It’s already been a year since that summer in Hokkaido in 2025, when I set out in search of wildlife.
My main job had become increasingly demanding at the time, and I often struggled to secure weekends for photography. Those were frustrating days.
Then, out of nowhere, I managed to take a few days off—and immediately drove east.
I’m still deeply grateful to the friend who always lets me stay over.
Such was the situation when I made up my mind and drove seven hours from Sapporo.
On that day, I boarded a fisherman-operated boat from Aidomari in Rausu to photograph brown bears.
It was a three‑hour round trip, and although I couldn’t find any bears along the coastline, I looked up at the rocky cliffs—and there he (or she?) was.
According to the fisherman, the bear had probably climbed up to eat seabird eggs, but with the rising tide, the path back down had been submerged.
Maybe the bear ended up taking a nap while waiting for the tide to recede.
Aside from that encounter, there wasn’t much else that day, and we returned to Aidomari Port.
That’s wildlife photography for you—there are plenty of days when you come home with nothing.
It was already past 11 a.m. when we got back. I didn’t want the day to end with just that, so I debated whether to head toward Shari or Shibetsu.
Since the weather was good, I decided to explore the Shibetsu and Betsukai area for more subjects.
However, searching for animals in the forest didn’t go well…
As the sun began to set, I took a chance and headed to my usual spot—Notsuke Peninsula.
While driving around, I was greeted by an Ezo deer, the same deer that usually jumps out onto the road and gives me a hard time.
I knew the water was shallow, but seeing the deer wading through it reminded me again of the strength of wildlife.
Whether it needed to cross the water is another question, though.
After driving all the way to the end of the Notsuke road and back, I was lucky enough to get a nice fox shot, and that wrapped up the day’s photography.
There was a fox sleeping right in the middle of the parking lot.
It’s a fairly busy place with tourists, cars, and buses coming and going, but the fox didn’t seem to care at all.
It must be used to it.
And honestly, I can’t say much—I was lying flat on the parking lot myself, waiting for the right moment to take photos.
Just when I thought the day was over and started heading back to my lodging, something popped out from the grass.
This turned out to be the best shot of the day.
I’ll be heading out again in September 2026, hopefully managing another trip—
and I hope I can capture something good.
