Japan’s Winter Wildlife - Apex Expeditions€¦ · Sunday, January 31: Izumi / Kagoshima / Tokyo...

Japan’s Winter WildlifeJanuary 23 – February 8, 2016

W W W. A P E X - E X P E D I T I O N S . C O M 8 0 0 . 8 6 1 . 6 4 2 5 / 2 0 6 . 6 6 9 . 9 2 7 2

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Photos: (Cover) Japanese Macaque, Hooded Cranes; Steller’s Sea Eagle

Japan is a diverse assemblage of islands with a rich culture and a

fascinating array of wildlife that draws visitors year round. But

unbeknownst to the average traveler, there is a wonderland of rugged

landscapes and fascinating congregations of wildlife that only occur in

the snowy winter months. Japan in winter excels with remarkable

concentrations of Steller’s Sea Eagles on the ice edge at Shiretoko

Peninsula and huge flocks of cranes on Kyushu Island, considered to

be among the planet’s greatest wildlife spectacles. Our expedition also

includes the enthralling Japanese Macaques and ends with the lavish ice

carvings of the Sapporo Snow Festival. For travelers, photographers and

wildlife enthusiasts, let us show you this unexpected side of Japan,

delving deeper into the rich diversity of its ancient culture, exotic

cuisine, and, above all else, its extraordinary wildlife.

Expedition Over view


Saturday, January 23: Tokyo Arrive at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and transfer to our hotel for check in. Gather this evening with fellow travelers and expedition leaders Mark and Mayumi Brazil and Chieko Sakihana for a welcome dinner and briefing. Overnight at Haneda Excel Hotel.

Sunday, January 24: Jigokudani After breakfast, depart for a scenic drive through Japan’s immense capital, Tokyo, on our way toward the ruggedly mountainous Chūbu region of Honshu Island. Along the way, visit Lake Suwa to see some of Japan’s many wintering waterfowl, before continuing to Matsumoto. There, visit 400-year-old Matsumoto Castle. Also known as “Crow Castle,” because of its black exterior, it is one of Japan’s premier historical landmarks and is listed among the National Treasures of Japan. Arrive in Jigokudani in time to check into the serene Kanbayashi Hotel Senjukaku, your home base for the next three nights. Experience your first “haute” Kaiseki meal, then do as generations of Japanese people (and the local snow monkeys) do by taking a relaxing soak in Kanbayashi’s therapeutic onsen, or natural thermal spring. Overnight at Kanbayashi Hotel Senjukaku.

Monday & Tuesday, January 25 & 26: Jigokudani Located in the Yokoyu River Valley, nearly 3,000 feet above sea level, this area was given the name Jigokudani, or Hell Valley, because of the volcanic vents that send clouds of steam into the air here. Frequently blanketed with snow during winter, the mountains enclosing Jigokudani are nevertheless home to a troop of Japanese Macaques, or “Snow Monkeys,” that visit the valley each day. They gather for food, to soak in their very own thermal pool, and to groom each other, as the steam rises around them. With or without snow, this is one of the many photographic highlights of our expedition.

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Photos: Japanese Macaque or Snow Monkey; Traditional Japanese Meal; Japanese Macaques, Jigokudani


The next two days will be spent observing and photographing the Japanese Macaques, the world’s most northern-living primate other than humans. Walk the mile-long trail from our hotel to Yaen-koen, where you can spend whole days watching the macaques as they forage on nearby slopes, play, squabble, and chase each other. Up to a hundred or more macaques have been known to visit Yaen-koen each day. Seeing so many at once is a wonderfully thrilling experience. We will also search for the shy and elusive Japanese Serow, another species endemic to Japan and the Asiatic equivalent of the New World’s Mountain Goat. Although birds are few in the valley, we may encounter Brown Dipper, or perhaps an Alpine Accentor. Enjoy a relaxing dip in the hot springs before dinners and overnights at Kanbayashi Hotel Senjukaku.

Wednesday, January 27: Magome After breakfast, depart Jigokudani and drive along the Chuo Expressway before turning along the delightful Kiso River valley. Visit historical towns on the old Nakasendo Trail, the ancient route that connected Kyoto and Tokyo during the feudal period. Spend the afternoon photographing these historical towns and stay overnight in Tsutaya Kinosato Kazari, an inn near Magome.

Thursday, January 28: Magome / Nagoya / Izumi After breakfast, continue to Magome, also on the historical Nakasendo Trail. Feel transported as you pass landmarks that have changed little since the Edo period, some 300 years ago. Drive into the heart of Nagoya by bus for lunch, then board the famed bullet train, the Shinkansen, bound for Izumi in southwest Kyushu, the third largest island of Japan. Arrive in Izumi in the early evening. Dinner and overnight at Akune Grand View Hotel.

