Moment in the Sun: Gan Iwaiwa on Capturing a Furano Summer

Sapporo photographer, Gan Iwaiwa, will wait a full year for the perfect shot. On a family summer in Furano, several of his favourite frames came from the balcony of Fenix Furano.

Gan Iwaiwa has been photographing Hokkaido for the better part of eight years, long enough for his Instagram to look like a photobook of the island. What began as a personal log of hikes, bike rides and his children growing up is now a landscape archive followed by 279,000 people.

His exacting method comes down to a single condition: the weather. He will leave a location he has scouted for months rather than shoot it in the wrong light. He says that he would rather wait another year than take home the picture he didn’t come for.

The most recent trip kept him close to home. He took the family to Furano and checked in at Fenix Furano, a luxury condotel across from the Kitanomine gondola, timing the stay to the opening of the Kamifurano Lavender Festival.

We speak to Gan about his photography style and his thoughts on this Furano trip.

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It was a personal record at first: hiking, cycling, the children growing up. That was around eight years ago. Friends kept telling me the photos were good, which was enough to keep me going, and over time it turned into landscapes I wanted people to see.

Almost all of them come from Instagram. I’ll see somewhere on the feed, work out where it is, then go and find it for myself.

The weather, without question. If the conditions aren’t right, I won't go, even to a spot I’ve been planning for. I’d rather wait until the following year than come away with something less than I wanted.

Living here, you notice the brief moments that come and go with each season. I try not to miss them. That is more or less the whole point of the account.

Arriving just as the Kamifurano Lavender Festival opened. The lavender, lit after dark at Hinode Park, is the one I keep coming back to. I’d happily return next year just for that.

My favourite way to spend time in Furano is having the Furano Burger at Torinuma Park, nothing more elaborate than that. I’m also very fond of the roast beef rice bowl at Kumagera.

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They rode the boats at Torinuma Park and hunted for stag beetles. Those two things kept them going all day.

My first thought is that it’s well put-together hotel. After that it was the private balcony, where I took far more photos than I needed to, looking out over Furano. The location makes moving around the area simple, which counts a lot when you are working to the light. One small thing I loved: the staff sorted out my shooting schedule at check-in without any fuss.

Two or three nights are about right. That gives you both Furano and Biei without having to rush either.