Autumn in Hokkaido
Sapporo's golden ginkgo trees, Hakodate's port views, and late-night food stalls — a short autumn trip on film.
Hokkaido in October is that perfect in-between. Summer is gone but winter hasn’t arrived yet. The trees are turning, the air is crisp, and everything feels like it’s holding its breath before the snow comes.
Sapporo: Ginkgo Season
We timed it right. The ginkgo trees along Hokkaido University’s main avenue were at peak yellow-green — that stage where the leaves are still on the branches but the ground is already carpeted with gold. It’s the kind of place where you burn through film without thinking.
Joanna was in her element, camera in hand, looking up at the canopy. I shot her more than the trees, honestly. The light filtering through the ginkgo leaves gave everything a warm glow that film handles better than digital ever could.
We also found a sculpture park nearby — a giant face emerging from the ground, surrounded by autumn maples and oaks. The kind of thing you stumble onto when you’re not trying too hard.
Hakodate: Windows and Light
Hakodate was quieter. We stayed in a hotel overlooking the port, and the view from the window — the curving highway, the rail yards, the mountains in the distance — felt like a photograph before I even picked up the camera.
The best frame from Hakodate might be the simplest one: Joanna standing at a window, backlit by the late afternoon sun, looking out at the city. No landmark, no tourist attraction. Just a person and a window and good light.
Sapporo Nights
Sapporo at night has a different energy. We wandered into a food stall district and found a place still decorated for Halloween — pumpkin lanterns and all. The fluorescent lights and crowded counters felt straight out of a Wong Kar-wai film.
On the walk back, a white taxi idling at a red light caught my eye. Something about the way the streetlights hit it — the old-school Toyota Crown shape, the blue roof light, the quiet street. One frame, done.
Ten frames from Hokkaido. Not a lot, but sometimes a short roll says more than a full one. Autumn there is brief and beautiful, and film is the right way to remember it.