THE WILDERNESS OF Eastern HOKKAIDO

A Grand Tour with Michael Clark & George Nobechi

Dates: February 15 - 27, 2026

Optional Pre-Trip Extension: Winter Festivals and Snowy Calderas of Hokkaido (Feb 11 - 15, 2026)

OVERVIEW

Optional Pre-Trip Extension: Winter Festivals and Snowy Calderas of Hokkaido Feb 11~15, 2026

Nobechi Creative is proud to welcome back acclaimed outdoor and adventure photographer Michael Clark to Japan, this time in the stunning and stark wilderness of Eastern Hokkaido in the late winter, when the pack ice flows in from the Sea of Okhotsk and the landscapes are most stunning.

The trip will be conducted via a van with a dedicated driver so that Michael and George can dedicate their full attention to helping the six participants* who will be on this exclusive tour. The destinations are hand-picked by George, going back to his Japanese roots in Hokkaido. Careful consideration is given to winter driving conditions and driving distances between locations are kept to a minimum, ensuring the best opportunities to photograph.

Highlights include frozen lakes and ice fishing, guided snowshoeing, icebreaker cruises through the pack ice, early morning nature cruises to see Steller’s and White-Tailed eagles, lakes with swans and rivers with red-crowned cranes, and drives on the remote peninsulas of the far eastern reaches of Hokkaido, exploring fishing villages, and stopping for foxes, deer, and other wildlife along the way.

This is not a tour focused on the minimalist trees in fields that you see from many tours, or on the birds, but instead is a strategic and curated grand tour designed to take advantage of a variety of subjects to produce a well-rounded body of work that includes elements of landscapes, “new topographic” subjects, people, animals, trees, abstracts, mountains, ways of life and creativity. Any good photographic opportunity, with weather, light, and more, will be considered.

The activity level will be moderate+, with a couple of days of snowshoeing over mostly flat terrain, but a lot of time spent out in cold, winter conditions (with a warm van waiting).

Notes

• In December 2025, Michael will lead a special online seminar for participants only, focusing on useful information such as how to expose your photographs in winter conditions and how to post-process them.

• At the end of this trip, each participant should expect to have a strong portfolio of photographs from the silent wilderness of Eastern Hokkaido.

• The trip shares no locations with Winter in Central Hokkaido, led by Xuan-Hui Ng and Masumi Takahashi, February 2-9, 2026, which allows participants the possibility of joining both tours.

• An optional extension: Winter Festival and Snowy Calderas of Hokkaido will be offered February 11~15, 2026, to bridge the two expeditions. The extension will be led by George to visit the world famous Sapporo Snow Festival and the Otaru Yukiakari floating candle festival, followed by explorations of Lake Toya and Shikotsu, two beautiful caldera lakes with hot spring resorts. George’s mother still lives in Sapporo, his grandparents were from Otaru, and Toya and Shikotsu have been family retreat locations since his childhood.

Included

• 12 nights’ accommodations in the best available facilities in each location

• 12 dinners 

• 12 breakfasts

• Private van and driver

• Instruction from Michael and George

• Pre-tour online sessions led by Michael

• All activities, including cruises, admissions, and snowshoeing

• Classroom fees (where applicable)

• Fuel, highway tolls, parking fees, etc.

• Information package on travel to Japan

Not included

• Airfare - both international and domestic. **Please note that this trip begins and ends in Hokkaido. There are regular flights between Haneda (HND) and Sapporo-Chitose (CTS) on the front end (and less regular flights between Narita (NRT) and CTS), and regular flights between Kushiro (KUH) and Haneda on the back end, as well as train service from Kushiro to Sapporo.

• Lunches (cheapest meal of the day in Japan)

• Alcoholic beverages

• Travel Insurance - Eastern Hokkaido is a remote place - please ensure that your insurance is adequate in case of injury, to provide transportation to cities.

Class Size

Minimum 6, maximum 8 participants.

REGISTRATION FOR THIS WORKSHOP IS NOW CLOSED.

TO BE NOTIFIED THE NEXT TIME MICHAEL COMES TO JAPAN WITH US, FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW.

meet your teacher

About Michael Clark