Explore Hokkaido
With three major national parks, eastern Hokkaidō will be a high priority for those interested in Japan’s natural environment. Public transport is sparse, so consider renting a car to get around. Abashiri is known throughout Japan for its old maximum-security prison (now a museum), and winter boat tours through the drift ice on the Sea of Okhotsk. Jutting into these inhospitable waters northeast of Abashiri is Shiretoko National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Japan’s most naturally unspoiled areas. Inland, south of the peninsula, the Akan National Park is also stunning, with hot springs and three scenic lakes. More eco-tourist delights await at Kushiro Shitsugen National Park and Kiritappu Marsh where you can spot regal red-crested cranes among many other fauna and flora.
Read More- Shiretoko National Park
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Kushiro Shitsugen National Park
Kushiro Shitsugen National Park
Japan’s largest protected wetland, at 45,200 acres, is the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park (釧路湿原国立公園). Birdwatchers flock here in winter to see tancho cranes, but the wetlands are home to many other birds and animals, including deer, grey herons, whooper swans and eagles.
One of the best places to observe the cranes is actually just north of the park, in the fields near the village of TSURUI (鶴居), an hour’s drive north of Kushiro, at the Tsurui Itō Japanese Crane Sanctuary (鶴居•伊藤タンチョウサンクチュアリ). Half an hour further north of here towards Akan, the Akan International Crane Centre GRUS has breeding facilities and an interesting exhibition hall.
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Cranes, swans and eagles
Cranes, swans and eagles
Birdwatchers will be thrilled by eastern Hokkaidō. The area is home to three of Japan’s top four ornithological spectacles: red-crested white cranes (tancho-zuru) in the Kushiro and Kiritappu regions; whooper swans, also in the Kushiro region, and near Abashiri and Odaito towards the Notsuke Peninsula; and Steller’s sea eagles at Rausu on the Shiretoko Peninsula. The fourth must-see is cranes at Arasaki in Kyūshū. The best months to view all of these are January, February and March.
The red-crested white cranes, commonly called tancho, are a symbol of Japan and were once found all over the country. However, they became so rare in the twentieth century that they were thought to be almost extinct. Fortunately, the birds – designated a “Special Natural Monument” in 1952 – have survived and their population, living exclusively in eastern Hokkaidõ, now numbers around one thousand. Thanks to feeding programmes at several sites around the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park, it’s possible to see these grand but shy birds; with a 2m wingspan they are the largest in Japan.
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The disputed Kuril Islands
The disputed Kuril Islands
A protracted territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, some of which can be seen clearly from the Shiretoko Peninsula, means that technically Japan and Russia are still fighting World War II. A peace accord has yet to be signed because of Russia’s continued occupation of these volcanic islands, which are strung across the Sea of Okhotsk between the Kamchatka Peninsula and northeastern Hokkaidō.
Known in Japan as the Northern Territories, or Chishima (Thousand Islands), and in Russia as the Kurils, only five of the islands are permanently inhabited. Japan demands the return of the four southernmost islands of Kunashiri, Shikotan, Etorofu and the Habomai group, the closest of which is less than 20km off Hokkaidō’s coast. The islands themselves are fairly desolate; it is their strategic importance, rich mineral resources and the surrounding fishing grounds that make them so desirable.
