昇 る 太陽 の 土地 で 歓 迎 Or: welcome to the land of the rising sun! Experience the most breathtaking places in wintry Japan. Far away from the traditional tourist hotspots we move from photogenic mountain landscapes to icy coasts. This trip offers the best wildlife of Japan and guarantees excellent photography. From cute Japanese macaques to giant Steller’s sea eagles, Japan in winter is an absolute must.
Every day you get lots of photo opportunities in the best light conditions. We cross the country, but always work close to our minibus and rarely travel long distances on foot. We start with a visit to the Japanese macaques that bathe in hot springs. Then we go to the island of Hokkaido for the whooper swans. Although their name suggests the opposite, they are unbelievably tame here. Moreover, the setting is extremely photogenic.
A highlight of this tour are the trips with our own chartered boat. We photograph the mighty Steller’s sea eagles from a short distance! Close-ups are really no exception. And don’t forget: the graceful red-crowned cranes, which almost disappeared at some point but recovered after new protection lows. Furthermore, we cross our fingers for imaginative species such as blakiston’s fish owl, Ural owl, sika deer, white-tailed eagles …
Prepare for full day photography. You are guaranteed to return with an enormous amount of unique images! The excursions during this tour will be guided by Yves Adams, an experienced photographer with tons of knowledge. He guarantees you learn how to make that special shot!
We fly from Zaventem or Schiphol to Haneda or Narita airport (flights not included), where we will arrive on 4/02. We spend the night in a hotel near the airport. From the moment we set foot in Japan, everything is included in this trip, unless stated otherwise.
We drive to the Monkey Park in Jiogkudani. This is part of the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park in Nagano province, northwest of Tokyo. The name Jigokudani means “Valley of Hell,” due to the countless hot springs that produce boiling, bubbling and steamy clouds. The boiling water flows from the deep cracks in the frozen ground, surrounded by steep, wooded cliffs.
Around lunch time we check in our traditional Japanese guesthouse or ryokan. This is near the start of the trail to the Monkey Park. In the afternoon we visit the hot springs and photograph the Japanese macaques that come to bathe.
We start every morning with a relatively easy walk of half an hour to the hot springs. During two full days we take the time to extensively photograph the Japanese macaques. With a bit of luck we get some snow and we can shoot unique images. We have lunch each time in a restaurant near the springs, where we can warm up a bit. We return to the guest house in the late afternoon.
We leave early in the morning for Haneda airport in Tokyo. We take a domestic flight to Kushiro, in the east of the island of Hokkaido.
We drive to Tsurui, in the Akan district: the breeding ground of the red-crowned crane! As soon as the temperature rises a bit, the graceful cranes start their spectacular display dance. We always spend the afternoon at the popular observation sites Tsurui and Akan.
We ensure that we are there in time to photograph the feeding moments, because then the cranes are the most active. White-tailed eagles and black kites also come to eat during these feeding sessions. Challenging photo opportunities, so to speak!
During the mornings we catch up on the famous Otowa bridge. Here we have a beautiful view of the sunrise over the misty river with cranes.
The snowy sanctuary is a fantastic backdrop for photographing the displaying black, white and red cranes.
After one last photo session with the cranes, we set course for Lake Kussharo. Our typical Japanese guesthouse is located on the shores of picturesque Lake Kussharo.
Lake Kussharo is surrounded by hot springs that keep the edges of the lake ice-free. Large groups of whooper swans winter in these steaming water pools. Although their name suggests something else, they are quite tame. A day full of good photo opportunities, both action shots of the swans and landscape images. Because of the fog and the whimsically shaped trees, a mystical atmosphere is created that charms every photographer. We stay at the lake until after sunset. Only then do we return to our guesthouse for a well-earned supper.
After a photo session with the swans at the crack of dawn, we head to the eastcoast of Hokkaido: the Notsuke peninsula, which since 2005 has been designated as RAMSAR wetland. We hope to get some red foxes and deer in the picture.
On the way to Rausu we visit a few places where we can see Ural owls and stop at some photogenic places.
Our final destination today is the port city of Rausu. From here we depart the following days each time for a boat trip to the icefields, where the Steller’s sea eagles reside. If we arrive on time, we will schedule another session in the afternoon to photograph these mighty birds.
We stay 3 nights at hotel in Rausu.
Twice we leave with our chartered ship to the ice pack. We can expect large groups of white-tailed eagles and Steller’s sea eagles there. Prepare for very close encounters with these large birds!
The eagles use the icebergs in the ice pack as lookouts. With the ship we slalom among the eagles and we provide the most beautiful background, perhaps even with the rising sun.
If the weather turns out to be too unpredictable to sail out, we don’t have to worry immediately: we have provided an extra day here.
Depending on the weather and ice conditions, we can make extra boat trips in the afternoon (not included in the price). Or we will explore the area in the Shiretoko National Park. There we look for and photograph species such as the sika deer, Ural owl and red fox. We can also again picture whooper swans in a beautiful setting.
We also spend time observing and photographing Blackiston’s fish owl. Moreover, the winter landscapes are very impressive here, so we certainly pay the necessary attention to that.
It’s time to travel back to Tokyo, where we stay 2 nights in the same hotel as at the start of the trip.
Of course with the camera ready: capture your impressions of this crazy metropolis! In your photo album they create beautiful contrasts with your nature images …
In the night or morning we leave for Haneda or Narita airport for our return flight to Brussels or Amsterdam. The international flights are not included in this trip.