The Hokkaido photo tour is a unique journey to minimalist landscapes and wildlife in the north of Japan. During 12 days we will be photographing one of the snowiest places in the world, in fact, Sapporo it’s the second snowiest city in the world, behind Aomori, also in Japan.
While in summer the landscapes of Hokkaido are full of lavender fields, during winter his area became a perfect place for minimalist photography. We will explore the area of Biei & Asahikawa for 4 days. It will be an excellent opportunity to capture snowscapes views.
Also, we will have time for wildlife photography focusing on species like red-crowned cranes & swans. But also looking to capture Blakiston’s fish owl, Eurasian red squirrel, steller’s sea eagles and white-tailed eagles, sika deer, Ezo red fox… definitely a perfect place if you love wildlife photography.
Check any of our photographic holidays in the country, if you want to visit during a different season. A Japan Photo Tour is a unique experience all year! We are offering these workshops, in small groups of 4 participants per leader guide.
Due to COVID-19, Japan now just allows tourists to visit with strict rules. You need to get an ERFS certificate and contract the transfers and be accompanied by local guides. For these reasons, all our photography tours have an extra cost of 450€ per person.
We offer all services on our trips, so you can get the ERFS certificate and travel with our professional photographer guides to visit Japan without worries.
Our Hokkaido photography tour will start at Sapporo Chitose Airport. This day we will spend in Sapporo to acclimatize to the area and rest in our hotel in the city center. Today we can go to visit the city center and the views from the copy to the Tokyo Tower during our first night at Hokkaido.
If you want to visit the south of Hokkaido with our guide(s), we can make you a 3 days tour of the previous days. Check at the end of the itinerary, more options we can include as a supplement.
Today we will be exploring the volcanoes & lakes of this area. Here we will find a large amount of volcanoes to photograph as Mt. Yotei or beautiful lakes as the Toya at Shikotsu Toya National Park. Also will visit a rare Torii gate at the top of one rock in the shore: Ebisu iwa, before we arrive to our hotel this night at Otaru. We will pass the night at this beautiful town close to Sapporo, where we will be photographing the canal and classical architecture of the village. During all days we will make some spots at the road to photograph the Hokkaido Sika Deer our the Ezo red foxes that lives in the island and its easy to see.
These 3 days we will be exploring the central and most famous part of Hokkaido. While during summer we are photographing here the lavender fields, during winter we can find infinite spots of lonely trees to do landscape photography. Also, we will be photographing the Shirohige (White Beard) Falls, as well as other beautiful small mounts and forests in this area.
From our hotel, our team will bring you to visit several lonely trees, waterfalls & snowscapes around Biei & Asahikawa. Charge good your batteries during the night, & enjoy taking pictures during the day walks.
Today we will move to the East of Hokkaido. During our route, we will be doing several stops to photograph the incredible waterfalls and landscapes of the Daisetsuzan National Park.
In the evening we will arrive at Akan Lake, in Kushiro. There we will enjoy dinner in a 5 stars ryokan (Japanese hotel) and also will have time to rest from our first part of the trip.
While the first part of our Japan Winter workshop is more focused on landscape photography, at Kushiro, we will be focusing on the Hokkaido wildlife most of our time. Today, we will be photographing the local red crowned cranes, at Akan International Crane Centre, this famous and unique animal species all day.
After our session finish, we will move to Lake Kussharo, which will be our base for the next days of this photography tour.
As optional activity (not included in the price) we can take a boat to photograph the Steller’s Sea Eagle & White-Tailed Eagle in the Shiretoko Peninsula. Also, we will be enjoying the beautiful shore, where in addition to photographing the eagles, we will be able to photograph these landscapes and waterfalls of the area and the Blakiston’s Fish Owl.
After lunch, we will photograph the whooper swans in the beautiful lake close to our hotel. Once we finish, we can have a rest at our hotel and do some post-processing lessons.
This day we will explore the beautiful Lake Tofutsu, where we will be able to photograph swans that migrate to this area during winter. It will be a day full of magic, with the morning fogs that usually cover the lake and will give us magical light in the environment. Also, we will have a chance to photograph grazing horses in these snowy landscapes.
