A WHALE OF A SURPRISE

Rare White Orca Makes a Splash in Stunning Sighting. A rare and striking white orca was spotted off the coast of Rausu, Hokkaido, offering a once-in-a-lifetime photographic opportunity for local nature photographer Noriyuki Hayakawa, who captured the encounter in stunning detail. Hayakawa, 64, a freelance photographer based in Sapporo, has spent the past 15 years documenting the majestic orca population around Japan. But nothing prepared him for what he experienced that day on a tourist boat in the frigid northern waters.