home page | contact | about us | booking information | booking form | latest vacancies

area guides > asia > Japan

Japan in Winter
Cranes and Steller's Sea Eagles

Saturday 2 - Wednesday 13 February 2008 (12 days)

From the bright lights of Tokyo, to the ice bound lakes and sea of eastern Hokkaido, to the open farmland of Kyushu, this tour will offer a taste of what Japan has to offer in terms of birds, landscapes and culture. Birding will be of quality not quantity (of species, anyway!) and our tour will experience the four great bird spectacles of Japan. Local birding at Yatsu Higata in Tokyo will find us waders and waterfowl in unlikely surroundings, with the chance of a rarity or two, and an evening walk through bustling streets of the city is an experience not to be missed. The eastern headlands of Hokkaido will give us a chance to see the magnificent Steller's Sea-Eagle and Japanese Cranes displaying in the snow. With the mountains, forests and fields shrouded in snow, the spectacular Hokkaido scenery will give way to the flat open farmland around Izumi on the island of Kyushu, considered one of the best winter birding spots in the country, where we should pick up a variety of smaller birds including finches and buntings amongst the cranes.

Staying in a mixture of western and Japanese-style accommodation, the etiquette of being Japanese will be witnessed at first hand - bathing is almost an art form! The Japanese certainly enjoy their food - there will be plenty of opportunities to taste some of the interesting variety on offer. Although we will not see high numbers of species, the combination of cranes and eagles in a culturally different environment will provide an unforgettable experience.

Neil Gartshore has been birdwatching since an early age and worked for nature conservation organisations for nearly 25 years in the UK and South Africa. He now runs Calluna Books (specialising in out of print natural history books) and works as a freelance ornithologist and a natural history guide in Dorset and further afield. He has travelled and birdwatched extensively, mainly in Europe, South Africa and, since 1994 when he married his Japanese wife, has travelled to different parts of Japan including the areas of this tour and is familiar with the birds we expect to see.

Price: £ 2,995
Single supp.: £ 195
Deposit: £ 400 per person

The price is per person and includes scheduled return flights London/Tokyo, airport taxes, ground and boat transportation as outlined above, accommodation on a full-board basis, admissions, local taxes, incidental tips, and the services of the leaders.

The price excludes holiday insurance, optional tips to the driver and local guide, drinks, and other personal expenses.

Principal Leader: Neil Gartshore

Itinerary
Day 1
We depart London on an overnight flight to Tokyo, arriving on Day 2

Day 2
We arrive at Tokyos Natita airport by mid-morning and join our minibus to make a stop en route to our central Tokyo hotel. At Yatsu Higata, a RAMSAR wetland site, we should see our first Japanese waterfowl, waders, gulls, herons and a few passerines, with possibilities including Rufous Turtle Dove, Jungle Crow, Brown-eared Bulbul, Grey Starling and maybe a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker. With the rest of the day free we will explore parts of this fascinating city soaking up some of the atmosphere finishing with an evening meal in a local restaurant.
Overnight Tokyo

Day 3
The following day we will take an early flight to Kushiro (eastern Hokkaido) and by the afternoon we will be watching the graceful Red-crowned (Japanese) Cranes in the snow-covered fields of one of the local crane sanctuaries.
Overnight Tsurui, Hokkaido

Days 4 - 5
After another look at the cranes the following morning we will head east towards Rausu on the Shiretoko peninsula, a mountainous finger of land with extensive deciduous woodland protruding into the Okhotsk Sea. On route we will stop off at the Notsuke peninsula where we should encounter our first eagles: the magnificent and huge black and white Steller's Sea Eagle and, by comparison, the smallerWhite-tailed Eagle and a number of sea and freshwater duck and Whooper Swans. In the evening we may have an opportunity to look for the enigmatic Blakistons Fish Owl. Although by no means guaranteed, we may be able to visit a local site where birds are often seen.

