Banff is home to Canada’s oldest national park, and a great place to explore a bit of Canada’s natural wilderness while still having all of the comforts of a world class resort. A one hour drive from Calgary (a large Canadian city that hosted the 1988 Olympics) Banff is a great place for people who enjoy outdoor sports. The area has 3 of the best ski/snowboard resorts in the world, mountain climbing, hiking, whitewater rafting and many more activities (at the Banff International Hotel, services would be provided in Japanese if required). Hiking on Banff’s extensive trails you would be likely to see animals such as deer, moose, mountain goats and sheep, or possibly even a black or grizzly bear. Temp: 30C Summer to -30C Winter.

(David Brodie, Canada, SWY11)

Sitting right on the Equator, approximately 600 miles directly west of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands were discovered in 1535 by the Spanish, later claimed by Ecuador in 1832. The archipelago includes 13 major islands, 8 smaller islands and 40 islets. Visited by the English naturalist Charles Darwin in 1835, his subsequent studies of local wildlife contributed to his famous theory of natural selection, and put these special islands on the map for the rest of the world to experience.

(Elisa Sicouret, Ecuador, SWY7)

The islands became Ecuador's first national park, and were declared a World Heritage site in 1978. 
They're home to the famous and unique giant tortoise, marine iguanas, penguins and dozens of unusual endemic species, including Darwin's finches.
You can catch a glimpse of this beautiful paradise in the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, with Russell Crowe, which was shot there. If you want to get more, visit:
http://www.ecuador-pictures.org/photo1.asp?action=l&r=Galapagos http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/samerica/galap.htm

(Elisa Sicouret, Ecuador, SWY7)

Santorini is known for its volcano -some believe it is the mythic atlantis- and its volcanic
eruption that destroyed the entire aegean
civilization and sink half of the island about
2000 years bc. Excavations have brought to
light an entire city, preserved by lava, with wonderful frescoes. One can now wander in the small streets of the island enjoying the marvelus white-painted walls and blue painted doors, overlooking the sea by the top edge of the caldera clifs. It is the only inhabited caldera (the clifs that remain around the volcano when the crater sinks in the sea) in the world.

(Vasilis Tikos, Greece, SWY6-Ren03)