We will continue our route along the coast, to arrive to Haboro. During our way, we will be photographing the industrial areas of the fisherman that during winter remains at the earth cover of snow.
Once in Haboro, we will be photographing the most famous Torii gate of Hokkaido. After that, we will have time to rest in our hotel close to the area.
First thing in the morning, we will move back to the Torii gate to photograph during sunrise. After that, we will continue our way to Sapporo. As soon as we arrive to Sapporo in the afternoon, we will visit the Sapporo Fushimi Inari Shrine till sunset, on our last day at Hokkaido.
We will finish our Japan Winter Photography Tour today at the Sapporo Chitose Airport. We are sure you will enjoy this experience with our coaches!
If you want an extension of the trip simply write to us during the reservation process. The ideal is to move after our trip to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, this way we can move to visit the snow monkeys or the winter wonderland of the Japanese Alps for example. We can prepare more days to photograph several spots like:
Get 500€ discount
If you want to complete your Japan trip, we offer a 500€ discount (250€ per trip) if you join our Japanese Alps Photo Tour. It includes also an extra night in Tokyo or Sapporo, January 28th to 29th.
Eduardo Fuster
Spanish photographer & teacher, diplomate in Art & specialized in Video & Photography. His photos were published in magazines such as National Geographic, Vogue, El Pais, Washington Post … Also worked in Real Estate photography for large luxury companies in the USA. He has also been working for the last 20 years in video design, collaborating on ads campaigns for Nike, Carrefour, Nivea, Hiberdrola, Tourism of Spain… His photographs were recognized in different international conquests. As an example the 1st place in Sunrises & Sunsets 35 awards 2019. Also get honorable mentions in the fine art photography awards 2018,2017,2016, Monochrome visions, 35 Awards 2018 & 2017 as an example.
Sapporo Chitose Airport, Japan
Price
The price of this Hokkaido Photo Tour is based on the participation of a minimum of 4 participants. In case there are not enough participants, the possibility of making the trip will be offered with an increase proportional to the price, or a 100% refund of the total paid.
The last time of exchange rate calculation was January 1st, 2021, the final price can be modified up to 30 days before the tour start.
Accommodation
The accommodations offered are shared double rooms at Hotels with private bathrooms and one night in shared rooms in a Ryokan with dinner and breakfast included.
You can book an individual room during the process of the book your place for the photo tour or writing us at [email protected]
Meals
Meals are not included with the exception of the dinner and breakfast at the Ryokan.
Insurance
Our tours include basic insurance, we suggest contracting full cover insurance. Contact us to expand your insurance coverage.
Transports
Our tours include all internal transports (cars, vans, trains, or flights). We don’t include international flights, but we will guide you at the moment of your booking the best options to arrive to the destiny from your home.
Itinerary
The itinerary mentioned can be changed due to a force major reasons like weather conditions or accidents for example.
Payment & Refunds
To book your place you need to pay 20% of the total cost. The total payment must be made 15 days before the trip. For security reasons due to the pandemic, you do not need to pay for booking
This tour is done by LLC “CLUB OF PHOTO TRAVELERS”, due to illness or other reasons the trip may be made by another guide.
Cancellations
DUE TO COVID-19, we have exceptional conditions for cancellations: Before 15 days we refund 100%. Less than 15 days there is no refund.
Other considerations
Please, check the section “This tour include” and “This tour not include” to know more details about meals, guides or other services include.
You can enjoy Hokkaido all year. In Winter you can enjoy minimalistic landscapes and winter festivals, so for photographers is the perfect moment. But also doing a tour in Spring during the Cherry Blossom, Summer with the lavender fields, or a tour with the fall colors during Autumn is also worth it.
Hokkaido is the name of the Island and the Prefecture, while Sapporo is the capital. The city is located on the west side, and the New Chitose Airport has located around 50km from the center.
Talking about costs of living, restaurants, or other amusements Hokkaido is cheaper. But of course, fly to Sapporo is more expensive than to Tokyo. Our packages already show that, with a difference of around $500 dollars.
