Fully Booked! Hokkaido photography Tour/workshop February 14 - February 25, 2026. Join JDS in 2026 on Japan's most popular all-inclusive Hokkaido photo tour. Highlights include Hokkaido Birding Steller’s sea eagle, Shima Enaga, Red-crowned Cranes, Hokkaido Deer and dozens of other species, plus minimalist landscape photography in winter wonderland Hokkaido, Mt. Fuji, Snow Monkeys, and a day in the World of the Samurai at an original Samurai Castle and a sacred shrine in the Valley of The Dragons a Shiretoko Nature Cruise Hokkaido. Plus much, much more!

We advise participants to arrive a day earlier in Japan before the tour date and leave the day after the tour concludes. For hotels recommendations, we will advise participants on request.

Day 1, February 14: Arrival and pick up Tokyo, Haneda Airport International Terminal 10 a.m. place to be announced to participants. After meeting, we drive to Mt. Fuji we will spot the mute swan (Cygnus olor) which is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae, you will have an up close and personal encounter with them, due to local conservationists like me who feed these swans and other birds during winters, and they know us well.  We will also visit the Dragon’s cave and the Sea of Trees.  We will pick a spot for our sunset photo op. If time permits, we will visit all the Fuji five lakes, Yamanakako, Kawaguchiko, Saiko, Shojiko, and Motosuko lakes. Lake Motosuko is showcased on the back of the one thousand yen banknote with Fujisan in the backdrop. We will also visit ice caves and the sea of trees. Overnight at Mt. Fuji Hotel TBA (1 night) – Our lodgings have private and communal hot springs/male and female baths separately.  Western-style Rooms with bath and shower.  Dinner and breakfast at our hotel, lunch at a local establishment.

Day 2, 3 February 15, 16: After breakfast at our lodgings at Mt. Fuji, we depart for Suwa Taisha Shinto Shrines then travel to Matsumoto Castle, an original Samurai Castle completed in the sixteenth century, which maintains its original wooden interiors and external stonework. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan. It is one of the twelve remaining original tenshu (castles with keeps) in Japan. After a day experiencing ancient Japan and the world of the Samurai, Shinto priests, and power spots, we make our way to our accommodations at Shibu Onsen village, home to the snow monkeys. Here we will visit and photograph the wild Japanese macaque in their natural habitat and photograph them bathing in hot springs and around the mountain region of Shibu onsen village and Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park. There are approximately 300 monkeys in the area in 3 different troops. We will also visit a local Buddhist shrine that houses national treasures over 1,000 years old. Hotel at Snow Monkey Village TBA (2 nights) Rooms will have a shower bath, western or Japanese style room; plus, our lodgings will have communal hot springs/male and female bath separately. Breakfast and dinner at our hotel, lunch at a local restaurant.

Day 4, 5, February 17, 18: Transfer to Tokyo, Haneda Airport (HND) and fly to Kushiro, Hokkaido Airport (KUH) in the evening. The next day we will photograph The Red-Crowned Cranes, also known as the snow ballerinas, plus there are owls in the region. Hotel Two Nights Kushiro (TBA).  Our lodgings have communal hot springs/male and female bath separately. Rooms have a shower and are western style. Breakfast will be in our hotel; lunch will be at a local establishment, dinner will be outside at one of Hokkaido's and Japan's most famous Izakaya restaurants.

Day 6, February 19: After breakfast and check-out of our lodgings in Kushiro we will photograph The Red-Crowned Cranes. Then after lunch we will make our way to Lake Akan.  We will experience winter alpine Landscape photography, along with Giant Whooper Swans at Lake Kushiro. We will visit the Ainu first nations people of Japan and experience their culture and history. One night at Tsuruga Wings, the same lodgings expedition leaders and I have used when on assignment with National Geographic and other prestigious photographic agencies. Our lodgings are huge, and they have not one but two The North Face shops and a variety of other shops, including Ainu hand-carved wood crafts. Our hotel is known across Japan for its healing onsen. There are several communal hot springs/male and female bath separately; there are also paid private hot springs. Rooms have showers and western baths — breakfast and dinner in hotel Japanese, Italian and Chinese foods, lunch at a local restaurant.

