Shakotan National Park,
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While the northern island of Hokkaido was shaking off the weight of a long, cold winter, I visited the western coastal park of Shakotan (Niseko-Shakotan-Otarukaigan in full). Situated around the Shakotan peninsula around Mt. Shakotan, this area boasts dramatic scenery and coastlines. First of all, there are stone pillars bravely standing out in the sea, their shapes reflected in the quiet waters of the Sea of Japan. It is sometimes almost unbelievable that the tall stone formations don't collapse: their base is often smaller than their main body.
Walking around Cape Shakotan, nearly every turn brought about a new view of stone pillars in the sea, a rocky coast, green hills, and snowy mountains on the background. Unfortunately the weather did not fully cooperate so I could not fully appreciate the contrasts. The sea was absolutely chrystal clear. A short walk through a small, damp tunnel took me to a small bay with rock formations, a beach, fishing boat with nets and a seagull colony producing a lot of noise.
The next stop was Cape Kamui, a long, narrow cape pointing into the calm salty sea water. Again, from above I could see the amazing visibility of the waters below, in which all details of the seafloor, as well as most shades of dark green and blue were revealed. Still, the shapes of this coast have been defined by that same sea. The most dramatic example of a rock pillar can be found at the end of the cape, standing out in the sea. 
