Very nice Coke!

Coke,

You finally made it to Hokkaido! Fabulous pictures!!

I remember you telling me about wanting to do it when we met in Shanghai. So many cranes, you were fortunate and your timing perfect. That shot with the eagle staring back at all the photogs. Wonder what his view was like?

OMG the breakfast at the lodge looks like a feast, oishi!
Jeez, Cokie looks like he's growing up before our eyes. Looks like he has grown since we saw him last.

Did you get to walk the sea ice at Utoro? I guess the Rausau Pass was open? I would have thought it would closed at that time of year but it looks from the pics that the road maintenance is very good at that time of year. How cold was it actually? Thanks again for sharing such a fab trip!

Aloha!

Thank you for sharing. Looks like a very successful trip. You are lucky to be able to do these short trips. Cokie is certainly bigger than when we last saw him.

Wow, incredible wildlife photos!
To have seen those eagles so close must have been awesome.
Thanks for sharing.

What great photos! I loved the dancing cranes, though the Hokkadio squirrels were very cute.

wonderful pics as usual

bob

Thanks everyone! It was an amazing adventure - far exceeded our expectations. As for logistics, we rented a Europcar and self-drove the route. This is my preferred way to travel Japan - very easy and for a family of three, probably even cheaper and a heck of a lot more fun than messing with trains and busses, with 50kgs of camera gear, not to mention normal luggage...

The roads were very well maintained. There were teams of trucks and plows out after and during every snow. The Rausu pass though was closed for the winter so we sadly missed Uturo. To get to the squirrels (Abashiri), we had to backtrack to Shibetsu and then up to the north.

Not sure if I told everyone, but we're moving to Thailand later this year! We took a contract in Bangkok so we're heading home. We'll miss China for sure but I think we may actually increase our travel ops down that way a bit. Not sure when we'll get back to Japan but I already have a killer Kyuushuu itineray in the works!

Cheers,

Coke

You said it yourself: absolutely stunning.

I spent 2 weeks in Hokkaido in June a couple of years ago--glad to see it through your eyes in the spectacular winter!

Moving to Thailand - how wonderful! I'm envious.

Wow, what a wonderful report... beautiful pictures and a nice insight into what looks like a terrific trip!

Thanks everyone!

Spent a few days chilling out in Carmel/Monterey/Pacific Grove and just found this thread, the pix are stunning as usual.

Congrats on your move home, that's terrific news, SAS will surely miss you all. Btw, we are coming in May, will talk soon about planning a GTG.