Day 7, 8, February 20 - 21: After breakfast and check-out in  Akanko, we will make our way to the foothills of Hokkaido's eastern alpine route and check into a 4 star mountain lodge, where we will photograph the Blakiston's fish owl from the comforts of an indoor observatory.  During mornings at our mountain lodgings, we will photograph the Shima Enaga, the Hokkaido red squirrel, the Eurasian jay, the black capped chickadee, the Japanese weasel, the Great spotted woodpecker, and the pygmy woodpecker among other species.  During the daytime we will venture out to photograph minimalist landscape and the Ezo red foxes.   Hotel 2 Nights 4 star mountain lodge. Our lodgings have communal hot springs/male and female bath separately. Rooms have a shower bath and are western style. Breakfast will be in our hotel; lunch will be at a local establishment.

Day 9, 10, 11, February 22 - 24: After breakfast at our mountain lodge, we will travel to the Pacific coastline. Hokkaido Steller’s sea eagle photography time plus other wildlife such as the White-Tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Ezo Sika Deer, Ezo Red Fox, Shima Enaga, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, and many other bird species found in Japan.  In Rausu, we will board our (chartered boat) Shiretoko Nature Cruise Hokkaido for our trip into pack ice to photograph the Steller’s Sea Eagle. Sunsets are breathtaking in the Notsuke Peninsula region. (We have three mornings booked for private chartered boat to photograph the Steller’s sea eagle and white-tailed eagle feeding on pack-ice.) Hotel TBA. Rooms will be western or Japanese, and will have a shower bath. Our lodgings will also have hot springs, male and female bath separately—breakfast and dinner in the hotel lunch at a local restaurant.

Day 12 AM , February 25:  Before breakfast, we will have one last chance photographing the Steller’s Sea Eagles and other wildlife, either on boats or on land. After breakfast and a late morning checkout, we will make our way to Nakashibetsu, inland from the Pacific Coastline. It's about an hour drive, so we will have plenty of time to enjoy photographing minimalist landscapes or local wildlife along the way, lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon flight to Tokyo Haneda Domestic Terminal.  My team and I will be remaining in Hokkaido as our next group of photographers will be arriving as you depart.

Thank you, and we look forward to our next adventure together. 

Why Choose this Photography Tour/Workshop?

• Photographers of all levels are welcome.
• All Camera formats are welcome, digital, handy camera, scoping with iPhone large format, film, etc.
• Photograph the Steller's Sea Eagle, Red-Crowned Crane and Sika Deer up close and personal.
• Film the largest herd of Sika Deer on our planet.
• Transportation Private Sports Utility Vehicles with Business Class Seating.
• Activity level leisurely - moderate.
• Small group size equals quality time with participants questions are always welcome and encouraged. 
• Each evening and morning we discuss our best shooting options with our weather conditions so that you will be well prepared. 
• 2026 will be the tour leader's 28th year leading photo adventures in Japan.

Tour Cost: USD $9,975 Includes all lodgings based on double room occupancy, domestic flights in as described in the itinerary, all breakfasts lunches and dinners, all ground transportation sports utility vehicles with business class seating, all entrance fees, all donations at Buddhist- Shinto temples and shrines, photography guide instruction, receive a more detailed itinerary after sign up with clothing and gear recommendations.

Single Supplement: $1,140

Not Included: Flight to and from Japan, travel health insurance, alcohol beverages, hotel amenities and items of a personal nature

Registering For The Photography Tour/Workshop

This is going to be another magnificent winter wonderland adventure in Japan. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact JDS directly or call +81 90-6923-3427. This is an all-inclusive workshop. A JDS team member will pick you up at the airport and return you to the airport. Everything from the time you are picked up until you are dropped off is included except as noted above. To reserve your spot on this workshop a deposit of $1,000 USD is required upon registration. The full balance of the tour is due 90 days prior to the date of the workshop/photo tour. For cancellation and refunds, please see Terms and Conditions.