THE FAR EAST OF RUSSIA
Trans-Siberian trips may begin or end at Russia's Far East, as there are air flight connections from Kharbarovsk and Vladivostok to either Japan and Korea, and ferry connections between
Vladivostok or Sakhalin Island to Japan. There is a train connection between Vladivostok and Harbin, China.
Vladivostok is one of Russia's more attractive cities, situated in tiers on hills overlooking the Golden Horn Bay. Some of the interesting museums in the city are the regional museum, situated in the ancestral home of actor Yul Brynner, or the WWII submarine that had sank ten enemy ships.
South of Vladivostok are the worlds most northerly monsoon forests, the Ussuriland, home of the endangered Amur tiger and other rare species.
The center of Khabarovsk sports many 19th century structures, and has an almost European feel. The Khabarovsk airport serves as the hub for air transport in the Far East, with connections to Sakhalin Island or Kamchatka.
The southern half of Sakhalin Island once belonged to Japan, and the Japanese governor's palace is now a regional museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Sakhalin Island was previously strictly off-limits to foreigners, but today tourists can visit once restricted areas without hindrance, such as
abandoned militarily fortified beaches built to ward off a potential Japanese invasion. There are several sites where archaeological remnants of ancient aboriginal villages of the now extinct Aiyne can be explored.
SERVICES
Khabarovsk:
Transfer from train station, $45; airport $60
Homestay: $47 single, $75 double
Vladivostok:
Transfer from train station, $25; airport $38
Homestay: $32 single, $52 double
Train ticket, Vladivostok-Harbin: $150
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Sakhalin Island):
Meet and greet, train station: $20
Car transfer, train station: $25
Meet and greet, airport: $25
Car transfer, airport: $35
Homestay: $32 single, $45 double
