Sailing to Alaska...

The city is Kushiro is located in the Eastern Hokkaido and this is one of the last stop for those who trys to sail from Hokkaido, Japan to Alaska.

A photo of my friend's sailing boat...

Flooded Kushiro Marsh

As snow melts more and more everyday, Kushiro marsh is getting flooded.


"Flooded Kushiro Marsh"

Because of the good amount of snow we had this year, it seems that the water level at Marsh seems higher this year.



"Ezo Shika Deer Trails in Water"

Brown Bear near the House...

You may not associate Japan with bears, but we do have two kinds of bears.

On the main island calld Honshu, we have blackbears. And here in Hokkaido, the Northern island,we have brown bears.

Today as I was walking on the trail in the moutain behind my house, I came across the big print on the snow.



Undoutedly this is the track of a brown bear. Deep marks of his/her claws showed the size of this bear.

I have never seen the actual bear yet in Hokkaido, but I was surprised to see even the track so close to my house.

Next time I go into the moutain, I will take my bear spray...

Back to Winter

As the first sign of spring, butterbur sprouts came out last week.

Like many Japanese who live in the country side, I have been wanting to pick them to eat, but I have not had a chance until today.

Unfortunately it was snowing this morning, so my "spring hunt" was not quite warm like a spiring day.

Yet, it was nice to see the plant covered in light snow, giving me a sense of vitality of life in spring.

After taking a photo of them, I pick out several buds and fed one to my favorite horse and the rest to myself.

Paddling Kushiro River

There lies a big river running through Kushiro Marshi in Eastern Hokkaido, Japan.

My friend and I paddled Kushiro river today with our kayaks.

Starting at the nearby Toro lake, we had to thrust through a thin layer of ice with our kayaks, but the rest of the trip was quite fun.



With the spring thawed water, the water level at the river was very high.

We spotted a lot of Ezo shika deers, four minks and many ducks.

Almost inaccessible on foot, Kushiro river gives a chance to explore the marsh to those who like to paddle the river.

Another beautiful day....

^

Cranes back to Marshland

Today I went to bike on the gravel road that cut through the marsh.

Motor vehicles are not permitted on the road, so my friend and I were the only ones on road for the three hour Marshland bike trip.

Japanese cranes are back in the marsh for the spring and you hardly see them in the Tsurui village anymore.

AFter biking about 30 minutues, I found one pair of white dots in the yellowish grass.

Sure enough they were Tancho(Japanese Cranes)looking for food in the marsh.

In the Fog

The outside was covered by fog this morning.

This area in Southeast Hokkaido is famous for thick fog during spring, summer and fall.

Standing in the middle of fog, the landscape reminded me of the black and white Japanese traditional painting.

Here is a photo of the day.

Back to Hokkaido

I was in the mainland Japan for about 2 weeks and came back to Hokkaido last night.

The ground is still covered with snow, but much of it has been melted while I was away.

I saw a few red foxes running across in the field today.

Here is a photo...

Crane Band

As the spring comes, more and more cranes are soon going back to the marshland in the Eastern Part of Hokkaido.

Japanese cranes are usually solitary birds, usually found as a pair and a lone crane. But in the winter, while keeping a partnership as a pair. they seem to form a temporaly group when they gather in the village feeding ground.

As I lay on the snow looking up the sky, a crane herd fly river over me today.

Here is a photo...

Cranes in the Strong Wind

The wind has been blowing strong all day today.

Japanese cranes usually fly very elegantly with 2m long wings wide open, but today they had difficuly keeping a balance in the air. They flew in circle and higher than usual so that they don't hit trees when they are pushed by the wind.

Because of the wind, some of them flew out of their usual flying route and happened to fly in front of the sun.

Here is the photo....

Deer Buck

After the deer hunting seasons closed, there are more deers on the moutain road.

I came across with a deer buck with one antler missing...

Ezo Sika Deer

Today at Kushiro Marsh, I spotted many deers called Ezo Sika Deer.

These deers were once close to extinction, but now they are everywhere in Hokkaido.(One of the reason why deer population grew was that predators like wolves became extinct.)

The Hokkaido government is try to balance the population, but with the declining number of hunters, it seems to be more and more deers...

Here is a photo from today.

Back to the Marsh

More and more Japanese cranes are going back to the marsh from the winter feeding ground in the Tsurui Village.

Today, I spotted two couple of cranes near the Marsh.

Even with full of snow on the ground, I can feel that spring is slowly coming.

Time for Separation

This is the time for the separation for Japanese cranes.

After a year being together, crane parents have to kick out a young one in order to prepare for the next birth.

Crane parents keep more and more distance from a child by ocasionally pecking and chasing him/her.

Soon a young baby learn to live on their own once his/her parents fly back to their nesting area.

Only a year together as a family... and they have to move on.


"A pair of Japanese Crane without a young one...."

Lone Fox

I spotted a red fox today while I was driving near the Kushiro Marsh.

Red fox is abundant here in Hokkaido. I happened to find the denning hole near our house last year. Hopefully we can see the young ones again this spring...

Kushiro Marsh Sunset

There lies a big marshland called Kushiro Marsh near the Tsurui village.

I went there to look for short-eared owls. As the sun was going down, I found several of them flying, but was not able to take a good photograph. Seeing is one thing, but capturing images is another...

Instead, I saw a wonderful sunset today. The sun was slowly going down to the horizon, changing the color of sky litttle by little.

Here is a photo of the sun reflected on the snow in the marshland.

Crane Sunset

It was an amazing sunset today.

As the sky turned orange, pink and purple, Japanese cranes flew back to their sleeping ground in the nearby river.

Still in the Village

It has been snowing quite a bit here in Tsurui Village.

Japanese cranes are still hanging out in the village and soon they will fly back to the marshland to mate and raise the baby in the summer.

Here is a shot from today. A crane looking for something to eat in the river.

Ezo Owl

It's been sometime to post the new entry.

I usually go out and take photos everyday, but I have been lazy...

Here is a photo of the Ezo owl from Hokkaido I took yesterday.



Sitting on the favorite tree, it is taking afternoon nap before going to hunt for the night.