Passage du Pacifique et joyaux du Japon

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.

Le goulet de Seymour est un tronçon de 3 miles/5 km du Discovery Channel au nord de l’île de Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique, qui est réputé pour la force des courants de marée qui le traversent. La largeur moyenne du goulet n’est que de 750 mètres. Lors des marées extrêmes, le courant qui traverse le goulet est soumis à un important effet Venturi, ce qui se traduit par une vitesse accrue pouvant atteindre 15 nœuds. Pendant la majeure partie de son histoire moderne, le détroit présentait un danger supplémentaire, le Ripple Rock, une obstruction peu profonde qui a coûté la vie à pas moins de 119 navires et 114 personnes. En 1958, après des mois de creusement de tunnels et de préparation, Ripple Rock a été soufflé lors de la plus grande explosion commerciale non nucléaire jamais enregistrée en Amérique du Nord. La navigation dans le goulet de Seymour dépend toujours des marées et d’autres conditions, et exige des compétences et des prouesses techniques.

Ketchikan is a picturesque coastal town with a colorful frontier history, standing at the southern entrance to Alaska’s famed Inside Passage. It began as a salmon cannery in 1885, built by company employee Mike Martin at the mouth of Ketchikan Creek. Once dubbed the ‘Canned Salmon Capital of the World,’ today government, commercial fishing, and tourism are its main industries. The renowned Creek Street, perched on stilts along the mouth of the creek, would bring lasting infamy to the area for the red-light district that burgeoned there during the Gold Rush. The town’s site first served as a camp for Tlingit people, and for thousands of years this has been their home. Their rich culture is being preserved to this day. A visit to Ketchikan is not complete without visiting one or all of Native American sites such as Totem Bight State Park, Potlatch Park, Saxman Native Village and the Totem Heritage Center. Together, these locations comprise the world’s largest collection of standing Native American totem poles. VIEW CRUISES

Une promenade dans les rues et le parc historique national de Sitka permet d’avoir un aperçu de son passé unique et coloré. Un mélange de cultures tlingit et russe définit cette première capitale de l’Alaska. Bien que la mise en conserve du poisson et l’extraction de l’or aient été les premiers catalyseurs de la croissance de Sitka, la construction d’une base aérienne pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale a véritablement ouvert la voie à l’essor de Sitka. L’une des structures les plus intrigantes de Sitka est la cathédrale Saint-Michel, construite en 1848 en l’honneur d’un évêque orthodoxe russe. L’histoire de Sitka commence il y a des milliers d’années avec le peuple Tlingit et son utilisation de la terre pour la subsistance et la spiritualité. L’ancienne Sitka, située juste au nord de l’actuelle colonie, a été fondée en 1799 par Alexander Baranov, commerçant de la Compagnie russo-américaine. D’abord appelée Novo-Arkhangelsk (Nouvel Archange) sous la domination russe, elle a été rebaptisée Sitka après l’achat de l’Alaska par les États-Unis en 1867. Sitka est un mot tlingit qui signifie « au bord de la mer ».

Le glacier Hubbard est le plus grand et l’un des plus spectaculaires glaciers de marée d’Amérique du Nord. Ses falaises de glace, d’une hauteur de 121 m, déversent des icebergs dans le fjord, qui peuvent souvent être plus grands qu’un immeuble de cinq étages. La surface du glacier est plissée et déformée, ressemblant à la peau ridée d’un éléphant géant. Les archives montrent qu’il s’épaissit et avance depuis 1895. Cela contraste fortement avec les autres glaciers du monde entier, dont la plupart ont reculé au cours du siècle dernier. En 2002, le glacier a bloqué le fjord Russell pendant deux mois et demi, faisant monter le niveau de l’eau de 18 mètres et menaçant les communautés locales d’inondations. Les eaux riches en nutriments le long de la face du glacier attirent de nombreuses espèces. Des colonies de mouettes et de goélands ornent les petites îles et les phoques communs patrouillent dans les eaux glacées. En 1890, Israël Russell a exploré la région de la baie de Yakutat et du glacier Hubbard, lui donnant le nom de Gardiner G. Hubbard, un financier de son expédition et un fondateur et le premier président de la National Geographic Society. VOIR LES CROISIÈRES

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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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.

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.

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.

Ishinomaki est une ville située sur le continent de Honshu au Japon. Installé dans un étonnant bâtiment en forme de vaisseau spatial, le musée Mangattan est consacré à l’œuvre de l’artiste de manga Shotaro Ishinomori. Le long de la côte, San Juan Bautista est une réplique d’un galion japonais du XVIIe siècle. Au large, l’île de Kinkasan abrite des cerfs sauvages et le sanctuaire Koganeyama-jinja du VIIIe siècle. Des sentiers mènent au sommet de l’île, d’où l’on a une vue panoramique sur la ville.