Japan in Winter Spectacular
Our Japan in Winter Spectacular offers exceptional photographic opportunities with a number of wildlife spectacles including the amazing Red-crowned Cranes of Hokkaido. (Pete Morris)
Sunday 28th January – Wednesday 8th February 2012 (11 days)
Arasaki Cranes Extension to Sunday 12th February 2012 (4 days)
Leader: Pete Morris
Group Size Limit: 10
2010 Trip Report
To read all about our highly successful 2010 tour, and to see numerous images taken on that tour, click here.
Potential photographic highlights
- Incredible concentrations of White-naped and Hooded Cranes at Arasaki, some at almost touching distance!
- The incomparable Japanese Macaques (a.k.a. Snow Monkeys) of Nagano.
- Amazing dancing Red-crowned (or Japanese) Cranes on Hokkaido.
- Up close and personal experiences with incomparable Steller's Sea-Eagles (as well as their smaller relatives, the White-tailed Eagle!).
- A chance to photograph the world's largest owl, the Blakiston's Fish Owl.
Lying at the opposite end of the vast continent of Eurasia from the British Isles is the archipelago of islands that forms Japan. Westernized and yet profoundly Oriental, Japan remains an enigmatic land to westerners, few of whom know much about it beyond its shiny consumer exports. Stretching from the sub-tropics in the Ryukyus to the cool temperate latitudes in Hokkaido, these beautiful islands with their jagged and broken coastlines possess some of the most attractive scenery in eastern Asia.
During the winter months that Japan really comes into its own, for then it plays host to some of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth and this tour provides the opportunity to experience the best photographic opportunities that Japan has to offer.
A visit to upcountry Japan (the ‘real’ Japan) is an experience in itself and one that requires of the traveller a spirit of adventure and a willingness to adapt to new ways of doing things. Simple things like eating Japanese food, sleeping on futons and bathing in an ‘ofuro’ are very different from back home, but will be great fun if you are tolerant of cultural differences. The difficulty of travelling around in a country where few people speak a foreign language of any kind are the main reasons why only a few non-Japanese birdwatchers have explored the islands. A superb travel infrastructure, mostly comfortable accommodations, interesting food and friendly, helpful people make travelling through Japan a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Pete Morris is a highly experienced naturalist guide and photographer and has travelled extensively in Japan.
Itinerary
Day 1 The tour begins this morning at Narita Airport near Tokyo. We will then transfer to central Tokyo where we will board our train to Nagano, and then drive on to our accommodation for a three nights stay.
Days 2-3 We will spend all of our time in and around the Jigokudani Yaen-Koen Wild Monkey Park. Although Jigokudani translates as Hell’s Valley, it is anything but. In this season the land is largely snow-covered, and against a dramatic back drop we will have great fun photographing the magical ‘snow monkeys’. Made famous by numerous television documentaries and magazine articles, the Japanese Macaques here are both bold and entertaining! With their thick coats covered in snow and ice, they squabble and chase each other over the rocky snow-covered hillsides, perhaps pausing to climb up and play on an unattended tripod before dipping into their natural, thermally-heated ‘hot tub’ for a steamy soak! Up to a hundred or more macaques visit this incredibly scenic site and the whole experience of being in amongst these charismatic primates is quite exhilarating!
Day 4 After a last early morning with the ‘snow monkeys’ we’ll return to Tokyo and take a flight to Kushiro on the northern island of Hokkaido for a three nights stay.
Days 5-6 Our main priority will be to photograph the magnificent Red-crowned (or Japanese) Cranes which in the winter months are concentrated in the complex of damp fields and marshlands to the north of Kushiro. We shall begin our day at a river where many of the cranes roost, hoping it is cold enough to create ideal photographic conditions. As steam rises from the river, the cranes slowly wake up and begin bugling, the thick hoar frost on the riverside trees adding to the romantic scene as steam comes from their bills. Once the temperature creeps up, the cranes leave their roost and move off to feed, allowing for some flight shots. In the morning a large flock, generally of over 100 birds, gathers at one of the places where they are regularly fed. At this season the Red-crowned Cranes are dancing frequently and as one pair begins its courtship dance the infection spreads through the flock like a wave until dozens of striking black and white birds are leaping into the air or throwing back their heads and bugling towards heaven. It is a thrilling spectacle, and as we photograph this wonder of nature we will truly appreciate why we have come all the way to this remote corner of Japan. During the afternoon we will visit another feeding area which offers further fantastic opportunities and we may even see cranes fighting with White-tailed Eagles which come down to snatch their prey!
Day 7 After another morning with the Red-crowned Cranes, we will drive across eastern Hokkaido to Rausu, situated at the base of the Shiretoku peninsula on the east coast of Hokkaido, for a three nights stay.
