Arrival in Tokyo
Arrival at Tokyo Airport Airport (either Narita or Haneda Airport). Please inform us in time at which airport you will arrive at.
Transfer from airport to Hilton Tokyo;
Dinner on your own
Per Person Sharing
Day 1 (January 25)
Day 2 (January 26)
Flight to Hokkaido
Transfer to Airport
Flight to Kushiro on Hokkaido
Transfer from Airport to Hickory Winds Lodge where you will stay 8 nights.
Lunch is on your own
Afternoon drive to Tsurui Crane Reserve where you might get great opportunities to photograph courting red-crowned cranes
Dinner and overnight in lodgeDay 2 (January 26)
Day 3 (January 27)
Hokkaido
We are leaving the lodge early to drive back to the crane reserve where we will photograph from a bridge down to roosting birds in frost and fog and early morning light. We will also see other birds including white-tailed eagles. If we are lucky we even can add sika deer and red foxes to the day’s photo list. We will spend all day at the reserve;
Dinner and overnight in the lodge; lunch is on your own.Day 4 (January 28)
Hokkaido
Again we will be leaving very early for morning light in the crane reserve. We have the option staying there all day or drive to Lake Mashu for winter landscapes. In the afternoon we will photograph whooper swans at the lake.
Dinner and overnight in the lodge; lunch is on your own.Day 4 (January 28)
Day 5 (January 29)
Hokkaido
Early morning we will drive back to Lake Mashu to photograph swans in fog caused by the geothermal activity. This makes for moody and very artistic images. We will spend the whole day in the area.
Dinner and overnight in the lodge; lunch is on your own.Day 6-9 (January 30 - February 2)
Hokkaido
The program for the next four days will depend on the weather conditions. We plan to drive at least twice to the fishing village of Rausu to photograph Steller’s sea eagles. We will go out on a boat and will have the opportunity to take images of theses magnificent birds in flight and fighting over fish only a few feet away. We also have cahnce to vist the swans again at Lake Kussharo and the red-crowned cranes near Tsurui Village.
Dinner and overnight in the lodge; lunch is on your own.Day 6-9 (January 30 - February 2)
Day 10 (February 03)
Tokyo and snow monkeys
We will leave the lodge early morning. Transfer to Kushiro Airport and then flight to Tokyo. A privately chartered van will pick us up at the airport and drive us to the snow monkey reserve in the Jigokudani Yaen National Park. The drive takes 4-5 hours.
We will spend the night in the Korakukan, a traditional Japanese-style guesthouse which is located a short distance from the snow monkey hotsprings
This rustic mountain Minshuku (family operated, Japanese-style bed and breakfast) is the nearest ryokan (only 100 meters) to the beautiful Jigokudani Yaen National Park in the mountains of the Yudanaka Onsen in Nagano. There are indoor and outdoor hot spring baths for both women and men at Korakukan Jigokudani (and Japanese snow monkeys frequently visit the outdoor hot spring baths from late October as well!). From the outdoor hot spring baths at Korakukan Jigokudani, the nearby hot spring geyser can be seen. Fresh local vegetables and river fish are served to guests. Travel warning: It is a 2 kilometer (1.24 mile) walk to Korakukan Jigokudani lodge from the nearest road. So please wear good winter hiking boots.
Because the lodge is such a short distance to the snow monkey hot springs we can spend all day at the pools to photograph and also be able to walk to the lodge for lunch. Lunch is on your own.
Overnight at Korakukan Guest HouseDay 11 (February 04)
Snow monkeys
In the afternoon we will change the lodge and walk back to the nearest road to a modern and very comfortable Japanese-style hotel. Lunch is on your own.
Dinner and overnight in Senjukaku HotelDay 11 (February 04)
Day 12 (February 05)
Snow monkeys
After breakfast we will walk back up to the snow monkey hot springs. We can either stay all day or we can come back down for lunch time. Lunch is on your own.
Breakfast, dinner and overnight in Senjukaku HotelDay 13 (February 06)
Tokyo and international flight home
Drive to Tokyo airport in private bus and flight back home the same day.
End of tourDay 13 (February 06)
Included
- Accommodations for 12 nights
- All land and air transfers in Japan
- All drives to the various wildlife sites
- National park fees
- All meals excluding lunches and meals on first and last day in Tokyo
- Local English-speaking drivers/guides as well as two Wild Focus Expedition trip leaders
Not Included
- International airfare to and from Tokyo
- Change of itinerary
- Lunches
- Any items of personal nature such as beverages, laundry, telephone calls
- Travel/medical insurance
- Any extras not mentioned in the included list such as extra meals and activities
For most activities, a moderate level of exertion is required. Participants should be in good general health, able to hike one to two miles over uneven and rough terrain and in the snow and ice.
Please be aware that some of our overnight stays will be in traditional Japanese Guesthouses and may involve sleeping in tatami mat rooms on traditional Japanese futons. Unlike North American futons, Japanese futons are a stack of thin mattresses that are sometimes stored during the day and brought out at night for sleeping. Most inns that use this style of futon are very traditional and rustic with sliding paper doors (Shoji doors) that can offer beautiful views of elegant Japanese gardens.
Japanese cuisine is world-renowned and is one of the many highlights of this expedition. Meals will be “omakase” (the chef’s decision). In smaller villages and in traditional Guest Houses, it may be difficult for our hosts to cater to individual food preferences. Please note that neither vegan nor Kosher food is available. If you have food allergies, it is essential that you notify us at the time of booking on your Trip Registration Form so that we can verify if we can meet your food requirements.
One of the delights of this trip is the varied cultural experiences that you will have. Sleeping behind shojis on futons and wrestling new delicious foods with chop sticks are all apart of a Japanese wildlife adventure with Wild Focus Expeditions. This experience will be great fun and extremely memorable if you are an outgoing personal and are tolerant of unique and new cultural differences.
Wild Focus Expeditions provides specialized, small group photography tours. Our photography expeditions are designed to get participants into distinctive, engaging locations around the world at the optimum times for photography. Our photo tours are created by our team of photographers who want to experience and photograph the world's top wildlife, nature and traditional cultures locations.