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.
You can book a place for any tour without a cost. Once we know that the travel is possible, you will be able to keep your seat or cancel your booking without penalties.Â
Our Hokkaido photo 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 wildlife most of our time. Today, we will be photographing the red-crowned crane, 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 Rausu landscapes. 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 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 Hokkaido photo 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. We can prepare more days to photograph:
Keeping you safe during COVID-19 is our priority
Departure & Return Location
Sapporo Chitose Airport, Japan
Price Includes
Price Excludes
Complementaries
Photographic lessons
You can enjoy Hokkaido all year. In Winter you can enjoy the 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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
