Nice gift! It looks like you're quite well traveled to-date. I share five countries on "been there" list with you:

• Hong Kong/China
• Australia
• Norway
• Sweden
• The Netherlands

I'm not sure what you like best in destinations but I'll try recommending a few. These are only places I have first hand experience with:

• Boulder/Denver, Colorado USA (Great for outdoor activities such as snowboarding, mountain biking etc. If you go at change of seasons -March for example- you can experience a sunny, ~16 C temperature day in Boulder and then drive up into the mountains and snowboard on fresh powder. It's quite fantastic and makes you feel like you've traveled between worlds. This could also be a good destination because of easy connecting flights. Coming from Australia you'd likely route through LAX or SFO and would have plenty of flight options to Denver airport (DEN). You can keep an eye on the deals at SecretFlying for airfare. Currently the best one I see from Australia to the US is 915 AUD.

• Lisbon, Portugal (Lisboa -as they call it in Portugal- is a great European city to visit for a few reasons. I found it easy to get around with the simple metro system, there are delicious food options at modest prices and there are great sights/activities nearby. If you make it there I'd suggest taking the ~1 hr train rides to Cascais and Sintra. Cascais is your beach and surfing destination. Sintra is good for visiting sites like the ruins of a Moorish Castle and mountain top palaces)

• Wanaka, New Zealand (I've heard a lot of Aussies underestimate New Zealand. I don't know if that's true but I do know I found the South Island dramatically different than NSW. Not a good comparison I know but NSW is the extent of my Aussie experience. The South Island of NZ is so varied I'm not exactly sure where to recommend but since you snowboard it seems like Wanaka is a good area for that. Queenstown is popular and was quite beautiful but it was also crowded -and I was there in the off season. I think the Wanaka area is attractive in a different way and it's a part of NZ I would like to explore more. For natural beauty and outdoor activities it really seems hard to go wrong with a visit to the central areas of Otago or Canterbury. Tasman\Nelson are fantastic for the same.)

When I get back to Japan and outside of the airport (been to Narita airport) what should I put at the top of my list? For some context I typically enjoy:

• Areas of natural beauty with great views or places to explore
• Tasting regional foods at high-value (good quality to price ratio) restaurants
• Hiking, mountain biking and outdoor exploring
• Specialty coffee