I saw the Northern Lights from Chatham on Cape Cod many years ago when I lived there. I had driven back from Boston and got out of the car to realize that the night sky was filled with surrealistic swirls of unlikely colors and feared that my vision was going kaput. Then heard the news on the radio when I got in the house and went onto the deck to enjoy the light show.

You might be able to see them from a northern state too. I think the Jet Stream is what moves them around but my knowledge of meteorology is even less than my understanding of the human eye so don't rely on that, lol.

A friend makes Christmas cards using glossy card stock and some process wherein one applies inks (paints?) and then sprays the surface with alcohol. One year she made cards that looked like the Northern lights I saw with teal, turmeric, mauve, midnight green and some pastels. Maybe someone who's familiar with the process can describe it, but the result was glorious.

China, Japan,Thailand, and New Zealand are doable. If you go to China, you need a long trip, I had three weeks there and need another three weeks to see what I didn't see because it is large. I would advise going to New Zealand last because, a couple I knew went there every year! I sat through a 3 hour slide show of it and the only I would to see is birds but I would like see them anywhere. You can do Japan on a short trip. No mattet what take loads of pictures.