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Author: wilis

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Introduction

I was inspired to make the trip to Japan after seeing wonderful images made by Starrynight during his trip 2 years back. Please refer to his trip report found at the article section.

Unable to take leave from work earlier, I could only set off from Singapore on 15 March, fully aware its at the tail end of Japan winter, and just 1 week shy from official first day of spring celebration in Japan, which was 20 March. It was a race against time, and I could only hope the winter could hold on a little longer. For the trip I set 3 objectives which I hope to achieve.

1. To photograph the mating dance of the Japanese cranes (Tanchos);

2. To photograph the wintering 2,000 Steller’s sea eagle in Rausu;

3. To photograph the snow monkey at Jigokudani Yaen-Koen.

So how did the trip turn out? More on that at the later part of the report. For now, let’s get into some basic logistics and itinerary for the trip.

Itinerary

The itinerary below was a drastic change to my original itinerary:

Day 1: Departure Singapore- Tokyo Narita

Day 2: Tokyo sightseeing

Day 3: Tokyo Haneda- Kushiro in Hokkaido. Drive to Nemuro

Day 4: Nemuro to Rausu

Day 5: Rausu to Kushiro

Day 6: Lake Kussharo at Akan National Park. Flight back to Tokyo Haneda

Day 7: Tokyo sightseeing

Day 8: Nagano to Jugokudani Yaen-Koen for snow monkeys

Day 9: Birding Tokyo parks in the morning, flight back to Singapore late afternoon

Current exchange rate S$1= 72 Yen.

Whopper swan at frozen Lake Fuhren

Transport

a) Flight

JAL Singapore to Tokyo Narita, and domestic flight from Tokyo Haneda to Kushiro for S$1.5k. Flight time 6.5hours for Spore-Tokyo, and 1.5hrs for Tokyo-Kushiro.

Booked thru JTB at Takashimaya, Singapore

b) Car rental

For Hokkaido, car rental from Tocoo. 5 days cost about 23,000 Yen ($320) for Nissan 4WD equipped with GPS and snow tyres. However, I cut short my stay in Hokkaido from 5days to 4 days, and Tocoo gladly refunded 2,600Yen for the shorter duration, which was totally unexpected and something I never encountered before. Two thumbs up and goes to show the excellent customer care in Japan.

Website: http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_inbound/main

c) Train and buses

Japan probably has the most efficient transportation system in the world, and this clearly reflected in their railway system. Although the numerous train lines run by multiple companies can be confusing for the uninformed and most tourists, they get you pretty much to anywhere you want to go. For sightseeing in Tokyo, I bought daily unlimited pass which cost 700Yen.

Airport limousine costs 3000 Yen per person from Tokyo Narita to key hotels and train stations in Tokyo.

To get to the snow monkey (Jigokudani Yaen-Koen) to Nagano:

1. Take Asama Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Nagano (1 ¾ hrs) 16,000 Yen return.

2. From Nagano station, you have 2 options. The easier one is the direct bus from Nagano Station to Kanbayashi Onsen (45minutes, 1300 Yen one way). The longer way would be take JR express train from Nagano to Yukadani station (1200 Yen one way) and then by a short taxi or bus to Kanbayashi Onsen. I used the direct bus as it was obviously the easier way and more frequent.

3. From Kanbayashi Onsen, it’s a 1.6km trek to the entrance of Jigokudani Yaen-Koen.

I visited 2 parks in downtown Tokyo in the morning for the last day, one is Meiji-Jingu Shrine next to popular shopping Harajuku Station, and the other one is Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden next to Hamamatsucho station. The problem with the parks in Tokyo is they’re gated and only open from 9am-5pm, which is way pass optimal photography time considering the sun rises by 6am.

Visa and equipment

Visa

Singaporean and most other developed countries do not require visa. For myself, I need to apply for single-entry visa which costs $41 (3 days processing)

Equipment

List of equipments that I carry

1. 2x Canon 1DMk2

2. Canon 600mm F4 IS

3. Canon 300mm F2.8 IS

4. Canon 70-200mm F4

5. Canon 17-40mm F4

6. Canon 1.4x TC

7. Kenko extension tube

8. Canon 580EX Flash

9. Gitzo 3530lsv tripod

10. Wimberley Gimbal Head II

11. IBM x31 notebook (crashed in Japan)

12. Buffalo 120GB portable hard disk

Accomodation

1) Haneda Excel Tokyu (Pan Pacific) located at Haneda Aiport Terminal 2 to facilitate easy transfer to Kushiro the next day. Booked thru www.zuji.com.sg S$250

2) Nemuro: Nemuro East Harbor Hotel 10,600 Yen double room including parking.

