11-day Itinerary *

In this section I'll give you a break down of what we're doing each day, in terms of location. There's a further section down the page which deals with what to expect as a daily schedule.

Day 1:
Arrival in Chitose. Evening meal at local hotel & restaurant.

Day 2:
This morning we depart for the east coast of the island and arrive around mid-day. In the afternoon we explore the coastline. Evening meal and hotel.

Day 3:
Sunrise shoot at the coast. After breakfast we depart for our next destination of Biei towards the centre of Hokkaido. This area has much farmland with single lone trees. Evening meal and hotel in Biei.

Day 4:
Today we spend all day around Biei shooting the landscape. Evening meal and hotel in Biei.

Day 5:
Today we depart from Biei for the north east of the island. On the way we will stop to photograph one of Bruce's favourite lone trees near lake Samora. Evening meal and hotel at lake Samora.

Day 6:
Today we depart from Samora for Akan National park. This is my favourite area of Hokkaido offering a variety of natural landscapes. Evening meal and hotel in Kussharo.

Day 7 & 8:
Today we explore around Akan national park. Evening meal and hotel in Kussharo.

Day 9:
We head south today for a visit to see the red crowned crane birds and also explore another area of lone trees. Evening meal and hotel in Kussharo.

Day 10:
Today we move to the south of the island towards our Hotel for the night close to our departure airport. But before we do, we will spend one last morning shooting around Akan national park. Evening meal and hotel in the city of Kushiro.

Day 11:
Today we depart from Hokkaido after breakfast from Kushiro domestic airport back to Tokyo's Haneda domestic airport.

* We may alter the tour itinerary due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances.

Daily Schedule Outline

Each day will have the following format:

The days are short in January, but this has plenty of benefits. Because the sun is low in the sky all day it means we have beautiful light lasting all day and it's possible to make great photos even at mid day.

Sunrise is at approximately 7am while sunset is early at 4pm, meaning we'll be back at our hotel for dinner and some well earned time off in the evenings.

6:00 - 8:00am
On location for sunrise.

8:30 - 9:00am
Breakfast.

9:30am - 12:30pm
Heading back out to shoot for the remainder of the day.
12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch at a local Japanese Restaurant.

1:30 - 4:30pm
Late afternoon shooting where we will stay out until after sunset and twilight has finished.

6:00 - 7:00pm
Evening dinner at a japanese restaurant either at the hotel or in town.

7:30pm
Back to the hotel where we can try the Onsen (Japanese spring baths - highly recommended).