After so much time spent in Tokyo, the space and comparatively sparse population of Hokkaido create a wonderful sense of escape. In fact, the area is so different, that it sometimes feels like another country, rather than somewhere a mere shinkansen ride away. And as previously documented, the region’s train stations are often beautifully, and even eerily empty. But that odd feeling of a land utterly unoccupied doesn’t just stop there. Away from the main hubs, it’s amazing just how lacking in humans the landscape can be. An unusual experience, that at certain times, and in certain places, makes it feel like the island’s people have all inexplicably disappeared.
Coli says
Great colors in these pictures. Was that school completely empty?
Lee says
Thanks. The sky the first few days we were there was absolutely beautiful.
Yeah, completely empty. Abandoned. Not sure how long it has been that way, but it definitely isn’t in use anymore…
Coli says
Did you venture inside? 🙂 I’d love to see a haikyo series from this trip. It always amazes me that so much effort was made in establishing Hokkaido for so many years……
Lee says
I tried, but disappointingly it was completely sealed. No way in at all. It was the same with other potentially interesting places we found too. Well, except for one, but it was rubbish…
Todd Hart says
hi these are really nice. I was just in Hokkaido last month and took pics too but I love yours. Can you tell me which camera you used for these photos?
My pics are here.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalstonshopper/sets/72157673920783236
Lee says
Nice. Looks like a good time was had all by all. It’s a wonderful place, isn’t it?
Thanks! After a typhoon to start the trip, we had some lovely weather afterwards. Yeah, no problem. I use a Leica M(262) and a 35mm lens for pretty much everything — these photos included.
Todd Hart says
Ah yes that makes sense. I use a Sony RX1 for my digital photos but the ones I posted on the link above are taken with an old Hasselblad. The colors are a lot less saturated.
Lee says
The glorious post-typhoon weather played a big part in these colours. Everything was just so wonderfully bright and clear. A real gift.
cdilla says
A eerie set of strikingly beautiful photographs. Straying again across the boundaries of your “Photography” and “Haikyo” sections. I like the nod to Nakano-san in your title too, who’s book is currently on my bedside table along with a large magnifying glass for close inspection – which is exactly what your photographs demand. I’ll be taking a longer look at each in this set, but especially like for now the tree keeping watch out of the the upstairs window in the fourth photograph.
The sun-bleached abandoned toy outside that tunnel hints at a story. What is that tunnel for/to?
Lee says
Cheers. A very respectful nod seemed appropriate. Been tempted to buy a first edition of the book a few times when it has become available, but haven’t as yet. One of my favourite book shops here has a few pints for sale too, but they are understandably very pricey. One day, perhaps…
Very honoured too hear my shots get the same magnifying glass treatment. Wanted to take a closer look inside that house myself, but clambering through the incredibly overgrown and presumably bug-filled approach in just a t-shirt and shorts just wasn’t going to happen unfortunately.
That last shot is definitely my favourite. There has to be a story, but what it is remains a complete mystery, which in many ways is absolutely perfect. Oh, and the tunnel was for a road that ran right along the coast. We saw remnants of it right by the sea. Obviously long gone, but it must have been a spectacular drive.
Al says
Love the colors. Soooo peaceful! 🙂
Lee says
Thanks. We had incredibly good weather for a few days. Made everything so much easier, not to mention more enjoyable.
LAObserver says
A great photo set Lee. I really add my compliments to the other commenters about the colors you captured. I did not see much of the coastal waters when I visited Tokyo 3 years ago, but your photos always show the beautiful blue of the Nihonjin waters.
Lee says
Thanks a lot. As I’ve mentioned above, it was post-typhoon, so we were treated to some incredibly bright and clear days. The storm made our journey up there very stressful to say the least, but the days following more than made up for it.
This part of Hokkaido felt very different from my previous two jaunts up there. Certainly hadn’t seen blues like this before. But I guess that’s another beauty of the place — it’s so big it has numerous sides to its personality. Just need to find the time to see more of them now.
Squidpuppy says
Love that shot of the clapboard siding house nestled in an overgrown gully – such an image of quiet decay back into nature. The place looks like it’s sleeping, dreaming of better days. I wonder what it was like in its heyday.
These haikyo shots always make me think of what theses places must have been like when full of life. A nice retreat at one time, worthy of pride of place. Is the ocean nearby?
Lee says
Cheers.
I know. That’s what I always think. How nice it must have been when it was first built. The hopefully happy times people once had there. But then also, and perhaps inevitably, why did they leave? And why has it been allowed to get in the state it is…?
It was, yes. I took the shot from the old, now quite coastal road (the modern bypass is just visible in the top of the frame). If I’d turned 180 degrees, I would have been equidistance between the house and the sea. So a lovely spot with a great view.