Japan!

Skiing!

Food!

I went to Japan for the first time only 9 or 10 months ago for a ski trip. It was immensely convenient - simply a 1 hour train straight from Tokyo, and you're in wintery heaven.

But. It was nothing compared to this trip to Hokkaido, the northern island famous for its snow which not only gets the most snow in the world - yes, more than the arctic, more than Siberia - but also receives the best snow in terms of its quality or feel.

Hokkaido is famous for its powder snow, a highly sought after product for snowboarders and skiers all over the world. I didn't really get it until I went to Hokkaido. Compared to the main island's snowy experience, this was on a whole other level.

But, I'm not talking about skiing today. I want to talk about how beautiful Hokkaido is. The memories of the things I've seen are still bouncing around in my memory as soon as I wake up each day.

Welcome to Sapporo

Sapporo is a lovely town, and shows you how not everywhere in Japan looks like Tokyo. Yes, it's still a highly developed city with neon lights and tall buildings, but it's significantly calmer and less dense. Snow was everywhere and at the time, it was PROFOUND. In hindsight after the whole trip, it was nothing heh.

There's not much to say about or do in Sapporo really. You can find plenty of things but nothing particularly stunning. It's more of a central point from which you can take a ton of day trips.

Though, we did find these beautiful light shows and German Christmas Market.

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Onuma National Park

The very next day we vanished and headed on our first 4-hour train ride to a coastal harbour town called Hakodate, making a spontaneous but wonderful stop at the Onuma Quasi-National Park.

It was the train ride there which was one of the major highlights. Easily the best train journey I've ever been on. The beauty of it all! Aside from the snowy landscape and quaint towns we passed through, most of the journey was straddling along the coast of the bay, so looking out of the window, you experience the snowy landscape meeting the beach and then the waves of the sea all in one, so close you could almost reach out and get your hands wet.

Perhaps among all we had seen on this trip, this little, indistinct national park which we covered completely within an hour or so provided me with the most beautiful scenery that I've seen in a decade or more.

I don't know if we got lucky with the weather or if it was standard at this time of year, but talk about a winter wonderland!

The following pictures/videos are not edited, AI, or anything else. Just raw footage from my Android phone.

This was just stunning. Mount Komagatake dominated the horizon with its blown-off top reminding you that this is one of the most active volcanoes in Japan. Just 400 years ago it caused a great famine. In the foreground, the untouched blanket of snow is in fact a lake, coated in ice hidden beneath the snow, thick enough to walk on or spend a day ice fishing if it pleases you.

This white canvas was huge and spread in all directions - most of the park was a thin path taking you through the lake.

As you can see, we went in the mid-late afternoon. The sun was setting at about 4pm and I think we made an incredible choice. Sure, there were no activities going on, the entrance had a small handful of restaurants all of which closed at 3pm, but we also saw NO other people after the entrance.

It was just me, my wife and my tinnitus. No sound of distant traffic or crying babies. Just the dreamy crunch of snow beneath our feet, and the silent pattering of snowfall magically contradicting the blue sky.

The following video I recorded is only 20 seconds long, but a reminder of the most tranquil, fleeting moment I can remember.

This place was a true reminder that Japan is so much more than just Tokyo, and holds more beauty than most people ever hear about or see.

[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 41.98902 lat 140.66880 long Onuma National Park d3scr))