Article tag
Hokkaido
Field notes, tour reports, and photography guides tagged with this topic.
Feb 19, 2021
Winter Festival in Japan: Sapporo Snow Festival
Sapporo Snow Festival is one of the most well known winter festivals of Japan. The first snow festival took place in 1950 with only 6 sculptures created by local high school students. It has now grown to attract over 2.7 million people each year and just like snow monkeys, Sapporo Snow Festival attracts many international [...]
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Apr 12, 2018
2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Japanese Red Crowned Cranes in Snow
Along with Chris Weston, I escorted a small group of wildlife photographers in Japan in search of Japan’s Winter Wildlife. View the 2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan Trip Report to see photos of Japanese Snow Monkeys, Red Crowned Crane, Swan, Steller’s Sea Eagles and whatever else we could find! This is the second of [...]
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Apr 8, 2018
2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Japanese Red Crowned Cranes
Along with Chris Weston, I escorted a small group of wildlife photographers in Japan in search of Japan’s Winter Wildlife. View the 2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan Trip Report to see photos of Japanese Snow Monkeys, Red Crowned Crane, Swan, Steller’s Sea Eagles and whatever else we could find! This is the first of [...]
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Apr 4, 2018
2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Whooper Swans in Japan
Along with Chris Weston, I escorted a small group of wildlife photographers in Japan in search of Japan’s Winter Wildlife. View the 2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan Trip Report to see photos of Japanese Snow Monkeys, Red Crowned Crane, Swan, Steller’s Sea Eagles and whatever else we could find! If you have come to [...]
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Apr 1, 2018
2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Steller’s Eagles On Ice
Along with Chris Weston, I escorted a small group of wildlife photographers in Japan in search of Japan’s Winter Wildlife. View the 2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan Trip Report to see photos of Japanese Snow Monkeys, Red Crowned Crane, Swan, Steller’s Sea Eagles and whatever else we could find! This is the third of [...]
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Mar 29, 2018
2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Steller’s Eagles Catching Fish
Along with Chris Weston, I escorted a small group of wildlife photographers in Japan in search of Japan’s Winter Wildlife. View the 2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan Trip Report to see photos of Japanese Snow Monkeys, Red Crowned Crane, Swan, Steller’s Sea Eagles and whatever else we could find! This is the second of [...]
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Feb 26, 2018
2018 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Steller’s Eagles Flying
After a wonderful (but freezing) time in the 2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan, I planned another tour along with Chris Weston Photography. While the places were mainly the same as last year, we changed the order a little to start with Steller’s Sea Eagles. Chris is a fantastic wildlife photographer and I was really [...]
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Apr 1, 2017
2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Seagulls in Rausu
Greetings from Tokyo, Japan! I’m posting this just at the start of my 2017 Cherry Blossom tour of Japan and glad I could finish the report from the 2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan before the cherry blossom tour goes into full swing! The last stop for or photography tour of Japan was Rausu, Hokkaido. [...]
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Mar 29, 2017
2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Steller’s Sea Eagles Catching Fish
Even with subfreezing temperatures and early morning starts on a boat, our small group of photographers touring Japan was having a great time in Rausu. The Steller’s Sea Eagles were not disappointing at all and whether hanging out or flying through the sky, the eagles provided ample photographic opportunities for our guided tour of Japan’s [...]
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Mar 26, 2017
2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Steller’s Sea Eagles Flying
Spending a few days in Rausu to photograph the Steller’s Sea Eagles was an amazing experience! Our Winter tour of Japan was coming to an end but our small group of photographers was determined to make the most of our time with these amazing birds. Everyone came back with many photographs of the eagles and [...]
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Mar 23, 2017
2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Short Video With Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II
I’ve been a Nikon guy since my first photography class in 1998. First was film but quickly switched over to digital and never looked back but now it’s time to look forward. Mirrorless cameras have been around for a while but the technology is now reaching a point that I believe is similar to when [...]
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Mar 21, 2017
2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Steller’s Sea Eagles Watching Steller’s Sea Eagles
The last stop for our Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan was the northeast of Japan’s most northern island, Hokkaido. Just outside of Shiretoko National Park is the small port town of Rausu where many Steller’s Sea Eagles can be found. Similar to the red-crowned cranes of Kushiro, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from [...]
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Mar 18, 2017
2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Whooper Swans of Lake Kussharo
The 2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan was going great even with every day being well below freezing! After spending a few days photographing Japanese Snow Monkeys and then the Japanese Red-Crowned Crane, the group travelled to Lake Kussharo to photograph the Whooper Swans. The few swans I’ve encountered in my past haven’t always come across [...]