Friday & Saturday, January 29 & 30: Izumi / Arasaki Before breakfast, we set out to witness a birding spectacle without equal—the clamoring horde of cranes at Arasaki. Here, one of the largest gatherings of cranes in all of Asia spends the winter. Some 13,000-14,000 birds will be present with the majority consisting of 10,000 or more Hooded Cranes, with perhaps 2,000-3,000 elegant and graceful White-naped Cranes. We may even find small numbers of Common and Sandhill Cranes here too. In this season, there is constant and frenetic activity, almost bedlam, as families and groups arrive and depart for urgent foraging. If we are fortunate to observe their greeting and courtship rituals, we will see them bowing and sky-pointing while trumpeting loudly. Spend the next two days watching and photographing these beguiling birds, as well as the other birdlife in the Arasaki area. With its bewildering diversity of habitats, including woodlands, scrub, and a mosaic of rice paddies, reed beds, drainage canals and streams, Arasaki sustains many species of avifauna. Scour these coastal reclaimed lands of western Kagoshima Prefecture for Common Shelduck, Northern Lapwing, Daurian Redstart, and Chestnut-eared and Common Reed Buntings. At the end of each day, we are sure to be in place to see the cranes returning to their roost. Dinner and overnight at Akune Grand View Hotel.

Sunday, January 31: Izumi / Kagoshima / Tokyo / Kushiro After breakfast, drive southeast to Kagoshima Airport for our flights that take us first to Tokyo then on to Kushiro, in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. In the nearby village of Tsurui, enjoy dinner and overnight at the welcoming, family-run hot spring Hotel Taito.

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Photos: XXXXCaption text here from top to bottom.

Photos: Magome, Bullet Train, Red-crowned Cranes


Monday & Tuesday, February 1 & 2: Kushiro Region The next two days will be devoted to Red-crowned Cranes, as this is the best area, and the best season in this area, to view them. Kushiro Wetlands National Park and its environs harbor several roosting and feeding sites. By this time of year, the cranes have begun their spectacular courtship ritual: with a mix of icy mist and hot springs steam rising in the background, the birds bow, bob, pirhouette, leap and sky-point while giving their stirring duet. This behavior is often infectious, and it is possible to see dozens of cranes joining in the joy of the dance. Afternoon feeding sessions often draw White-tailed Eagles, Whooper Swans, and even Red Fox to the mix. While here, search the riverine woodlands for your first glimpse of the magnificent Steller’s Sea Eagle, and perhaps even a roosting Ural Owl. Time permitting, a visit to the Kushiro City Museum is well worthwhile, with its natural history exhibits and a display of artifacts relating to Hokkaido’s indigenous people, the Utari (widely known as Ainu). Dinners and overnights at Hotel Taito.

Wednesday, February 3: Rausu / Shiretoko Peninsula This morning, head for Hokkaido’s east coast and eventually the Shiretoko Peninsula. Here, the largest accessible gathering of Steller’s Sea Eagles takes place every winter. One of the world’s largest and most powerful eagles—it is one and a half times the size of the Bald Eagle —up to 1,000 individuals are sometimes present along the peninsula. Weather and sea-ice permitting, visit the edge of the sea ice by boat and lure these kings of raptors with fish scraps. This is a rare photographic opportunity, as the eagles swoop down to nab the fish against a backdrop of sea ice and snow-clad peaks. On land, explore the peninsula, looking for concentrations of sea ducks offshore and individual Steller’s and White-tailed Eagles perching in trees above us on the coastal slopes. Dinner and overnight at Rausukuru.

Thursday, February 4: Yoroushi / Akan Volcano National Park If the sea-ice is close, rise before dawn for another chance to photograph sea eagles. After breakfast, drive along the Shiretoko Peninsula seeking out yet more eagles, then drive westward towards Akan and the hot spring valley of Yoroushi. Stay at a traditional family Ryokan within the territory of a pair of Blakiston’s Fish Owls, one of the rarest owls in the world. Only about 80 pairs survive in Hokkaido and they do so with the help of the local people, who often put out fish for them each evening. Huge and powerful, Blakiston’s Fish Owl is a “mega,” a must-see for birders and non-birders alike. We spend part of the evening searching for these rare birds. Dinner and overnight at Yuyado Daiichi.

Friday, February 5: Yoroushi / Akan Volcano National Park From our base in Yoroushi we visit nearby Akan Volcano National Park, where we view the fumaroles at Iwo-zan. Visit Mashu-ko, the spectacular crater lake famous for having the highest level of water clarity on earth, and take time to photograph vociferous Whooper Swans at Lake Kussharo. This evening, you will have a second chance to watch for Blakiston’s Fish Owl. Dinner and overnight at Yuyado Daiichi.

