Japan: Summer Hokkaido

Narcissus Flycatcher © Mark Brazil

Our summer tour to Japan is all about Hokkaido. This beautiful northern island, with its wide vistas, active volcanoes, beautiful caldera and crater lakes, and coastal wetlands, offers great East Asian summer birding against a background of two distinctive cultures—Ainu and Japanese. Here, in the homeland of the Ainu people, we weave a natural tapestry learning not only about the local birds, but also about the wildlife, and the history and culture of the people who live amongst it.

Situated in northern Japan, Hokkaidō is the homeland of the Ainu. It is situated on the southern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk, making it the southernmost part of the Arctic, though in summer it feels pleasantly mild. The island (Japan’s second largest) offers tremendous scenic diversity with a wealth of natural sites and wildlife. The Jomon ancestors of the Ainu people reached here thousands of years ago and have left in their descendants a cultural relationship with nature such that several of the species that we seek out (crane, bear, orca, owl, and salmon) are revered by them as deities.

We visit four wonderfully scenic national parks—Daisetsuzan, Shiretoko, Akan–Mashu, and Kushiro Wetland—and many more natural sites, take boat trips offshore in search of seabirds and cetaceans and to look for Brown Bear and Orca, seek out the breeding summer birds of east Hokkaido, learn about Ainu and Japanese culture, enjoy an Ainu cultural performance, and visit local museums for their Ainu cultural and natural history exhibitions. Several of our very varied accommodations boast delightful hot springs and all serve tasty, healthy Japanese food—a UNESCO recognized cuisine. The many local specialty species include local avian icons—the majestic Red-crowned Crane, White-tailed Eagle, and Blakiston’s Fish-Owl, and exciting birds such as Spectacled Guillemot, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler, and Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler.

In the Daisetsu National Park, we will visit higher elevations at the tree line to look for Siberian Rubythroat, Olive-backed Pipit, and Pine Grosbeak, and watch for the Northern Pika and Siberian Chipmunk.

In the Akan–Mashū National Park our wildlife targets include White-tailed Eagle, Latham’s Snipe, Oriental Cuckoo, White-backed and Japanese Pygmy woodpeckers, Brown-headed Thrush, Japanese Robin, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Masked Bunting, and Long-tailed Rosefinch. In addition, we will meet local Ainu for a walk in the woods and visit Akan village, where we will experience the precious cultural heritage of these ethnically distinct people.

The Okhotsk Sea region and the Shiretoko Peninsula provide us with opportunities to go offshore to look for Fin and Minke whales, Orca, and seabirds that include Rhinoceros Auklet, Spectacled Guillemot, and Short-tailed Shearwater, and if lucky, perhaps even an albatross or two. We will also watch for Brown Bear, and on shore doubtless find plentiful Japanese Deer and Red Fox.

At wetlands and rivers along the coasts we hope to see a wide range of East Asian species including Crested Kingfisher, Brown Dipper, Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler, Chestnut-cheeked Starling, Japanese Wagtail, and Meadow, Chestnut-eared, and Reed buntings. We will also stay at a riverside inn in the territory of a pair of Blakiston’s Fish-Owl!

In Kushiro Wetlands National Park, we will hope to see Red-crowned Cranes with their young chicks, White-tailed Eagles hunting at the local lakes, Black-eared Kite and Eastern Buzzard, and listen to the chorus of Black-browed Reed Warbler, while keeping watch overhead for the hurtling shapes of White-throated Needletail and Pacific swifts.

During this leisurely- to moderately-paced tour we will stay at a range of comfortable accommodations, enjoy excellent food, and soak in mineral hot springs; we will use a comfortable compact bus suitable for our many stops and roadside birding; there will be easy walks and a number of short boat rides offshore; for many of us the cuisine will be a bonus feature, as Hokkaido is renowned for its delicious seafood, dairy, vegetables, rice, and many seasonal delicacies; Hokkaido’s summer is typically pleasant and mild with cool mornings and lower temperatures at higher elevations.

Fin Whale and Short-tailed Shearwaters © Mark Brazil