From the category archives:

Panoramas

Niseko Tsunami Relief Program

by glen on September 2, 2011

This summer many local companies and individuals came together to try and make a difference in the lives of people living in the earthquake and tsunami affected regions on the main island of Honshu. Groups were invited to stay in the Niseko Hirafu, property owners and management companies generously donated accommodation, the Japanese government offered subsidized travel assistance, local business donated services and local people volunteered time to help out.

The Niseko Tsunami Relief Program looked after the group and offered a large range of activities for participants from English lessons, games, all kinds to sports including hiking and much more – the weekly BBQ’s were also held drawing large numbers.

It was really good meeting some of participants and I went hiking a few times with different groups.
A lot to the kids from down south haven’t been able to get outdoors as much as usual so they were having lot’s of fun running around which was good to see.

Locals helping out with BBQ duties !

Near the BBQ venue I had never really taken much notice of the mini waterfall and pond in the park just below the J First hotel and it was nice to see the kids catching tadpoles and cooling down there during the hot weather.

Wishing all the participants the best back home.

Tagged as: hiking, Hirafu, Hokkaido, Japan, niseko, people, Photography

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Hirafu Matsuri Delivers

by glen on August 21, 2011

After a doubtful start to the day with a heavy downpour threatening the festival the sun returned stalls were relocated to drier ground and the festival went on.
(click on the images to view them at a larger sizes)

Young and old turned out in large numbers making this years festival a huge success.

One of the activities that really united the festival goers was the Bon Odori Dance – in this Bon Odori Panorama you can see the dancers making their way around the festival tower in unison.

There were a huge number of food stalls providing an amazing array of international foods from traditional Japanese festival BBQ to Indian and french flavors.

One of the more spectacular events of the festival was the Mochi and Candy toss where people scrambled to grab as much as they could.

There was a brief spell of rain which sent everyone in search for cover but this didn’t last long before the fire was raging.

The Yotei Taiko Drumming group fired up the crowd with a typically energetic performance and i did my best to get down the front and stay low to shoot this Yotei Taiko Panorama unfortunately i didn’t have space to move my big head out of the way !!

I put my camera away for the final fireworks display and enjoyed the moment with my wife and friends.
Thanks to everyone who contributed towards producing the event – no doubt a great time had by all.

Tagged as: cultural, Hirafu, Hokkaido, Japan, Kutchan, niseko, panorama, people, Photography, shops

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Hirafu Toyako Loop

by glen on May 26, 2011

The weather is finally starting to improve here in Hokkaido and with the warmer temperatures early morning road cycling is on.

Went for a ride last Sunday with a cool group – although everyone was in much better condition than me – Bevan, Vanessa and Jess being as fit as serious tri-athletes, and Scott and Paul both experienced road cyclists.
(click on the images to view them at a larger sizes)

The ride was basically a 45 km “cruise” to Toyako south from Hirafu.

Bevan and Vanessa then locked up there bikes changed cloths and joined in the marathon fun…no big deal.

Lots of runners…..little did we know.

Unfortunately the marathon was shut down because there was landslide across the course and the runners were shipped back to the start in a fleet of buses.

Jess Scott and I followed the race on our bikes more that halfway around the lake from where we started and then had to turn around and ride back around the lake again to get home. Not sure how Bevan and Vanessa took the news – probably ran back and rode home.

If you take a look at this pano you can get a good idea of how far we rode. You can see Mt Annupuri in the distance.

All in all a great day, but long – 145km, 7 hours on the bike – glad the crew took it easy on me.

Tagged as: cycling, Hokkaido, Japan, marathon, people, Photography, running, toyako

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Seshu – Here and Beyond

by glen on May 14, 2011

Over the last few years i have have been lucky enough to shoot some beautiful houses in the Niseko Hirafu area made by HOP and project managed by Taiga Seshu is the most recent project to be completed and is located in Hirafu’s middle village. Completed in Dec 2010 this custom built house was commissioned by a private owner and is a one of a kind.
(click on the images to view them full size)
平成２１年から私はとても幸運なことに、ニセコヒラフエリアにて、高級というだけでなく上質な家造りを行う「HOP」(Housing Operation Architects) と家造りのプロジェクトマネジメントを行う「TAIGA」が送り出す、素晴しい住宅の数々を撮影させていただいております。ヒラフペンション街の中腹に位置する「雪舟 Sesshu」は直近のプロジェクトです。昨年１２月に完成したこちらの家は、快適空間を約束する世界に一つだけの家となっています。
（写真をクリックするとフルサイズでご覧になれます）

As a working combination Hop and Taiga were able to synthesize the owners request with stunning results. The first panorama here was taken during construction on the 12th of June 2010 and the second panorama was taken late March 2011 from almost the same position.
HOP と TAIGAによるタッグは、オーナーの想いやライフスタイルをしっかり捉え、満足いただけるものを提供していきます。最初のパノラマは建築中の昨年６月１２日、二つ目は今年３月末にほとんど同じ場所から撮影されたものです。

Interesting to see the transformation – take a good look at the ceiling.
I loved the wooden structure inside and out and the carpentry is spellbinding.
だんだんと形作られていくのを目にするのは興味深いものですー天井にご注目ください。内と外に張り巡らされた木目、ハイレベルの建築術に息をのみます。

Seshu is available for private rental and is managed by Holiday Niseko so please contact them if you are interested in renting Seshu next season.
雪舟 Sesshu は宿泊も可能です。興味のある方は、Holiday Niseko までご連絡ください。

HOP just produced their latest advertising magazine SEIZAN RYUGI which details several recent projects from around Japan including Seshu – nice to see the final product in print.
「青山流儀」と題されたHOP通信では、HOPが手がけた雪舟を含む全国の最新プロジェクトの詳細が掲載されています。手に取れる印刷物に載る完成品を目にできるのは嬉しいことです。

Tagged as: architecture, Building, Construction, Hirafu, Hokkaido, HOP, Japan, panorama, people, Photography, Print, summer, Taiga, winter