths on Miyajima that are inviting to walk. Mount Misen has a cable car leading partly up to the top with nice views and wild monkeys and deer roaming the trails.

Okayama is an important transportation hub and one of the largest cities of the Chugoku Region. It is famous because it has one of Japan’s most significant gardens. Although the “Korakuen” Garden was severely damaged by bombs in WWII, the descriptions and paintings from the Edo period permitted an exact reconstruction. It is one of the “Three Gardens of Japan” and has been designated a “Special Scenic Location”. Known formerly as the center of rice-distribution in the Okayama area, many old warehouses next to the preserved canal have been converted into museums, boutiques, and cafes. 

Located on the calm waters of the Inland Sea, Kobe has served as an important port town for hundreds of years. It was one of the first harbors to accept foreign traders in 1868 when Japan was just emerging from its centuries of isolation. What followed was a surge of Western trade and exports. Today, Kobe is quite multicultural, with expatriates from 98 different nations in residence, providing a cultural diversity most easily visible in restaurants serving every kind of cuisine, including the now world-famous Kobe beef.