3. Blue Canyon, USA
Blue Canyon is an unincorporated community in Placer County, California. Blue Canyon is located 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Emigrant Gap and lies at an elevation of 4695 feet (1431 m). It was possibly named for the blue smoke of the camps when extensive lumbering occurred there in the 1850s, but locals say it might be named after a miner from that same period called “Old Jim Blue”.
4. Sapporo, Japan
Sapporo, capital of the mountainous northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, is famous for its beer, skiing and annual Sapporo Snow Festival featuring enormous ice sculptures. The Sapporo Beer Museum traces the city’s brewing history and has tastings and a beer garden. Ski hills and jumps from the 1972 Winter Olympics are scattered within the city limits, and Niseko, a renowned ski resort, is nearby.