Days 8-9 During our time at Rausu we will have two main photographic objectives, namely the amazing sea-eagles and the awesome fish-owls! Although conditions vary from year to year (and indeed from week to week!), there is usually some pack-ice close to Rausu. Weather and ice conditions permitting, we will take a couple of trips out to the pack-ice for what has to be one of the most amazing adventures any photographer can go on! Setting off in the dark, we will soon be accompanied by hordes of gulls as we head over to the pack-ice on a boat laden with treats for our avian friends. Soon some bigger shapes appear, and as the sun rises we will be surrounded by incredible Steller’s and White-tailed Sea-Eagles! Over the next few ours we will be totally awestruck, watching dozens of these giants fighting over fish just a few metres away with towering snow-covered peaks as a backdrop. With luck, we’ll get sunrise shots, action shots, flight shots and extreme close-ups! It really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience! With luck, we will also see some impressive Largha Seals hauled out on the ice and there will also be good chances to photograph Glaucous, Glaucous-winged and Slaty-backed Gulls at close quarters, and we may find some approachable ducks, including gorgeous Harlequin Ducks, in the harbour. During our stay we will also pay a visit to some Whooper Swans in their winter wonderland. Photographing these swans and some superb, tame, Northern Pintails, against snow, provides some great opportunities, especially if a blizzard sweeps across them! By night, we will set ourselves up adjacent to a small river where the incredible Blakiston’s Fish Owls come to fish and we should have opportunities to photograph this giant owl fishing at down to 12m range! The owners of our minshuku put out a few small fish for them at a floodlit pond and it usually does not take too long before this huge owl puts in an appearance, gliding down to the edge of the pond, hopping into the water and grabbing fish! A pair of Blakiston’s Fish Owls regularly comes to the pond, sometimes with their young, and the birds often make several visits during the course of the night making for some exhilarating photographic experiences.
Day 10 After a final opportunity to admire and photograph the wonders of Hokkaido, we will return to Kushiro airport and catch an afternoon flight to Tokyo for an overnight stay at Narita Airport.
Day 11 The tour ends this morning at Narita Airport, near Tokyo.
Arasaki Cranes Extension Itinerary
Day 11 This morning we'll take a flight to Kagoshima on the southern island of Kyushu. From here we’ll proceed to Arasaki for a three nights stay.
Days 12-13 The fallow rice paddies around Arasaki are the site of one of the largest winter gatherings of cranes in all Asia. Depending on the winter, up to 10,000 Hooded Cranes are to be found in the area, in addition to up to 3500 superbly elegant White-naped Cranes, making for one of the world’s top birding spectacles. During our stay in and around the reserve we shall enjoy some wonderful close-up views of the cranes, especially when large numbers gather directly outside the guesthouse in which we will be staying in the very heart of the reserve. Here they come to feed on the maize and fish put out for them by the owner, who is also the reserve warden. At this season there is constant activity as small groups of cranes, often still in family groups, bugle energetically or dance into the air. Others form flocks and fly off, trumpeting loudly as they circle upwards before moving away to feed in the rice fields. There are great opportunities for flight shots, including at sunrise and sunset, as well as amazing close-up opportunities and flock shots. We will be on the lookout for the odd Sandhill, Common, Demoiselle or Siberian Crane, which may also be photographable, and there is also the opportunity to get great shots of Black-eared Kites and various wetland species.
Day 14 After a final early morning photographing the cranes of Arasaki, we will return to Kagoshima airport and take an afternoon flight to Tokyo for an overnight stay at Narita Airport.
Day 15 The extension ends this morning at Narita Airport, near Tokyo.
Accommodation & Road Transport: The western-style or Japanese-style hotels are mostly of a good standard. At Arasaki (for three nights) and at Rausu (for three nights) we will be staying in Japanese-style guesthouses (minshuku) to enable us to be on the spot for the photography. These will be spotlessly clean and quite comfortable, but it should be appreciated minshuku are quite simple establishments with Japanese-style futons to sleep on rather than conventional beds. There may be two or more people per room and bathroom facilities are shared. Road transport is by minibus and roads are good.
Walking: The walking effort is easy throughout.
Climate: Rather variable. It will be quite mild (i.e. merely cool) in Kyushu, but it will be cold in Honshu and it will be cold or very cold in Hokkaido. It may rain at times in the south, or snow in the north (where snow will be lying on the ground), but the weather is predominantly dry and sunny at this season.
Tour Price: (provisional): £2990, €3528, $4336 Tokyo/Tokyo. Arasaki Cranes Extension: £1320, €1558, $1914. Price includes all transportation (including all flights), all accommodations, all meals, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, leader services. Tipping is not customary in Japan.
Single Room Supplement: (provisional): Main Tour: £189, €223, $274 (excluding 3 nights at Rausu). Arasaki Extension: £47, €55, $68 (Tokyo only).
Deposit: Main Tour: £300, €360, $440. Arasaki Extension: £140, €160, $200. If you are booking more than 12 months before departure the interim deposit is only £150, €180, $220.
International Airfares: Return fares from London cost about £750, €885, $1088 (provisional). We can also arrange international air travel from many other departure points. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.
Steller's Sea-Eagles cuddling up at sunrise on the pack-ice at Rausu on Hokkaido. (Pete Morris)
Roosting flights of Hooded Cranes often coincide with spectacular sunsets at Arasaki. (Pete Morris)
