# Hokkaido > Hokkaido is the one place in Japan where snow is reliable enough to book months ahead: from December to March the Biei hills, Otaru’s canal and the slopes below Mt Yotei are white almost every day. This page as HTML: https://www.komorebis.cc/destinations/hokkaido - Coordinates: 43.0621, 141.3544 - Nearest airport: CTS Hokkaido is a fifth of Japan’s land area, so a shoot here is really a choice of base. Sapporo has the Snow Festival in early February and the city lights; Otaru, 35 minutes away by train, has the stone warehouses along its canal; Biei and Furano, about two and a half hours by car, have the rolling fields — lavender in July, snow from December — and the Shirogane Blue Pond. Niseko, two hours south-west, has powder snow and Mt Yotei’s symmetrical cone; Lake Toya has a caldera lake that does not freeze. This is also the most open place on our list for drones. Away from Sapporo’s densely inhabited district and New Chitose Airport, a registered drone with standard permissions can fly over open land — with the landowner’s consent, because the famous Biei fields are working farms. The cautionary tale is the Tree of Philosophy, a lone poplar the owner cut down in 2020 after years of tourists trampling his crops. Winter adds its own limits: at −10 °C batteries last half as long, and a snow session runs in 20–30 minute blocks with a warm car close by. ## When to go Snow from December to March, deepest and driest in January and February; the Sapporo Snow Festival runs for about a week in early February. Cherry blossom reaches Sapporo in late April to early May. There is no real rainy season. Lavender at Farm Tomita peaks in early to mid-July, and the hills of Biei are patchworks of crops from July to August. Autumn colour starts in the Daisetsuzan mountains in mid-September — the earliest in Japan — and reaches Sapporo in late October. - **Cherry blossom**: Late April to early May (Sapporo, Hakodate) - **Autumn leaves**: Mid-September in the Daisetsuzan mountains to late October in Sapporo - **Snow**: December to March, most reliable in January and February ## Getting there New Chitose Airport (CTS) is about 1 h 30 min from Tokyo; the JR Rapid Airport train reaches Sapporo in about 37 minutes. Otaru is 35–45 minutes from Sapporo by JR. For Biei and Furano, Asahikawa Airport is closer, about 20 minutes from Biei; from Sapporo it is about 2 h 30 min by car. Niseko is about two hours by bus or car from CTS. In winter we drive with snow tyres and add buffer time. ## Kimono Rental shops operate in Otaru and Sapporo, and a kimono against canal snow or a winter lantern path is a striking frame. In winter we add a fur-trimmed shawl, thermal layers and snow boots under the hem, and keep outdoor blocks short. For the flower fields of Biei and Furano, a light summer yukata from July is more practical than a full kimono. ## Rules on location Do not step into Biei’s farm fields, even when they look like open meadow — they are crops, and several viewpoints have been closed or trees removed because of trespassing. Use pull-offs, not road shoulders, when stopping for photographs. At onsen in Niseko and Lake Toya, no cameras in the baths. At the Shirogane Blue Pond, stay behind the rope; the water’s colour depends on undisturbed minerals. ## Drone Open countryside away from airports and towns, with a registered drone and the standard permissions. ## Photo spots ### Shirogane Blue Pond - Coordinates: 43.4935, 142.6144 - Best time: Morning on still days; winter evenings for the light-up - Access and permits: Free; car park about ¥500; stay behind the rope A pond coloured milky blue by aluminium-rich spring water, with dead larch trunks standing in it. It is a small site with a single path, so it works for a few frames rather than a session. Wind ruffles the surface and kills the reflections — mornings are calmer. - **May–October**: Bluest on sunny mornings after several dry days; rain turns the water greener. - **November–April**: The pond freezes and is snow-covered, and is lit up in the evenings; the blue shows only where the ice is thin. ### Farm Tomita, Nakafurano - Coordinates: 43.4189, 142.4271 - Best time: Early morning in early to mid-July - Access and permits: Free entry Striped flower beds of lavender, poppy and baby’s breath on a slope, with the Tokachi range behind. By 10:00 in July the coaches arrive. Shikisai-no-oka in Biei, 30 minutes north, has wider rainbow fields and charges entry. - **Early–mid