Japan - Part 3 Day trips from Niseko

Day trips - from Niseko

#holiday #travelphotography #glenclaydonphotography #otaru #japan #hokkaido #sapporo

Ok there are some days that you just need to give your feet and legs a rest from the ski slopes (unless you are 23!! ) As well as plenty to see and do around the village, there are a few day trips you can easily fit in to vary your trip a little.

The town of Kutchan is only 15 mins on a bus from the ski village. It is well worth a trip in to stock up on food/drink supplies and just to have a shop around. There are some awesome restaurants as well.  It is a fairly industrial town but has everything you need including snow gear at great prices.

This is the Ice bar at Niseko which gets built somewhere different every year. There is usually a proper bar with drinks and bar stools inside, just no heating of course!

We ventured north east to the township of Otaru, where the snow meets the ocean.

This place has the most interesting architecture, mostly all old but quite varied in style. 

Some of the architecture in town

And yes there are shrines here too

Most of these shots were taken with an iPhone. Mainly the square ones as it was too cold to take the big camera out and spend time fiddling with the settings. A tip for shooting in these conditions is to keep your battery out of the camera and inside your jacket so it stays warm against your body heat. If things get too cold they will freeze up, this happened with the iPhone once or twice. The thought of being cold right now is so appealing as I write this amid the tropical norths humidity. 

There are some weird sites to see here, it wouldn't be Japan without them....they are into glass blowing big time here, and there are heaps of xmas themed gift shops.

This is the famous canal running through town in Otaru

We bought some of these spongey rolls after watching them being made...soooooo good!

More weirdness and glass gift shops

I had an afternoon photography tour with the wonderful Glen Claydon who lives in Niseko. He took me to some beautiful locations that I would never have found on my own. We were up to our thighs in snow a couple of times, to get to where we wanted to be but the snow here is so dry and fluffy you don't actually get wet.  I highly recommend organising a trip with Glen while you are in town. 

These are some of my favourite photos from this stunning country.

The man himself...

 Me getting this shot, only knee deep here

An outdoor onsen

Our last trip was a day in Sapporo where all the shopping is pretty much underground, you can walk multiple city blocks from under the streets keeping warm and just pop up where you want to go. 

The Sapporo TV Tower 

The view from up top

Farewell Japan, until next time!