Photo Tour Japan Winter 2022: HOKKAIDO “Minimal Winter Landscapes & Wildlife”

DATES

from January 30 to February 7, 2022

TOUR’S HIGHLIGHTS

• Picturesque minimalist snow landscapes
• Amazing landscape of the frozen ocean covered with drift ice in Shiretoko Peninsula
• Pleasant walks in the snow forest to photograph winter landscapes and water fall
• Winter landscape with Japanese red-crowned cranes
• Winter forest with owls
• Frozen lake with whooper swans in the hot springs
• Surreal landscape of the sulfur smoking volcano
• Stunning frozen lakes
• Cruise in the ocean to photograph landscapes and sea eagles in Shiretoko Peninsula
• Cruise in the ocean to watch and photograph drift ice

ITINERARIES

Day 1 // January 30: Asahikawa, Hokkaido

Official meeting point is Asahikawa Airport in Hokkaido. Participants should book a flight with the destination to Asahikawa Airport via Haneda (Tokyo). We will pick you up at Asahikawa Airport and all participants will stay in a hotel in Asahikawa after a brief meeting about this tour that will kick off next day.

Day 2 // January 31: Minimal landscapes and Illuminated frozen lake

In the morning, we will drive through the amazing snow-covered hills of Biei and photograph very beautiful and artistic minimalist winter landscapes. We might encounter with foxes on the hills. Biei is full of minimal landscapes and every corner is picturesque. After sunset, we will arrive at an illuminated frozen lake, Blue Pond. Artificial lights illuminate the trees sticking out of the surface of the frozen lake. After we are happy with our photos, or when we can not stand anymore the freezing temperatures, we will go back to our hotel to have dinner and bathe in a hot spring to warm up our bodies and prepare for the next day.

Trees in Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Trees in the snow field in Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Iron structures for farming covered with snow in Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Lonesome tree in the snow landscape of hills in Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Evening at Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Illuminated frozen lake in Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Day 3 // February 1: Minimal winter landscapes

After breakfast, we will visit a stunning Blue Waterfall. It is a good place to shoot motion pictures or drone as well.  Then, we will return to the hills of Biei to make more good pictures of the beautiful minimal landscapes with different weather and light. Driving through endless winter landscapes, we will arrive to a town where we will stay tonight.

Blue River in Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Blue River in Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

A small house on a hill of Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Hill of Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Fox in the hill of Biei, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Day 4 // February 2: Winter landscapes & Japanese red-crowned cranes

In the morning we will explore the snow covered Tokachi rancho area and look for interesting snow landscapes. In the afternoon we will go to photograph the Japanese red-crowned cranes in the wildness, one of the greatest attractions of Hokkaido for wild life lovers.

Rows of trees in the white fileds of Tokachi. ©Akashi Photos

Japanese red crowned cranes in Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Japanese red crowned cranes in Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Day 5 // February 3: Snow landscapes with red-crowned cranes and owls in the winter forest

We will wake up before dawn to photograph picturesque landscape with red-crowned cranes in the river covered with the reddish mist just before sunrise. It all depends on the weather condition, but we will try to capture this amazing romantic moments. After this rising sun hour shots, we will go back to our hotel to have breakfast and have a hot spring bath to warm up our bodies. Then, we will check out from the hotel and will start looking for interesting winter landscapes. If we were lucky enough we will be able to find owls in the winter forest.

Japanese red-crowned cranes in the river before dawn in Kushiro, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Owl on a tree in Kushiro, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Day 6 // February 4: Stunning frozen lakes, Whooper swans & Smoking volcano

After breakfast, we leave to an amazing frozen lake to photograph the landscapes around the lake.  The lake is also famous for whooper swans on the shore where hot springs are coming out. If you want, you will be able to bathe in an outdoor hot spring bath just in front of the shore with the swans! Then, we will visit the most sulfurous mountain in Japan. Columns of smoke rise from the rocky ground despite the snow, and the smell of sulfur permeates everything. It is a surreal and mystical place. Then, we will approach to one of the most beautiful lakes in Japan. Tonight, we will sleep at one of our most favorites hotels in Japan with great outdoor bath long the river and great food.

