Discover the surprising diversity of East Asian cultures as you make your way from Osaka and Kyoto’s traditional Japan, full of ancient temples and tea houses, to southern Japan’s Ryukyu Islands with their subtropical beaches and unique culture formed from their time as part of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Ryukyu Kingdom was an independent kingdom in East Asia that existed from the 15th to the 19th century, known for its trade hub and intricate castle designs. On Amami Island, instead of sake you’ll find kokuto shochu made of brown sugar, and instead of brightly colored kimonos find complex patterns in earth tones made with a mud-dyed technique that’s been unchanged for 1,300 years. Shop for distinctive and colorful Ryukyu glass in Okinawa, once made from the old bottles discarded by U.S. troops. Explore the historic homes in Ishigaki’s Yaima Village, an open-air museum of traditional Ryukyu-style houses. Taiwan was once called Formosa, and for good reason. The word means “the beautiful,” and just beyond the urban landscape lie bamboo forests, tropical jungles, simmering hot springs, and waterfalls. In the capital, Taipei, browse the National Palace Museum’s massive collection of Chinese art treasures or head to the old-town market where you’ll find Chinese medicine apothecaries, traditional handicrafts and more. An overnight in Hong Kong reveals a culture that blends Chinese and British colonial influences. Take a sampan to the floating city of Aberdeen past red-sailed junks. Admire the colonial architecture along Garden Road and listen for the noon-day gun, a tradition established by the British in the 1860s. It’s a cultural montage that makes each of these ports unique, flavoring everything from the architecture to the delectable street food.