Discovering cars and lifestyles by venturing into the great outdoors
It's late March in Shiretoko, Hokkaido. A white Nissan X-Trail dashes along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, which is covered with drifting ice. Shiretoko is also called "shirietoku" in the Ainu language, meaning "the end of the earth." Utoro, the town where Kiichi Kawamura lives, is a place that truly suits this term. It is located at the gateway to Shiretoko National Park, where untouched nature remains, and it is a wild land where it is not uncommon to come across Blakiston's fish owls and brown bears.
Driving towards the drift ice that covers the Sea of Okhotsk, the Nissan X-Trail, which can be driven safely even on frozen roads, is an essential part of life in Shiretoko. 
It's okay to ride on snowy mountain roads to a certain extent. I learned from experience how to determine my limits.
"I'm sorry the car is so dirty. The temperature has been high these past few days, and the snow on the roads has been muddy..." Kawamura said with a wry smile. Snow piles up, melts, melts, freezes, and piles up again. In Shiretoko in March, a time when winter and spring alternate, there are no shiny cars on the road; if there are any, they are rental cars driven by travelers. The mud splashes that stain the car's body brown are like a dignified badge of honor that only cars that have survived in the harsh natural environment can have.
Kawamura grew up in Tokyo and moved to Shiretoko in 2017 while working as a photographer. What brought him, then 27 years old, to the "end of the earth" where he had no connections or ties, was a strong desire to "learn about things he didn't know."
"If you want to take a superficially good photo, then you should go to a place where you think you can take that. But, for example, how much do you know about a single tree in the photo? The same goes for the climate and history of the land. What does it mean to take a photo without knowing anything about those things? I had been asking myself these questions repeatedly since shortly before I moved to Shiretoko."
Shiretoko was the final stop on my motorcycle trip to Hokkaido in search of the answer.
"Obviously, neither people nor animals live to be photographed well. I wanted to breathe the same air as them, experience the same seasons as them, and try to capture the moment of their lives until I was satisfied with what it meant to express them."
I don't live here to take photographs, but rather to find out what naturally appears in the photos I take while living here. Soon after moving here, I obtained a hunting license because I wanted to learn more about the wild animals I'm familiar with, like Ezo deer and brown bears. Born in the wilderness, where do they live, how do they end up, and how? I wanted to find out through my own body.
Searching for traces of Ezo deer, shooting them, and butchering them. Learning about life through every process. 
The skull on the left is a brown bear, and the skull on the right is a Hokkaido deer. The brown bear was shot by a senior hunter.
The half rifle used by Kawamura. Its range is about 150m. 
He responds to requests from the local community to capture Ezo deer, sometimes working together with experienced hunters.
"Living in nature is full of uncertainty. The same goes for the weather, animals, and even life and death. Because these are things that humans can't control, I don't easily turn my photography or my life into an 'endeavor' - or rather, I can't do that at all (laughs). Living like that brings me to all sorts of encounters, and unexpected things happen. That's what makes it interesting."
A tough and reliable companion living together in nature
His beloved X-Trail was also one of the unexpected arrivals. Kawamura bought his first car when he moved to the area. His first car was a used Isuzu Bighorn.
"Isuzu diesel vehicles are synonymous with 'work vehicles,' so I got really excited thinking, 'This is the car for men!' (laughs). It's a four-wheel drive with a cool design, so I searched and searched and searched for one that was just right for me."
However, in the winter of his fifth year after moving to the country, the car slipped on an icy road and he never got home. Soon after, an acquaintance gave him his current X-Trail at a bargain price.
"I still have some attachment to the Big Horn, but living here has changed my way of thinking, and I've come to see cars as a means of transportation, a complete tool for daily life. So, rather than focusing on design, I've started to think first and foremost on whether the car can perform satisfactorily in harsh environments. It's a four-wheel drive with a fairly high clearance, so I can drive on roads that aren't plowed clean, and my fuel economy is about twice as good as the Big Horn. In Hokkaido, where we travel extraordinary distances, it's great to have a diesel engine, which means the gas costs are low. It's also perfect because it's cold-weather model and has heated seats, since it's below freezing almost every day from December to February."
The luggage compartment is also relatively spacious, and during hunting season it can be loaded with a hunting rifle, snowshoes or ski shoes for walking on the snow.
The snowy mountain roads climbed steadily. And we must not forget the presence of our companion who always rides with us in this car. Five years ago, we also happened to adopt Upashi, an Ainu dog who became part of our family. Together we go into the forest to chase deer, and sometimes even alert us to the presence of brown bears that humans cannot see. He is a reassuring companion.
Kawamura, who has a hunting license, searches for signs of Ezo deer with his Ainu dog, Upashi. Upashi pulls Kawamura, who is wearing skis. 
Upasi, who was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, is now 5 years old. He still loves riding in the car, and while driving he looks out the window looking for animals.
"In Tokyo I rode a motorbike, but since Upasi joined our family I've almost exclusively driven a car. It wasn't something I planned; it was things that just happened that shaped the lifestyle I have now and given me feelings I hadn't known before. Unintentional things open up your heart in ways you hadn't before. That's the biggest thing I've gained from living here, and I'm looking forward to finding out what lies ahead and how it will manifest itself."
