“There’s a bear over there!,” the young man seated next to me exclaimed as he pointed excitedly at the shore. “It’s right by the fishing nets on the beach, close to the water,” he added, prompting the other 39 passengers on our boat to pull out their binoculars in a bid to glimpse the furry animal we had all been hoping to see that afternoon. We were on one of the small cruise boats that travel along the coast of… Read more »
The first time I heard the name Biei was when we were driving through an expansive landscape of rolling hills and open skies in the middle of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island that is famous for its powder snow, rugged terrain and unspoiled nature. Not only had I never heard of this small town, the name, like those of many areas in Hokkaido, sounded distinctly un-Japanese, giving the place an exotic feel, even though all the signs were in Japanese and… Read more »
The sky is big and the waves are rough along the stretch of sea that separates Japan from its northern neighbour, Russia. We are staring out across the Soya Strait from Wakkanai (稚内), on the northwestern tip of Hokkaido. On a clear day, it is possible to catch a glimpse of Sakhalin, Russia’s largest island that lies just 159 kilometres away. But today, the clouds are thick, the wind is swift and Sakhalin is shrouded in haze beyond the grayish… Read more »
