Impossibly Blue—and Icy—Skies of Hokkaido
Hokkaido Travel Diaries: announcement of the new series and look back at 2024.
Good afternoon,
I hope you're having a peaceful Sunday and a joyful holiday season. Whether it's summer or winter where you are, or you're spending this time alone, with family, with friends, or all together, I hope it’s a relaxing time for you.
Tokyo is sunny and cold, yet at 8°C, it’s still 20 degrees warmer than where I was last week—Biei in Hokkaido.
This small town of 9,000 residents, whose name combines the kanji for "beauty" and "crystal" — 美瑛, has gained considerable recognition in recent years for its stunning landscapes. While the main draw is the lavender and flower fields that color the region in summer, much like Provence, its winter charm, as I experienced last week, also draws significant attention—public buses running at double capacity, hotels fully booked, and dinner reservations often required.
Beyond the major sites, which can feel overwhelming at first due to the crowds but are still worth a visit, the region remains ideal for more secluded winter walks and countless awe-inspiring moments, thanks to its isolated yet strangely inviting winter scenery—provided you’re dressed for -10°C temperatures and don’t mind the occasional (soft) fall into the snow.
So, this out-of-the-ordinary visit to your inbox, as mentioned in this year's final monthly letter from early December, is to announce the new travel diaries series, which will run from January 1st to January 5th, 2025, followed by a brief wrap-up of 2024 posts for the benefit of new subscribers.
Hokkaido winter trip diaries
While I initially planned to spend a few days in Biei and then take advantage of JR Hokkaido's extensive train network to chase the snow, I ended up staying the entire week, exploring the town and its surrounding areas. The cozy, snow-covered town, with its charming Christmas atmosphere, was simply too irresistible—especially when paired with impeccably blue skies during the day, a first for me during a winter visit to Hokkaido.
Also, I hadn’t expected to spend so much time outdoors and be able to take long walks, given the freezing temperatures. However, once I felt confident that I wouldn’t freeze to death—thanks to Uniqlo’s ultra-heattech undershirts and pants (priced under USD 15 in Japan)—I started skipping the bus and train as much as possible, which gave me another reason to extend my stay.
The diaries will cover Biei and the adjacent Asahikawa City, which, despite its ordinariness, surprisingly blows my mind every single time I visit. Following my itinerary, each post will highlight spots like Christmas Tree, Shirahige Waterfall, Blue Pond (once featured as a MacBook default wallpaper), Asahidake—Hokkaido's highest mountain in Daisetsuzan National Park—and my favorite hiking destination in Japan, which, in winter, looks like a perfect setting for a disaster movie: incredibly un-hikeable (honestly, hostile), but still undeniably beautiful.
Given that it gets dark a little after 3:30 p.m. in December in Biei, there will also be a focus on indoor activities, including where I ate, where I intended to eat but didn’t, or places that were recommended to me. Biei and the nearby Furano area, in addition to their landscape, are known for their restaurant scene, with a high number of eateries and cafés that, surprisingly for rural Japan, tend to be open rather than merely being an inspiring dot on Google Maps.
The travel diaries series is a feature for monthly and annual subscribers. If you’d like to join, there is an offer available until January 5th. On the final day of the diary posts, I will also share a searchable PDF, similar to a Lonely Planet format, covering the entire set of diaries. I thought it might be useful to create something printable and downloadable if you plan a similar trip.1
Reflecting on 2024
I am deeply grateful to everyone who subscribed to this newsletter and showed support. Thanks to you, this year has been the most joyful of my travel blogging journey, which began in 2013 during a sabbatical year and continued over the last decade with a modest following. My website, and now this newsletter, have provided me with an independent platform to reflect on my travels in a more meaningful and lasting way, without getting too caught up in the ups and downs of social media. And for that, I am truly thankful.
As 2024 draws to a close, I thought it would be helpful to provide a brief overview of the year, highlighting some of the destinations and themes covered in this newsletter.
Monthly letters
The monthly letters this year covered specific destinations and trips, such as Rebun Island in Hokkaido and the Great Ocean Walk in Australia, as well as theme-focused ones like the Pilgrimage Routes of Japan, my favorite cities in Japan other than Tokyo and Kyoto, five books about Japan, and more.
Travel diaries
In 2024, in addition to the monthly letters available to all subscribers, I launched a new travel diaries series. It began with an eight-day walk through the Goto Islands off the coast of Nagasaki, my favorite small island in Japan, known for its stunning ocean beauty, welcoming locals, and rich history. The islands were once home to the Hidden Christians of Japan, the story of which was featured in Martin Scorsese's Silence, based on the much more layered novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo. Another series covered a long weekend trip to Tokashiki Island in Okinawa, which I try to visit every summer. The Kyoto Trail series, posted in November, was the most hiking-intensive of the travel diaries.
The travel diaries series will continue as part of the monthly and annual subscription plans, as long as there are diary-worthy trips to share. In months without travel diaries, paid subscribers will instead receive a single itinerary-specific post (e.g., one week in Kyushu), along with the regular monthly letters available to all subscribers.
Sunday posts
In 2024, there were also occasional, unscheduled posts tagged as #sundayposts, covering random destinations or topics like One Fine Autumn Day in Kyoto, Dreamy Hot Springs of Japan, and my reflections on the concept of the weekend—after a lengthy period of working from home, inspired by the late Maggie Smith’s iconic TV line: “What is a weekend?” To avoid visiting your inbox too often, these posts were posted only on Substack (without a paywall) and were not emailed separately.
I’m looking forward to 2025 and exploring and sharing more of Japan with you.
Once again, thank you for being here. I’ll be back on January 1st with the first post of the Hokkaido Winter Travel Diaries for monthly and annual subscribers. Wishing you a wonderful New Year.
Until next time,
Burcu
The first post of the diaries is now out:
Hokkaido Travel Diaries: Day 1 - Bringing out the Rainbow
This will be a feature of all future travel diaries moving forward.
I've taken out a paid sub as I'm going to Japan next May and you sound like a great guide! :)
The stand of trees is wonderful. Hokkaido is going to the top of the list....