Keen to cover new ground and enjoy Hokkaido’s cooler temperatures, a friend and I spent several days towards the end of August travelling the island’s eastern coast by local train. There was no real agenda as such. No tourist places to tick off. Just a semi-random exploration of the area’s smaller towns and villages, or occasionally, when connections dictated, the quieter side of bigger settlements.
Some of the trip’s resultant photos have appeared on these pages already, and one or two of them have been included here, as they seemed to fit a broader selection quite well. But basically, the chosen images are a fairly good representation of what we saw, and in many ways, what we set out to see.
Dean says
Beautiful set. I love the abandoned shots and sunset ending!
Lee says
Thank you. Good to hear. The last one isn’t my usual kind of photo, but it did seem suitable as the final image.
DavidT says
Very cool! They make me feel nostalgic for summer! 🙂
Lee says
Cheers. Might feel like that in the middle of winter, but after the heat and length of the summer here, I’m more than happy it’s done and dusted!
cdilla says
You’ve spoiled us with this collection. So much to explore.
The Dog: The spades and sled tell of the snow to come. Pity the dog when it does. His house looks too small.
The Telephone Club: Reminds me of a joke whereby you pay a large sum to access an exclusive area of a club only to find that the door to it puts you out on the street 🙂
The slouchy house: That cannot be safe to live it!
The green clothing store(?): Absolutely my favourite. That green is the same as the face of my favourite watch. And that smile is just a delight.
Lee says
Cheers. Glad to hear it.
Felt terribly sorry for that dog. Left on its own in a far from nice place. The Telephone Club is quite possibley as much of a scam as the joke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekura
And the green clothes shop. Ah, she was absolutely lovely. I was taking a photo and she came out to ask what we were doing. That resulted in a nice chat (the shop has long sinced closed), and that even nicer farewell smile.
cdilla says
Maybe the place got sick of people asking if there was a “telephone club” option and just pointed them down to the door if anyone asked.
Lee says
Haha, quite possibly!
Fred says
Lee, fantastic, what a great collection of this late summer in Japan. I hope you can go back during winter season to Hokkaido and we’ll see another set of amazing shots and atmosphere.
Lee says
Thanks a lot, Fred. Yes, do need to go in winter at least once. Definitely a very different place then, and a chance to take some very different photos.
Daniel says
Great ! I like your sensibility.
Lee says
Thank you very much. Really good to hear.