Snow storm in Kusharo lake, a caldera lake in Akan National Park. In winter in might get completely frozen. ©Akashi Photos

Swans on the frozen Lake Kussharo. ©Akashi Photos

The surface of frozen Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

The Lake Mashu, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Day 7 // February 5: Winter wilderness & Wildlife

After breakfast, we head to Shiretoko Peninsula. We will photograph a fishing port filled with drift ice and dramatic icy waterfalls. Before sunset, we take a pleasant walk in the snow forest.

A rocky island and the ocean covered with drift ice in Shiretoko Peninsual. ©Akashi Photos

Drift ice covers a fishing port in Shiretoko ©Akashi Photos

Japanese people walk on the frozen sea of Okhotsk completely covered by drift ice in Shiretoko, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Plants in the snowed field in Shiretoko, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Day 8 // February 6: Notsuke Peninsula

Today we will look for lonely minimal winter landscapes in a small peninsula. For sure, we will come across with foxes and deer.  In the late afternoon we will move to the town of Rausu in Shiretoko Peninsula.

A pier on a wetland covered with snow in Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

A flower in the snowed field in Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Deer in the evening in Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Day 9 // February 7: Winter landscapes and Cruise in the Ocean with Drift Ice

At dawn we will catch a boat that will take us to the sea filled with drift ice with rising sun. We will photograph the landscape of Shiretoko Peninsula from the ocean. We will be also able to photograph white-tailed eagles or Steller’s sea eagles on top of the ice. After the cruise, we will go back to our hotel for breakfast, then we will go to the Nakashibetsu airport in Abashiri to catch a flight back to Tokyo. The tour ends here at Nakashibetsu airport. For participants who go back to their country without stopover in Tokyo should get a return flight ticket from Nakashibetsu Airport to your airport in your country via Haneda Airport (Tokyo). If you want to stopover in Tokyo, and want us to look for hotel, please let us know.

Sun is rising in the frozen ocean of Rausu, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Steller’s Sea Eagle in Rausu, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Steller’s Sea Eagle and White tail Eagle on the drift ice in Rausu, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

The Shiretoko Peninsula seen from a boat in Rausu, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

SUMMARY OF THE TOUR

Toru Morimoto and Tina Bagué, both professional photographers, have organized a dream trip to “Hokkaido” to explore the northernmost island of Japan, capturing the amazing winter landscapes and wildlife.

Hokkaido is the second largest island of the four main islands that make up Japan. Located to the north of Honshu, the northernmost point of Hokkaido is just about 40 kilometers south of the southernmost point of Sakhalin Island, Russian territory. Despite of occupying a fifth of the entire country, Hokkaido barely has 5% of the population of Japan. Its population multiplies exponentially in summer when Japanese tourists look for cooler weather to enjoy summer. However, from our point of view, and after traveling to the area both in summer and winter, we believe that there is no better time to enjoy nature and wildlife of Hokkaido than in winter. Hokkaido is absolutely magical place during this season. Akashi Photo Tours will take you to places with difficult access in Hokkaido to discover all the wonders of Hokkaido.

Hokkaido is synonymous to nature, pure wildlife and breathtaking landscapes. Traveling through its snow-covered minimal plains with trees, walking on frozen lakes or photographing Japanese cranes dancing in the snow are priceless experiences. The silence, the crunching of the drift ice or the whistle of the wind is Hokkaido’s daily soundtrack. For the all attractions that offer to people who love nature and photography, Hokkaido is often described as “the magic island”. Hokkaido keeps attracting travelers and photographers from all over the world.

