If you have a Mac, there is a good chance you have seen Blue Pond or Aoi Ikke before as it is one of the National Geographic photos is a desktop photo that comes with Mac OS. While I would love to visit this lake and Hokkaido in the Winter, we were visiting the Shirogane Onsen area in the fall. While technically it is in Biei, the Blue Pond is about an hour drive from Asahikawa and about 2 hours from Sounkyo Onsen. Whether you are coming from Sounkyo, Asahikawa or even Sapporo, I would recommend adding Aoi Ikke to your itinerary for Hokkaido!
That being said, finding information about the Blue Pond in English, might prove to be a little harder than you would think! If you have time, I would recommend first stoping at the information center before making your way to Blue Pond as they can provide a map of the area that is helpful for exploring, hiking and just finding your way around. Here is the a link to the google map where the Blue Pond is located. There is no opening or closing time, so you can go as early in the morning you want to wait for that great morning light. On a clear day, you can also see the mountains of Daisetsuzan National Park.
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
- Blue Pond (Aoi Ikke) – You are here!
- Shirogane Falls
- Moss Garden Temple (Kokedera)
- Bamboo Forrest in Arashiyama
- Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji)
- Nanzenji
- Fushimi Inari Shrine
- Portrait session with models in kimonos
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