Saturday, February 6: Sapporo Enjoy a scenic, full-day drive across Hokkaido toward Sapporo. Along the way, visit Arte Piazza Bibai, a magnificent sculpture park in the mountains featuring white marble and dark bronze sculptures by Kan Yasuda. Upon arrival in Sapporo, drop your bags at the hotel and venture out to the site of the Sapporo Snow Festival. Watch as ice carvers put the finishing touches on their carvings in the Susukino area of Sapporo, then, after dinner in town, overnight at the Sapporo Grand Hotel.

Photos: Red-crowned Cranes, Red Fox, Steller’s Sea Eagle, Blakiston’s Fish Owl

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Sunday, February 7: Sapporo Spend the day taking in the sights and sounds of the lavish and eccentric Sapporo Snow Festival, seeing the massive sculptures around Odori Park. Celebrate an incredible journey this evening with a farewell dinner and overnight at the Sapporo Grand Hotel.

Monday, February 8: Sapporo Depart on your international flights back home.

Market at Merkato

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Photos: Sapporo Snow Festival, White-tailed Eagle


Mark BrazilDr. Mark Brazil is a leading authority on the natural history of Japan and currently resides in Hokkaido. Mark’s career has included ornithological research, natural history consultancy for TV and Radio companies, guiding naturalists and wildlife photographers to all continents, and being professor of biodiversity and conservation at Rakuno Gakuen University, near Sapporo, until 2007. Since 1982 he has also worked in the natural history expedition industry and as a writer. With degrees in Biology and English Literature, and a PhD in Animal Behavior, Mark combines scientific interests with writing about the natural world and travel. His books include: Wild Asia: Spirit of a Continent, A Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia, and most recently The Nature of Japan. He has had his own column, Wild Watch, in The Japan Times newspaper since 1982. Mark will be joined on this expedition by his wife, Mayumi Brazil.

Chieko SakihanaBorn and raised in Osaka, Japan, Chieko followed her passion for Linguistics to the United States, earning a Masters from the University of Washington in Seattle. Returning to Japan, Chieko taught English for several years before joining the Japan Travel Bureau. During her 25-year career, she has led groups small and large across Japan, imparting her knowledge about Japan’s history and culture with passion. Chieko had led dignitaries that include heads of state and European royalty and we are honored to have her as part of the Apex team for Japan’s Winter Wildlife.

“Mark’s attention to detail

goes beyond the meticulously

planned itinerary. The natural

history as well as the cultural

experiences are always

personal and engaging.”

– John K., Massachusetts

Your Expedition Leaders


Japan’s Winter Wildlife January 23 – February 8, 2016$14,470 Per Person Rate

$15,970 Solo Rate

17 Days Trip Length

16 Guests Group Size

Tokyo / Sapporo Start/End

Expedition Details

IncludedApex Expeditions’ rates include all accommodations; all meals, activities and excursions as described in the itinerary;

air and train transporation within Japan, as listed in the itinerary; local beer and local wines at lunch & dinner; services

of Apex Expedition leaders and local guides throughout the itinerary; all gratuities; airport transfers; permits and

entrance fees; and all taxes.

Not IncludedCosts not included in the price of your Apex expedition include travel to Tokyo and from Sapporo, premium brand

drinks and liquor; travel insurance (Trip Cancellation and Interruption, as well as Emergency Medical and Evacuation

insurance, are strongly recommended); airport departure taxes; passport and/or visa fees; items of a personal nature

(phone calls, laundry, souvenirs, etc.); and independent travel arrangements pre- or post-trip.

Payments & Terms20% of the trip cost will confirm your place on the expedition. The final balance is due 150 days prior to departure.

All prices are quoted in U.S. dollars and must be paid in U.S. dollars. Per person pricing is based on double occupancy.

The solo rate is paid by participants who specifically request single accommodations and is subject to availability.

If you are traveling alone and wish to share accommodations, we will try to match you with a roommate of the same

gender. However, if a roommate is not available, the published solo rate will be charged. Upon confirming your

reservation you will be required to pay the published Solo Rate, if we are able to pair you with a roommate, the

applicable difference will be refunded at the time that the final trip payment is due for all participants. Please note that

solo accommodations are limited and cannot always be guaranteed throughout. For our full set of Terms & Conditions,

please visit our web site at www.apex-expeditions.com.

One-of-a-kind adventures to the world’s most fascinating places. Join us.

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Japan’s Winter Wildlife January 23 – February 8, 2016

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Japan’s Winter Wildlife - Apex Expeditions€¦ · Sunday, January 31: Izumi / Kagoshima / Tokyo...

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