We will travel most of the time in a private van so that we can stop anywhere we want to take pictures. To compensate for the icy temperatures that usually occur in the winter months, Hokkaido offers many accommodations with hot springs that will be a real balm for the body at the end of a day to have a good sleep. Bathing in indoor and outdoor baths with its hot springs at 40ºC, with an outdoor temperature of -15ºC is an unique experience that you have to live at least once in your life! We will stay in some ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) with hot springs as well as in western hotels. We will also enjoy kaiseki dishes, artistic Japanese cuisine, as well as authentic local food.

This photo tour is recommended for participants who are interested in landscape photography and some wildlife. We will photograph wildlife as well, but not as intensively as another tour dedicated for wildlife photographers. If you were interested only in wildlife, please join another tour for “Wildlife in Hokkaido and Snow Monkeys in Nagano”.

ACCOMMODATIONS & MEALS

During our photo tour we will combine nights in ryokan and western hotels. Whether they are traditional Japanese inns or western hotels, all of them are mid class and mid-high class with good reputation or selected by tour leaders from their experiences.

The rooms will be twin room (with two beds), so participants who come alone will share a room with another single participant. If you wish to stay in a single room for the whole trip, you have to pay a supplement. But single room might not be available in some of the accommodations, and you have to share a twin room with another participant.

In this tour, all breakfasts and dinners are included. Any lunch is not included. For lunch, we will go to the same restaurant together, and you choose what you want to eat and you pay for it. Each lunch normally costs about 2,000 yen (about 15€ or $18).

If anybody has allergy or food intolerance problems, or is a vegetarian, we will try to make the necessary changes in the menus when it is possible.

PRICE

• The tour price will depend on the number of participants.
  • Price for 6 persons: ￥364,000 (approx. €2,800€ or $3,300) per person
  • Price for 5 persons: ￥418,000 (approx. €3,200€ or $3,800) per person
  • Price for 4 persons: ￥482,000 (approx. €3,700€ or $4,400) per person

• If you want to stay in a single room for the whole trip, single room fees will be ￥40,000 (Approx. €310 or US$360)

*The tour price is fixed in Japanese yen (￥). When you make a payment, depending on the exchange rate with your currency,  tour price in your currency will change. The approximate price in Euro and US Dollars above are calculated based on the exchange rate of 1 euro = 130 yen, 1 US dollar = 110 yen

RESERVATION

• To make the reservation it is necessary to make a payment of the deposit of ￥100,000. Payment can be made by bank transfer or credit card.
• Payment of the total cost of the trip must be made 2 months before the starting date of the tour.
• All transaction fees that occur for reservation are paid by the payer of the reservation.

The MIN. and MAX. NUMBER of PARTICIPANTS

For the trip to be carried out, there must be at least 4 participants (maximum of 6 participants). For this reason it is recommended to consult the occupancy of the trip before buying the international flight if the flight ticket requires cancellation fees.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

It is mandatory to have comprehensive insurance cover for cancellation, medical expenses, personal accident, emergency evacuation, repatriation of remains, dismemberment, and accidental death. You have to give us a copy of travel insurance before the trip.

CANCELLATION

If the cancellation is made more than 61 days before the start of the tour, deposit will be refunded in full only if the place(s) is/are filled with another/other participant(s). Deposit will not be refunded if the cancellation is made within 60 days before the start of the tour. For more details of cancellation and conditions of refund of the balance due after 60 days, please read our terms & conditions.

DRIFTING ICE & WILDLIFE

The drifting ice and wildlife can not be guaranteed in any case. Drift ice comes and goes each year depending on the currents, the temperature, and many other factors that cause this natural spectacle. Sometimes we find wild animals very easily, but other times it is difficult to find them. It is important to keep it in mind that the organizers will not have any responsibility if there is no drifting ice or wildlife during the specific dates of the tour.

MORE QUESTIONS

If you have more doubts about any topic related to the photo tour to Japan, send us an email to: info@akashitravel.com