1-26 Kowa-cho, Nemuro-shi, Hokkaido Phone:+81-153-24-1515 Fax:+81-153-24-0835

3) Rausu: Hotel Sakaeya at Rausu town. 10,500 Yen for double room.

Website: http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~skey2171/

Other info on accomodations in Rausu

http://www.shiretoko.or.jp/en/travel/hotel_in_rausu/

4) Kushiro: Toyoko Inn at Kushiro City 7,500 Yen for double room. 500Yen for parking.

Affordable chain hotels available all over Japan. Clean and comfortable room. Website: http://www.toyoko-inn.com/

5) Tokyo: Shinjuku Washington Hotel. 15,000Yen for double room.

15 minutes walk from Shinjuku station. Convenient with direct airport limousine to Haneda and Narita airport, but the room was stuffy with very small window. Website: http://www.wh-rsv.com/english/index.html

Tips for Hokkaido

Accommodation

For Kushiro, some photographers would prefer to stay at places nearer to the crane areas in Akan or Tsurui. Although location wise is very convenient (5-10 minutes drive to Japanese cranes) but they are rather pricey. Eg. Hotel Taito quoted us 19,000Yen for double room compared to Toyoko Inn at Kushiro city (40minutes drive away) for 7,500 Yen only. Toyoko Inn being right smack in the city provides easy access to food and shopping at night and we don’t mind the extra 30minutes drive in the morning.

Similarly for Nemuro and Rausu, we noticed that Minshuku and Inn that specially caters to birders and photographers normally charge more (albeit with dinner thrown in). For Nemuro and Rausu, one can stay at better grade accommodation in town for less the price.

Driving in Hokkaido

Road condition is excellent. Even in the height and intense winter time, the major roads are kept clear of snows. Major road signs come in English and in remote Hokkaido, finding your way thru the major roads are pretty straightforward.

For ease of mind, rent the GPS set as well. It can get you to almost all places if you know the telephone numbers or GPS coordinates.

Eg. If I want to go to Akan Crane centre for the Japanese crane, I will just get the centre’s telephone number in advance, and the GPS will direct me there.

Driving distance:

1. Kushiro airport to Tsurui or Akan crane centre: approx 20-25km

2. Kushiro airport to Kushiro city: approx 14km

3. Kushiro to Lake Kussharo (Akan Nat’l Park): approx 70km or 1hour

4. Kushiro to Nemuro: 120km

5. Nemuro to Rausu: 140km

For driving in Japan, one needs international driving license, which can be obtained on the spot at Automobile Association of Singapore for $20 and valid for one year. Website: http://www.aas.com.sg/

Where to land in Hokkaido

Hokkaido is a big island with 14 airports (yes, not a typo error!) Most sightseeing tourists would land at Sapporo or Hakodate. Hoewever, most birders will choose to land at Kushiro. If flights to Kushiro are fully-booked, you can also choose to land at Nakashibetsu or Memanbetsu.

Airlines plying these airports are JAL and ANA, as well as budget airlines Air Do and Skymark.

Book tickets early

Discount air tickets for domestic leg are normally offered to those:

1. flying JAL or ANA or their associated One World airlines to Japan.

2. purchase their tickets minimum 1 or 2 mths in advance.

Daily highlights

Day 1 & 2 Singapore- Tokyo

Uneventful flight to Tokyo Narita, departing at 11.30pm on Day 1 and arriving at 7am on Day 2. As my accommodation is at Haneda domestic airport, I took an airport limousine from Narita to Haneda (70 minutes, 3000Yen per pax). We spent the remaining day sightseeing the shopping and entertainment district of Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Day 3 Kushiro

Took 7.50am flight from Haneda to Kushiro (flight time approx 1.5hrs), and met at the airport by Tocoo car rental representative and driven to the office to pick up my rental car. The first reality bites kick in at the lack of snow around Kushiro and my worst nightmare was confirmed by the representative, “the snow has melted at Kushiro!” He said.

Japanese Cranes at Tsurui. just 3 weeks earlier the grounds were covered with snow

After brief explanation on the GPS usage, I was quick on the way to Tsurui and true enough, the famous tsurui feeding area has no single sign of snow and only a handful of cranes left, with most have already headed to the marsh to breed.

I was supposed to stay at Kushiro for the night. By 3.30pm I realized my first objectives have probably gone down the drain, I made radical change of plan and decided to drive direct to Nemuro, 120km away. It was passed 8pm when I reach Nemuro and decided to stay overnight at Nemuro East Harbor Hotel.

Day 4 Nemuro- Rausu

Start the day at 5am and was partly relieved to see the partially frozen Lake Fuhren. Birds sighted here included the swans, ducks, white-tailed sea-eagle a few pairs of Japanese cranes and deers.

