Hokkaido Road Trip with Sora 200 and Phoenix 200

I usually traveled by ferry to Japan, but the next destination required a flight: Hokkaido. The northernmost island had eluded me for some time. On my way out of Korea and back to the states for a spell, I decided to do a quick stop in Sapporo.  I arranged with some friends to grab a car and head out onto the open road. A road trip reminiscent of the ones I use to take stateside was an adventure I craved. Now, one fault that is levied against the USA is its overreliance of automobiles and highways to travel. This is of course difficult to deny and 100% true. The car had its way (oversimplification) and got rid of most of the public transport which was available to us long before I was born. I love motorcycles and cars, and I do wish we had access to high speed rail which was once an idea on the table for the USA. I’ve been pampered by Taiwan’s, South Korea’s, and Japan’s rail systems which make me lament the systems back home even though some efforts have been made to improve the network recently. I’m given to understand my friends across the pond are also having their own issues with rail prices. Going to Japan? Buying a JR pass for trains and buses should have been a no brainer. What mode would you have chosen?

But of course the car has its benefits. Choosing where I want to go, when I want to go, and how fast I want to go; these are all aspects under my control. Well there are speed limits, but those can be treated like suggestions in the Midwest. The process for renting could not be easier in Japan too. Grab an international license, sign a paper or two and be on your way after paying.

Now what to bring with me on my trip? Well considering the title, you know the films. Knowing that it may be some time before I get my hands on Sora 200 from Film Never Die again, I decided to load the roll into my half-frame Olympus Pen D to really squeeze out as much film as I could. I first saw Sora being used by Teo Crawford, and immediately made a frenzied beeline to the nearest roll. Phoenix would then sit happily in my Petri Color 35 rated at 125 ISO. It’s a little brighter than the formula ISO of 160, but I prefer it to the 200 ISO box speed. All set with the ISO’s and cameras, I drove us to the first of our many stops.

Shirogane Blue Pond, a short two hour drive from Sapporo, called to us with its aptly named intense blue water. Though we arrived in the early morning the park was already full with tour buses rolling in every moment. Thankfully we got lucky with parking and were able to get out to see the little pond. And little it is. It was not much bigger than a football pitch/field. The blue is as blue as you imagine it to be and it is genuinely a bit jarring when you finally get to see it.

Our next stops were the rice fields to the north. The farmers in the area like to create art using the fields with various flowers and crops. They provide a nice view and usually host some local shops too. Looking back at these scans, I am content with how my lab, NYC Film Lab, scanned my Phoenix roll. I’ve read about how each place has been inconsistent with Phoenix scans, how the yellow film base confuses scanner, how Harman sent out scanning settings, and how the photography community approached this new unknown quantity. All that aside, these scans made me more confident in what I was shooting and I’d definitely pick up another roll. I saw Phoenix for $10 USD in New York City and I’m regretting not buying more at the time. This film, as has been noted before, loves red and has deep contrast built-in. I’ve read the phrase “punchy colors” more than enough times when other writers talk about Phoenix. It is an apt description though.

Next off was the mountains to the south by Niseko, an area famous for snow and skiing. The mountains offered us a little hike with a surprise at the very top: a swarm of dragonflies and other assorted bugs. They covered our bodies while we took a quick snapshot at the top. We had to run back down the hill for a few hundred feet to escape the plague. We continued to smack at bugs on our person until we got back to the bottom. Thankfully there was another farm in town waiting for us with famous Hokkaido milk and ice cream.

One of our main motivations for returning to Japan was to collect more goshuin. My friend introduced me to the world of traditional stamp collecting and my wallet has been crying ever since. Shrines and temples all over Japan offer gorgeous art, usually hand painted onto sheets or written into specific books. Each shrine/temple has its own unique stamp and throughout the year, they will offer different art stamps based on the seasons, holidays, local events, and so much more. Typically, the larger shrines have their own focus or theme. Shrines also offer their own special books to collect the goshuin. Mine features golden frogs from an earlier visit to a frog temple in the greater Fukuoka area. We even found a leather belt version specific to motorcyclists who travel down a famous route collecting stamps pressed into the leather at different waypoints. I cannot recommend it enough, but also prepare for the small costs to add up as your book becomes filled with various stamps.

Sora is close to being my favorite film I’ve used so far. For context, my favorite film is Kodak Aerocolor which can be found in countless respools like SantaColor or Reflx 100. I’m suspicious Sora is another slightly modified respool of the aforementioned film, but the website claims “they are all hand crafted and slightly experimental.” I don’t know how to interpret this statement. If you have any information which can point the community to the actual culprit, please let us know in the comments. The film scans all have a red cast to them and warmer tones overall which I find pleasing. There is also a notable amount of halation in the photos which will definitely push people one way or another. The scans I’ve seen online share similar characteristics so I got what I expected.

This film made me fall in love with the photos I took on the last major leg of our trip. We needed to get from Sapporo to Ubagamicho, a four hour drive, but we had to make it back to Lake Toya for the summer fireworks at eight pm. So, about eight hours of driving to see a festival we were not entirely sure we would be able to participate in for some fireworks which we were pretty sure started at eight. Solid. To be frank though, I didn’t care too much about the length of the ride or the time crunch. The scenery kept me awake the whole time and I kept falling in love with road tripping over and over again while driving through the countryside. Not much could have made it better. Well maybe joining the other motorcyclists I saw on the road, but I shouldn’t compare my joy to theirs. After all, I got to photograph some of my favorite subjects: boats. I’m a sucker for a good boat picture. What subjects get ya excited to take pictures?

Saw some boats, saw five minutes of a festival, saw some beautiful forests, and made it back in time for the fireworks. Next time, I’m getting on a bike and riding through those valleys. Loved my trip and I am happy with the results from these film stocks. I recommend a stop on the island whenever ya got time. Any stops you are excited for on your next trip to Japan?

I’ve recently rejoined  Instagram to share new photos, take a gander if you have a moment, and if you are in the Taipei area feel free to reach out.

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