In February, a couple came from Singapore to shoot inside a world made of ice.
The Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival — the lake’s own clear water, frozen into walls and towers. This is the morning of their shoot.
The ice wall is the festival’s centrepiece. Bamboo frames are built first, then the lake’s clear water is sprayed over them, day after day, for dozens of days — until the ice grows into this.
We started at the red railway bridge ruins, on the shore of the lake in midwinter.
Ice and snow this beautiful means one thing: cold. There is no way around it — and no need to pretend otherwise.The festival is famous for its evening illuminations. We shoot in the morning, on purpose. By evening the crowds arrive, the car park can mean a two-hour wait, and strobes cannot be set up. Above all, this ice — built from some of the clearest lake water in Japan — looks its best in the morning light.
Underfoot, everything is slippery. We ask every couple to bring snow boots — leather soles without grip are honestly dangerous on the ice. The fluffy ponchos and gloves are ours, ready as an option for the cold.
To be continued — the same day ends at Moerenuma Park, at sunset.
One couple a day, anywhere in Hokkaido.
Hokkaido elopement & pre-wedding photography — LYKKE PHOTO STYLE
→ https://www.lykkephotostyle.com/hokkaido-elopement-photographer/
The neighbouring caldera lake, in four seasons:
Lake Toya Pre-Wedding Photography →
The day continues — inside the ice, and out to the lake:
Part 2: Inside the Ice, Out to the Lake →