July**: Lavender peak; low sun before 08:00 sidelights the rows and the fields are almost empty. - **August**: Lavender is cut, but the other beds keep the stripes going until about September. ### Otaru Canal - Coordinates: 43.199, 141.0029 - Best time: Blue hour; February for the Snow Light Path - Access and permits: Free — public canal walk Stone warehouses from the early 1900s along a curving canal, with gas lamps that light at dusk. The bridge at Asakusa-bashi is the classic frame and the busiest; the walk north towards Kitaunga is quieter. During the Snow Light Path in February, candles in snow lanterns line the water. ### Odori Park, Sapporo - Coordinates: 43.0597, 141.3478 - Best time: Evening during the Snow Festival; mornings otherwise - Access and permits: Free — public park A 1.5 km park strip through central Sapporo with the TV Tower at its eastern end. In early February the Snow Festival fills it with snow and ice sculptures, lit until 22:00; it is shoulder to shoulder in the evening. In winter outside the festival, the White Illumination lights the trees. ### Mt Yotei from Niseko - Coordinates: 42.8628, 140.6987 - Best time: Clear mornings after snowfall - Access and permits: Free from public roads and resort grounds; drones only with landowner consent A near-perfect volcanic cone, 1,898 m, rising over the Niseko valley, often called Ezo Fuji. Snow-covered fields and birch woods in the foreground make a quieter alternative to the Biei hills. Clear days are rarer in deep winter, when Niseko’s powder comes from frequent snowfall. ### Lake Toya - Coordinates: 42.565, 140.8187 - Best time: Sunrise from the south shore; summer fireworks nights - Access and permits: Free on the lakeshore A round caldera lake with an island in the middle and Mt Yotei visible to the north on clear days. The lake does not freeze, so winter shoots get open water against snowy shores. From late April to October, fireworks are launched over the water most nights. ## Covered at no travel charge Sapporo, Otaru, Biei, Furano, Asahikawa, Niseko, Lake Toya, Jozankei, Hakodate ## Popular here - [Snow photoshoot](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/snow-photoshoot.md) — from $330; 15 edited photos within 3 days - [Pre-wedding photoshoot](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/pre-wedding.md) — from $800; 15 edited photos within 7 days - [Couple photoshoot](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/couple-photoshoot.md) — from $220; 15 edited photos within 3 days - [Honeymoon photoshoot](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/honeymoon.md) — from $300; 15 edited photos within 3 days - [Family photoshoot](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/family-vacation.md) — from $220; 15 edited photos within 3 days - [Travel film](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/travel-film.md) — from $430; 30–45 s film + 15 s vertical cut within 7 days - [Aerial portrait in the landscape](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/drone-landscape.md) — from $530; 15 edited photos and 15 s vertical aerial clip within 7 days - [Drone photo & video](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/drone-photo-video.md) — from $470; 15 edited photos and 30 s aerial film within 7 days - [Property & resort drone](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/property-drone.md) — from $730; 15 edited photos and 45 s aerial film within 10 days - [Japan photoshoot](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/japan-photoshoot.md) — from $220; 15 edited photos within 3 days ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you fly a drone over the Biei hills? Yes, outside densely inhabited districts and airport zones, with a registered drone — and with the landowner’s consent, which we arrange before the day. We do not fly over people we do not know, roads with traffic or the Blue Pond viewing area. ### How cold is a winter shoot in Hokkaido? Sapporo averages around −4 °C in January, Biei often −10 to −15 °C in the morning. We shoot in short blocks, carry hand warmers and keep the car running nearby. Batteries — camera and drone — are kept inside jackets between frames. ### Should we base ourselves in Sapporo or Biei? Sapporo for the city, Otaru and the Snow Festival; Biei or Furano for the fields and the Blue Pond, which are too far for a sunrise from Sapporo. Two nights in each is a sensible split. --- Komorebi · https://www.komorebis.cc