[Capturing the Rivers of Hokkaido!]
Winters in Tokachi Make you Forget the Cold

A lone Japanese elm, approximately 140 years old stands on the riverbed of the Tokachi River, in Horooka, Toyokoro.
As I begin photographing the area, 30 minutes before the sun came up to capture the sunrise, my fingers become numb from the cold and I have difficulty pressing the shutter release; the temperature is below minus 20 degrees this morning.
The sun slowly shows its sleepy face above the horizon, giving light to the Japanese elm tree, and I forget the cold as I am enamored by the remarkable scene.

Harsh cold days continue during winter in Tokachi, however there are many sunny days familiarly referred to as “Tokachibare,” or “Tokachi sunny days.” On days like this, the vast blue sky and big sunrises and sunsets can be seen.
The harmony between nature and human life is evident in the JR Nemuro Main Line as it runs through the river mist of the Tokachi River, and the twinkling lights of Tokachigawa Hot Springs and Obihiro City, which can seen from Tokachigaoka Lookout in Otofuke.

Japanese elm tree in Horooka, the left bank of the Tokachi River