Snow country, slow trains
Three weeks on the local lines north — Niigata to Aomori — where the timetables thin out, the carriages empty, and the snow does most of the talking.
By Regions
地方
Osorezan, the mountain of the dead
Sulphur, still water, and a quiet that sits somewhere between peace and unease.
Drift ice at dawn
The Sea of Okhotsk freezing over, shot from a very cold boat off Abashiri.
Miyajima on the last ferry
How to have the floating shrine almost to yourself, once the day-trippers go.
The slow boat to Taketomi
Sand streets, water buffalo, and an island that politely refuses to hurry.
Kamakura snow huts, after dark
Yokote in the blue hour, when the candles come on inside the snow.
お便り A letter, now and then
A letter from Japan, now and then
Once or twice a month I send a short note: somewhere I've been, a few photographs, and one small thing worth the detour. Nothing more, and easy to leave whenever you like.