Hokkaido, Aleutian Islands And Alaska - A Real Explorer's Trilogy From Asia To Alaska

Welcome to the Pacific Ring of Fire, on a route that takes you to some of the most remote corners of the world. The small HANSEATIC inspiration combines great pioneering spirit with Asian and North American contrasts. Together with your experts, first discover Japan’s unknown faces in the island world of Hokkaido. A new land of smiles and a touristically blank slate, from which your expedition shapes new images of Asia daily in the style of origami. Right at the beginning, explore the diverse nature of the small volcanic island of Rishiri on hikes with your experts. Feeling adventurous? At a sea urchin station, you can catch them yourself, then open and enjoy them. You can also discover the rugged rocky island of Okushiri on an individual landing together with the experts. The waters off Okushiri are known for abalone, perhaps you will try one of these typical seafoods yourself. From Hakodate, focus is on the volcano, birdlife, and vegetation of Onuma National Park¹. Alternatively, inspect fresh fish and crabs at a market visit before continuing your city tour with a visit to Goryokaku Fort, the first western-style fortress in Japan. From Kushiro, the paths lead into Akan-Mashu National Park¹, known for high volcanoes, clear lakes, deep forests, and Mount Iou – here you experience bubbling sulphur fumaroles. The Kushiro Shitsugen Wetlands¹ can be explored by kayak¹ or on an easy walk¹ along wooden boardwalks.

After relaxed days at sea, during which you can fully enjoy the service and comfort on board, anticipation and excitement fill the air. Slowly, the outline of a coastline appears on the horizon and the HANSEATIC inspiration reaches a very remote chain of islands in the Pacific: the Aleutians. At the southern edge of the Bering Sea, it is lonely, vast, and pristine, and nature appears as it is now rarely seen. Look forward to many exciting sights and insights during your landings and as the HANSEATIC inspiration cruises flexibly through these waters. On Adak Island, follow the history of the former military base with your experts, today almost a ghost town. Cruising becomes livelier before Chagulak Island, accompanied by thousands of storm petrels. On your flexible route through the island maze, there are good chances to spot sea otters, orcas, and humpback whales. Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island tells the story of Russian America, as Alaska was called until the mid-19th century. A walk on Popof Island leads into the homeland of the bison.

Alaska satisfies your longing for great adventures in vast wilderness. The stuff of explorers’ dreams is revealed to you on this unforgettable journey in impressive form. Upon arriving at the Alaska Peninsula, gain initial insights into the life of the inhabitants of the small fishing village of Chignik under the motto “Meet the locals.” Will you spot Steller sea lions and horned puffins while cruising past the bird cliffs of Kak Island?

Chignik is a fishing village on the Alaskan Peninsula and home for just under 100 year-round inhabitants. Most of the houses in the community are connected by a boardwalk that fringes a local stream and neighborhood kids can be seen riding their bicycles back and forth on its length. In the summer months the population doubles, as the fishing gets better and the town supports a couple of fish-processing plants. Chignik is a remote outpost at the doorstep of the Aleutian Island chain and offers up a true taste of Alaskan outback life.

With luck, you may even observe bears from the deck as the HANSEATIC inspiration cruises through Katmai National Park and heads for secluded bays.

The main settlement of Kodiak Island was the second-largest community of Russian America until 1867. Today, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kodiak History Museum recall this period. Explore the small, charming Alaskan town on your own. A transfer takes you to Fort Abercrombie State Park¹: walk through the moss-covered coastal forest, past Arctic flower meadows. With luck, you may even spot whales off the coast.

Today, commercial fishing is king in Kodiak. Despite its small population—about 6,475 people scattered among the several islands in the Kodiak group—the city is among the busiest fishing ports in the United States. The harbor is also an important supply point for small communities on the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula.Visitors to the island tend to follow one of two agendas: either immediately fly out to a remote lodge for fishing, kayaking, or bear viewing; or stay in town and access whatever pursuits they can reach from the limited road system. If the former is too pricey an option, consider combining the two: drive the road system to see what can be seen inexpensively, then add a fly-out or charter-boat excursion to a remote lodge or wilderness access point.Floatplane and boat charters are available from Kodiak to many remote attractions, chief among them the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge , which covers four islands in the Gulf of Alaska: Kodiak, Afognak, Ban, and Uganik.

Homer is your starting point for spectacular tours focused on bear watching¹ in the vast wilderness. A seaplane takes you on a scenic flight to Brooks Falls¹, where with some luck you can observe brown bears fishing for salmon. Alternatively, fly to Lake Clark National Park¹ – on a walk with a ranger, you can also see brown bears in their natural habitat here. You can also actively explore Alaska’s pristine nature from Homer on a hike¹ to the glacier lake or on a boat trip¹.

At the southern end of the Sterling Highway lies the city of Homer, at the base of a narrow spit that juts 4 miles into beautiful Kachemak Bay. Glaciers and snowcapped mountains form a dramatic backdrop across the water. Founded in the late 1800s as a gold-prospecting camp, this community was later used as coal-mining headquarters. Chunks of coal are still common along local beaches; they wash into the bay from nearby slopes where the coal seams are exposed. Today the town of Homer is an eclectic community with most of the tacky tourist paraphernalia relegated to the Spit (though do note the Spit has plenty else to recommend it, not the least of which is the 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains); the rest of the town is full of local merchants and artisans. The community is an interesting mix of fishermen, actors, artists, and writers. Much of the commercial fishing centers on halibut, and the popular Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby is often won by enormous fish weighing more than 300 pounds. The local architecture includes everything from dwellings that are little more than assemblages of driftwood to steel commercial buildings and magnificent homes on the hillside overlooking the surrounding bay, mountains, forests, and glaciers.

While cruising at Aialik Glacier, the deck of the HANSEATIC inspiration once again becomes your observation platform before the curtain of nature’s spectacle slowly falls and this journey from Asia to North America comes to an end in Seward.

It is hard to believe that a place as beautiful as Seward exists. Surrounded on all sides by Kenai Fjords National Park, Chugach National Forest, and Resurrection Bay, Seward offers all the quaint realities of a small railroad town with the bonus of jaw-dropping scenery. This little town of about 2,750 citizens was founded in 1903, when survey crews arrived at the ice-free port and began planning a railroad to the Interior. Since its inception, Seward has relied heavily on tourism and commercial fishing. It is also the launching point for excursions into Kenai Fjords National Park, where it is quite common to see marine life and calving glaciers.