In a normal year the sea freezes over and it is on this ice that both eagles can be present in large numbers. If the weather conditions permit we will attempt to have a trip out on to the ice in a boat on our second day in the area. The boats are designed to cope with the sea ice and are a popular attraction amongst Japanese photographers looking to get close to the eagles. The backdrop of spectacular snow covered mountains should also be accompanied by a selection of other birds amongst the ice flows auks and sea duck, cormorants and divers, and a variety of gulls. The remainder of the day will be spent in the immediate area savouring the experience of the eagles. Land birds will be few but Brown Dipper, Raven and northern races of Jay and Long-tailed Tit are possible.
Two nights Rausu, Hokkaido

Days 6 - 7
The next two days will be spent in the Nemuro area. Heading south to our accommodation by Lake Furen we will make stops along the way including the Odaito Observatory. Here, if the conditions are favourable, we will see Whooper Swans in their thousands. Lake Furen is a shallow lagoon 20km wide and 4km across fringed with reed beds and tidal mudflats and surrounded by forests. To the east and south of Lake Furen a series of headlands and bays will provided sea watching opportunities where we will search for more auks, sea duck and finch flocks, and there may be birds of prey around (Peregrine and Gyr Falcon are occasionally seen). Possibilities in the area include Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Common and Velvet Scoter and Ancient Murrelet. In the woodlands, White-backed Woodpecker, Willow Tit, the local race of Bullfinch are possible whilst on the headlands we will look for Rosy Finch flocks. The woodlands also hold Hazel Grouse, Ural Owl and Black & Grey-headed Woodpecker but they are scarce and we will need some luck to see them.

For the next two nights we will experience a Japanese minshuku (guest house). Japanese houses are usually small and living areas double as bedrooms beds and chairs are not found in the rooms. At night the table and seating mats in the room are replaced by the bedding. Toilet, shower/bathing and dining facilities are separate and shared. Although generally more basic, the hospitality that comes with this type of accommodation is usually second to none. Minshuku Furen has an almost bird observatory feel to it and our host is an English-speaking birdwatcher (a rarity in itself) with a good library of bird books.
Two nights Lake Furen

Days 8 - 10
Leaving Hokkaido we will spend the day flying from Kushiro to Kagoshima (on the southern island of Kyushu) via Tokyo and then transfer to our hotel for three nights in Izumi. In comparison to Hokkaido this area consists largely of flat open farmland with surrounding wooded hillsides and small estuaries and rivers. The Arasaki area is regarded as one of the best wintering birding spots in the country with an attraction of over ten thousand cranes (8,000 Hooded and 2,000 White-naped Cranes) spread over the local farms. In most years other stragglers may be present (Common, Demoiselle, Sandhill and Siberian, and in 2004 the first Red-crowned Crane for fifty years turned up!). Together with a good selection of wildfowl other specialities may include Chestnut-eared Bunting, Daurian Jackdaw, (Chinese) Penduline Tit and Black-faced Spoonbill. Our two full days will be spent in the immediate area viewing from the minibus, and on foot, the groups of cranes drawn to the fields. The land is in private ownership but the authorities subsidise the farmers to put out food to attract in the cranes.

Weather permitting we may take a trip along the coast to the north to the Yatsushiro estuary, a fairly reliable site for Saunderss Gull and Great Black-headed Gull plus the possibility of waders, including Eastern Curlew.
Three nights Izumi, Kyushu

Day 11
Leaving Izumi early we will make a detour on the way back to Kagoshima airport to Mi-ike (a volcanic lake surrounded by forest). We will have a little time here to scan the lake (hopefully we will find some Baikal Teal) and have a short walk looking for woodland birds, including Grey Bunting, Ashy Minivet and White-backed Woodpecker. We fly back for a final evening and farewell dinner in Tokyo before our flight back to the UK the following day.
Overnight Tokyo

Day 12
Morning flight Tokyo to London, where the tour concludes.


Accommodation and food is good to excellent throughout. En suite rooms are available at the hotels, but not at the Japanese-style guesthouse at Furen (Hokkaido), where we stay for two nights, and where the facilities are more basic.

Transport is by minibus (if small group) or mini coach with driver.

Walks are not strenuous and proceed at a leisurely pace.

Weather: Hokkaido will be VERY cold with ice and snow, a bitter wind and a frozen sea. Kyushu can be very cold with an icy wind. Fog (especially on Hokkaido) is possible.

Numbers: Max. 14 clients