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Mar 17, 2017
2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Artistic Red-Crowned Cranes
The 2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan stayed in Kushiro for a few days to photograph the Japanese red-crowned crane. Kushiro is located on Japan’s northern most island, Hokkaido and as it was peak Winter season, after 2 days of photographing these beautiful cranes in the cold, windy weather, I needed to change something up. [...]
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Mar 16, 2017
2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Dancing Red-Crowned Cranes
Photographing the the Japanese red-crowned crane in flight was interesting but after a short time with the cranes in Kushiro, I really was enjoying their dance moves more than their flight patterns! There are a few different locations to photograph the red-crowned Japanese crane that having feeding times and it seemed the cranes were most [...]
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Mar 15, 2017
2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan | Red-Crowned Cranes
After a great few days with the snow monkeys in Jigokudani, Nagano Prefecture, our 2017 Winter Wildlife Tour of Japan would continue on to Japan’s northern most island, Hokkaido. Our first stop was in Kushiro to photograph the red-crowned crane, also known as Japanese crane or Manchurian crane. While I had a good idea how I [...]
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Mar 1, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Shirogane Falls
There are not too many hotel choices close to the Blue Pond and in the Shirogane Onsen area, but the hotel we stayed at, Shirogane Park Hills, is just a minutes walk away from a bridge overlooking Shirogane Falls. This is great for rolling out of bed early in the morning and seeing if the [...]
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Feb 22, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Blue Pond
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 [...]
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Feb 21, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Lake Daisetsu
Lake Daisetsu is about 10 minutes from the Sounkyo Onsen area and there are a couple of different places to take photos. Our group traveling around Japan drove around one part of the lake looking for the angle we liked best and then found parking as close to where we wanted to photograph the lake [...]
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Feb 15, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Kamikawa Angus Farm
About 40 minutes by car from Sounkyo Onsen, and minutes away from Kamikawa Town, is an area famous for landscapes of hills and plains along with The Daisetsuzan Mountain Range in the background. The sun rises on the far side of the mountains and if you come here in the afternoon, the sun will set [...]
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Feb 14, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Sounkyo Ropeway
The station for Sounkyo Ropeway is next to the visitor’s information center in Sounkyo Onsen and the “town center” which has most of the restaurants, small shops and convenient stores in the area. It’s kind of like a really small strip mall. Don’t expect too many choices, but you can find the standard ramen, curry, [...]
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Feb 12, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Ginga Waterfall
Continuing with our exploration and photography tour in the Sounkyo Onsen area, we stopped by Ginga no taki or Ginga Waterfall. There is actually a second waterfall next to this one but we found Ginga no taki to be easier seen and more photogenic. You can view the waterfall from the parking lot area, or [...]
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Feb 11, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Oobako
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 [...]
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Feb 9, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Sounkyo Onsen
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 [...]
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Feb 1, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Lake Onneto
Lake Onneto is about 25 minute drive from Lake Akan and part of Akan National Park. While it isn’t as famous with tourists as some of the other lakes in the area like Lake Mashu or Lake Akan, it certainly should be! Lake Onneto is a much smaller lake than Mashu or Akan, and while [...]
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Feb 1, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Oshinkoshin Waterfall
After our final morning in the Shiretoko Peninsula and on the way to Akan National Park, we made a brief stop at Oshinkoshin Waterfall. The waterfall is about 15 -20 minute drive from Utoro and is very easily accessed as there is a parking lot next to Oshinkoshin Waterfall. You can see the waterfall from [...]
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Jan 28, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Furepe Waterfall
Furepe Waterfall is part of Shiretoko National Park on the south west side of the Shiretoko Peninsula. It is fairly easy to access as you park at the Shiretoko National Park Nature Center and then take a short 2km walk/hike to the waterfall. The hike itself is actually quite pleasant and like with the Shiretoko [...]
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Jan 23, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Shiretoko Pass
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 [...]
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Jan 23, 2014
Photo Tour of Japan | Shiretoko Five Lakes
In September and October of 2013, Japan Photo Guide and PhotoSafari.ru worked together to prepare a tour for photographers from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and of course myself from USA. Including myself, we had 15 photographers touring Japan from Tokyo to Hokkaido to Kyoto. After spending a few days in Tokyo, our first stop on our [...]
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Feb 2, 2013
Japan Photo Guide and PhotoSafari.ru Photography Tour of Japan
I am excited to announce I will be working with Dmitry from PhotoSafari.ru for an upcoming guided photography tour of Japan in the Autumn of 2013! Dmitry leads photography tours for Russians all over the world and I am honored that he asked me to accompany him to Japan as his Japan specialist. If you [...]
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