Photo Tour of Japan | Shirogane Falls

Mar 01 | Evan | No Comments |

There are not too many hotel choices close to the Blue Pond and in the Shirogane Onsen area, but the hotel we stayed at, Shirogane Park Hills, is just a minutes walk away from a bridge overlooking Shirogane Falls. This is great for rolling out of bed early in the morning and seeing if the weather/light is worth it to take some photos, otherwise you can just go back to bed! If the weather is clear, and you have a wide enough lens, you can get the waterfall and the mountains of Daisetsuzan National Park in the background.

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While our timing was pretty good with autumn leaves, I wish the mountains had some snow on them but we were a little too early for the first snow of the season for Daisetsuzan National Park. I’m not sure if I would drive all the way from Asahikawa or even Biei just for Shirogane Falls, but since it is so close to Blue Pond, maybe 5 – 10 minutes by car, it is certainly worth it!

More from this photo tour of Japan is coming soon! Here is the list of the places we visited and photographed in Japan.

Shiretoko Five Lakes
Shiretoko Pass
Utoro Sunsets
Furepe Waterfall
Oshinkoshin Waterfall
Lake Akan
Lake Mashu
Lake Onneto
Sounkyo Onsen
Kamikawa Angus Farm
Ginga Waterfall
Lake Daisetsuko
Sounkyo Ropeway
Oobako
Blue Pond (Aoi Ikke)
Shirogane Falls – You are here!
Moss Garden Temple (Kokedera)
Bamboo Forrest in Arashiyama
Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji)
Nanzenji
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Portrait session with models in kimonos

Interested in your own custom photo tour and experiences in Japan? Contact Japan Photo Guide today to start your adventure!

Photo Tour of Japan | Blue Pond

Feb 22 | Evan | No Comments |

If you have a Mac, there is a good chance you have seen Blue Pond or Aoi Ikke before as it is one of the National Geographic photos is a desktop photo that comes with Mac OS. While I would love to visit this lake and Hokkaido in the Winter, we were visiting the Shirogane Onsen area in the fall. While technically it is in Biei, the Blue Pond is about an hour drive from Asahikawa and about 2 hours from Sounkyo Onsen. Whether you are coming from Sounkyo, Asahikawa or even Sapporo, I would recommend adding Aoi Ikke to your itinerary for Hokkaido!

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That being said, finding information about the Blue Pond in English, might prove to be a little harder than you would think! If you have time, I would recommend first stoping at the information center before making your way to Blue Pond as they can provide a map of the area that is helpful for exploring, hiking and just finding your way around. Here is the a link to the google map where the Blue Pond is located. There is no opening or closing time, so you can go as early in the morning you want to wait for that great morning light. On a clear day, you can also see the mountains of Daisetsuzan National Park.