In 2010, my dear friend Dan asked if I wanted to hitchhike across the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan. He had made the trip the year before to attend the Higashikawa International Photo Festival and hitchhiked around the island, and he wanted to make the journey again. Without hesitation, I said yes. Little did I know that this trip would mark the beginning of a lifelong photography project and impact how I explore the world through photography. I’ve returned to Japan every year since, developing my photographic style and cultivating a deep relationship with the country and its people.

I was surprised that Hokkaido was not the Japan I thought I knew. Japanese pop culture and fashion magazines had shaped my idea of Japan — an image of Tokyo burned into my mind:  bright neon lights, clockwork movement, packed trains, tiny bars, massive crosswalks, and a skyline that seemed to stretch endlessly to the horizon. But Tokyo is only a fraction of what the country is. I experienced the opposite in Hokkaido: open green landscapes, small towns, midsized cities, deep blue oceans and lakes, and long stretches of road cutting through the vast countryside.

This series is a reflection and evidence of that journey exposed on 35mm slide film—the rugged terrain we passed through, the people we met, the walks, and the stories from three weeks on the road: catching rides, camping under bridges, and taking ferries across the ocean to remote islands. Hokkaido has a special place in my heart. This trip was formative not only in my photography and creative process but also in my maturity. Hokkaido will remain “my love” for life.