Day 4 was quite a productive day as we drive up highway 243 and 244 by the coast up to Rausu, I managed to pick up a couple more lifers with varieties of ducks, black kites and gulls as well as my first sight of a single Steller Sea Eagle some 200m away.

female northern pintail, route 244 to Rausu

To approach the eagle I have to drive off-track, I decided against it as the chance of getting stuck in the muddy track was pretty high. I thought why risk getting stuck since it will be easy meat getting the Steller’s at Rausu.

I was wrong. I arrived at Rausu at 4pm expecting to see hundreds of Steller’s Sea Eagle and was greeted with none. A quick checked with the locals confirmed my biggest nightmare of the trip, the eagles have returned to Siberia and only a very small numbers are left behind. I was 3 weeks late!!

Rausu is the town at Shiretoko Peninsula, a world heritage site. In winter one can see the ice drift that came down from Siberia, with 2000 strong Steller’s sea eagle, and in Spring the bears come out from hibernation to catch the salmons. So I was in a neither here nor there situation, too late for winter, too early for spring.

The coast of Rausu are littered with many gulls and Harlequin ducks. But these little cuties are very skittish and approaching them proved a great challenge. Consolation of the day were pretty cooperative deers and a lone juvenile white-tailed sea-eagle posing on an ice drift some 25m away.

Food after dark is quite a challenge in the small town of Rausu. We resorted to eating instant noodles, a real insult to injury hehe.

Sika deers of Shiretoko Peninsula

Day 5 Rausu- Kushiro

A very foggy early morning and I drove along the coast up the Shiretoko peninsula. It was eerily quiet as the fishing village appeared abandoned during the harsh winter months as the thick ice drift will not be penetrable. We’re the only car on the road.

In this most unpredictable situation, I had my only encounter with Red fox of Hokkaido. But again luck was not on my side as I have not mounted my lens and was scrambling away once I realize it was a fox by the road. By the time I was ready, the fox has gone behind the fence.

No point crying over spilled milk and realizing another trip at better time is called for, I decided to call off my planned 3 nights stay at Rausu and drove 260kms back to Kushiro. Overnight at Toyoko-Inn at Kushiro City.

Day 6- Kushiro- Tokyo

Early morning checked out Ottawa Bridge near Tsurui but only encountered 2 cranes that immediately flew away as I came down from the car. Ottawa bridge is a well-known spot for Japanese crane in the early morning as they’re roosting at the river and the early morning mist provides a surreal photographic opportunity.

No luck, drove a further 50km up to Lake Kussharo, a picturesque lake which is part of Akan National Park. Swans are friendly and I managed to get a couple more lifers, including a close encounter with the greater spotted woodpecker.

After spending half day birding at Lake Kussharo, decided to cut short my stay in Hokkaido and made arrangement with JAL to bring forward my flight back to Tokyo. It was easy as the flight we took was almost empty, less than 30passengers on an Airbus 300.

The most unexpected gesture was when we returned our car to the car rental company, they actually refunded us the unused portion of the car rental. This is customer service at its best! So Tocoo and its associated rental companies are highly recommended!.

Day 7 Tokyo

Spend the day sightseeing.

Day 8 Nagano to Jigokundani National Park

Jigokudani means Hell’s valley in Japanese, but it is a paradise for the snow monkeys. They are the northernmost wild population of non-human primates in the world. In winter, the snow monkeys enjoy dipping in the hot onsen at the park to keep warm. It’s a photographer’s heaven as the antics and interaction of the monkeys made for good photographs. At times their behaviours are so similar to humans it can put a smile on your face.

For more info: http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/english/top/english.html

After the 2 disappointments at Hokkaido, I didn’t put high hopes on the snow monkey. To have a more impact-full photographs, the snow has to be there and I’m not hopeful it was the case. But to my delight there’re still patches of snow here and there which helps to bring the mood out.

snow monkey of Jigokudani Yaen-Koen

All in I spent close to 4 hours photographing them before rushing down to catch the last direct bus back to Nagano for my 7pm bullet train ride back to Tokyo.

Day 9 Birding Tokyo parks

I spent 1 hour each at 2 of Tokyo’s park.

1. Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden next to Hamamatsu-cho train station. Entrance 150Yen

2. Meiji-Jingu Shrine inside Yoyogi park next to Harajuku station. Entrance 500Yen.

Birds seen and photographed are great tits, pintails and ducks, starlings, wagtails, gulls and daurian redstart. The only problem I mentioned earlier is the parks only opens at 9am daily, way past the prime photography hours.