Photo Tour of Japan | Shiretoko Pass

Jan 23 | Evan | No Comments |

After posting about the portrait session in Kyoto, I’ve gone back to the order of the trip to share with you Shiretoko Pass.  On the roads in Hokkaido that go up mountains, there are many passes that have some places to park and offer great views.  Shiretoko Pass is inbetween Utoro and Rausu and with good weather, offers great views of Mt. Rausu, the tallest mountain in the Shiretoko Mountain Range.  When I was here in the summer, I had a great view of Mount Rausu, but in the fall, like Mount Fuji often is, the mountain was a little shy and hiding behind the clouds.  To the east we could see the ocean and hills down to Rausu, but no mountain.  We were also a little early for fall foliage as this year the fall leaves were slower than normal.

There was also a cute fox along the way and I was told by another photographer from the area that he often can see bears in the area.  Oh yeah, forgot to mention so far that Shiretoko has a lot of bears, so read up on bear safety before going!  If the weather is good, coming here for sunrise would be nice.  Unfortunately, the first time we came here for sunrise it was raining, the second it was cloudy/misty until about 20-30 minutes after sunrise… Although I did get to see one great rainbow for about 5 seconds.  It’s only about a 25 or 30 minute drive from Utoro, but since it at a much higher elevation, more than 700 meters above sea level, the weather can be drastically different and change swiftly.

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 – You are here!
• Utoro Sunsets
• Furepe Waterfall
• Oshinkoshin Waterfall
• Lake Akan
• Lake Mashu
• Lake Onneto
• Sounkyo Onsen
• Kamikawa Angus Farm
• Ginga Waterfall
• Lake Daisetsuko
• Sounkyo Ropeway
• Oobako
• 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!