Vladivostok is an interesting and cosmopolitan city, and has several reasons for visiting, not least because it lies at the end of one of the historic Trans-Sib routings. However, there are some built-in problems which arise when you consider a routing via Vladivostok, which you ought to know about!

ONWARD TRANSPORTATION
One of the main reasons for routing via Vladivostok is/was the ferry service to Japan. However, state subsidy for this ran-out long ago, and the ships are now running to a hugely-reduced timetable - previously weekly, they were only running four times per year when we last received schedules. The ships no longer run to Yokohama, but to Niigata.

Also, Vladivostok is not the major city (see below) of the Russian Far East - so flights are quite limited.

If you want to take the Trans-Sib an then on to Japan,  you can take advantage of weekly ferries at CHINESE State-subsidised prices from Shanghai to Kobe and Shanghai is only 24 hours by train from Beijing.
SMALLCITY
Vladivostok was a military centre for years, and closed to even other Russians (even today, the Police do a passport-check on the plane when you land there). Because of this, the dull nearby city of Khabarovsk was made Regional Capital, and it grew much bigger than Vladivostok - and still has the best transport links (air, rail) in the region. Vladivostok is a much smaller city altogether.

CORRUPTION, & INFRASTRUCTURE BREAKDOWN
It's no secret that there is "mob" activity in the Russian Far East. However, much of this has now moved to Khabarovsk (where it's very visible). As in other places in Russia where the Mob operates, visitors will be very unlikely to come across it directly - they just feel the end-results. Everyone is "paying" - which means prices go up, sometimes drastically. Hotels and Restaurants are very over-priced in Vladivostok. Local infrastructure is in tatters - there was no hot water available in the city all summer long in 1998, and some parts of the city had no water at all, except for 2-3 hours per day. The trams are on strike too....

Well, it has a nice climate, on the Sea of Japan; the people are nice and friendly; like many major international ports, it has a cheerfully "naughty" atmosphere; and yes, it IS at the end of the historic Trans-Sib routing! It also has some sightseeing:

There's a Regional Museum which is really above-average; Svetlanskaya Street (named after the boat "Svetlana" which first visited the city) is quite attractive, and you get a real feeling of the city's heyday in the late C19th; the Russian "whites", who tried to resist the Communists from 1917 until 1921 made their "last stand" here, and there are lots of stories of walled-up hordes of gold left behind as they sailed-off "to regroup" - and never, of course, returned. There's the Historic Battery of guns which defended the city; the Station, which is a landmark in its own right (the original design by style moderne architect Schekhtel), the City Square at the waterfront, the historic Red Navy Submarine which you can visit; and wander around at the waterfront generally, there's lots going-on!

PLUS, you can take the cable-car funicular up the hill for a great view over the city... go out to Shamora Beach for a swim in the Pacific; take a local suburban ferryboat for trips out to the Islands; or you can even go sailing, or snorkelling if you want (Russian Island makes a worthwhile destination).

(the music is "Utekai" from cult Vladivostok rockers Mumii Troll from the album "MORSKAYA")