Photo Tour of Japan | Oobako

Feb 10 | Evan | No Comments |

Oobako is the beginning of the gorge that makes way for Sounkyo Onsen and the Sounkyo Gorge. Oobako is about 10 minutes from the Sounkyo Onsen area and has parking directly next to it. You probably won’t need a whole lot of time here, as the area is quite small, but certainly worth taking a few minutes to stop by and take a look around. There is a slightly elevated platform over looking the river but if you don’t mind hoping a small rail you can get down to the rocks and the river. Like most places in Hokkaido and certainly like the Daisetsuzan National Park and surrounding areas, there could be bears or other wild animals.

More from this photo tour of Japan is coming soon! Here is the list of the places we visited and photographed in Japan.

Shiretoko Five Lakes
Shiretoko Pass
Utoro Sunsets
Furepe Waterfall
Oshinkoshin Waterfall
Lake Akan
Lake Mashu
Lake Onneto
Sounkyo Onsen
Kamikawa Angus Farm
Ginga Waterfall
Lake Daisetsuko
Sounkyo Ropeway
Oobako – You are here!
Blue Pond (Aoi Ikke)
Shirogane Falls
Moss Garden Temple (Kokedera)
Bamboo Forrest in Arashiyama
Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji)
Nanzenji
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Portrait session with models in kimonos

Interested in your own custom photo tour and experiences in Japan? Contact Japan Photo Guide today to start your adventure!

Photo Tour of Japan | Sounkyo Onsen

Feb 09 | Evan | No Comments |

Sounkyo Onsen is the central part of Hokkaido and northern part of Daisetsuzan National Park. As we continued to tour around Hokkaido, we stayed in Sounkyo for 2 nights. The Sounkyo area is basically inside the Sounkyo Gorge, which starts with the entrance with Oobako. There are a few waterfalls, nice hikes, lake, small but pleasant town center, photo museum, ski slopes and ropeway up to Mount Kurodake. If you are considering going, here is the Tourism Association of Sounkyo website.

For this post, I am displaying a gallery of just one part of the gorge area. The Sounkyo Gorge goes on for quite a bit and if we had more time, we would have wanted to explore the gorge a little more for other photographic opportunities. We saw a few from the bus on the way out, but there really aren’t too many places for a bus to park along the road!