October in Hokkaido I: Nature

And again: Japan (for the fourth time). And once more, in Autumn (second time during this colorful and slightly chilly season). But exploring an island I had never visited before, further up North, the expansive Hokkaido, home to uncountable mountains, valleys and landscapes to inspire the eye (and the camera). The island is very large, but our trip was going to last only 10 days, so for this trip there we focused on the central region, covering a 3 hour radio (by train) from the capital city, Sapporo, the main attraction at this time of year, not surprisingly, being autumn foliage.

Shirahige colors, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The Forest, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Toyohira River, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Autumn Foliage, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

But interspersed with ochre and yellow, orange and red, we also found blue and green, turquoise and lavender, both up in the sky (surprisingly clear most of the times) as below our feet, for there were lakes and ponds with colors as changing and varied as the times of day, granting multiple visits to the same stop a never-ending opportunity to discover new hues and sights you hadn't witnessed before.

The Blue Pond I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The Blue Pond II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The Blue Pond III, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The Blue Pond IV, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The Blue Pond V, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The Blue Pond VI, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The Blue Pond VII, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

And water, for this essential element is ubiquitous in the island, be it streaming down the rocky slopes in waterfalls of varied sizes or still as a mirror in the steps of a riverbed. Water playing the game of gravity to the eye's delight or immobile to glimmer with reflections of all that lies above, leaves and branches and clouds and skies, the world bleared in a cadence of a watercolor painting.

Fudo no taki I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Fudo no taki II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Reflections I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Reflections II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Also trunks, canopies and twigs all around, nature permeating most of the space with its hymn of fertility and of beauty (death that brings new life, life that has come to an end to generate new life), the endless circle of life is omnipresent and can be seen and felt everywhere you go with a myriad shades of light and transparency that are always different and the same.

The Stump, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Autumn Leaves, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Looking Up, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Autumn Sky, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

A Touch of Autumn, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Sapporo Botanical Garden, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

And finally, the steam, the basalt, the sulphur, the heat, the smell. Hokkaido (as all the Japanese archipelago) is a land of volcanoes, and you don't have to travel far from any city to encounter one of them, sometimes in the shape of a distant crater towering above hills and knolls, some other times as bubbly and poisonous lakes. Yet even those deadly waters have their uses, and nothing better than them to soothe the tired feet and body in an ardent bath.

Jigokudani (Hell Valley) I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Jigokudani (Hell Valley) II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Jigokudani (Hell Valley) III, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Jigokudani (Hell Valley) IV, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Jigokudani (Hell Valley) V, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Oyunuma Pond I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Oyunuma Pond II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

What a beautiful island Hokkaido is! Never gaudy, never affected but quiet and unpretentious, it offers the visitor the best gift a traveler can wish for: the radiance of an unexpected moment of beauty in the least likely of places.

Steam or Cloud?, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm