Deep snow and the Snow Festival in Sapporo, red crested cranes in Kushiro, the Pack Ice in Abashiri, Fresh water pours into the Sea of Okhotsk from the Amur River in the far east of Russia and drifts into the northern bays of Hokkaido. Ice breaker boats ply the ice where Stellar’s eagles, cormorants and white tailed eagles wait on the floes for fish to thaw from the ice. Hakodate in southern Hokkaido is the new norther end of the superb Shinkansen which will whisk you at 300 kph to Tokyo in under four hours.
AloJapan.com