JAPAN – HONSHU

23 May to 8 June 2012

by Rob Dougherty

Brown-eared Bulbul

During May and June 2012, my partner Di and I took trip to Honshu Japan to holiday and bird. In the year that followed and at near glacial pace, I managed to write this most belated trip report.

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Overview Japan - did ok I guess with 65 species recorded. Not particularly bad given that it wasn’t a purely bird focused holiday, and we had four days in Tokyo and three in Kyoto, and didn’t leave Honshu. As a birding destination I found it pretty hard going coming across new species and numbers were generally in the ones or two, other than for the crows, bulbuls, wagtails, swallows, sparrows and tits. Key centres visited were Tokyo, Karuizawa, Kusatsu, Yudanaka, Kyoto, Kawaguchiko and Shimoda (and surrounds). Access to good birding spots was generally difficult (no quick walk to the spot or rolling out of the tent and off you go birding arrangements) as it often involved walking kms through serious suburbia to the sites, or a bus or train ride - and sometimes access was not available in the early ‘birding’ hours. Most sights were up on the forested hills - there are some very large tracks of forest throughout Honshu - however on the flat country where we visited, it is mostly all housing, manufacturing, farming, etc. Didn’t access any paddy fields, classic dirt roads or natural (unaltered) ponds. Did manage however to bird at temples (especially Kyoto and Nara), suburban parks, around big (mostly groomed) lakes, some steep forested trails at Kawaguchiko, up Mount Fuji itself at the snow line, a bird sanctuary at Karuizawa up in the Japanese Alps, and at a headland on the Izu Peninsula about 150 kms, as the crow flies, south of Tokyo. Some of the better birds were Japanese Green Pheasant (1 skulking in rank grassland beside a river in Kyoto), Brown-eared Bulbul, Eurasian Bullfinch (pair up Mount Fuji), Japanese Grosbeak (1 - Karuizawa), Mandarin Duck (pair - Karuizawa), Japanese Wagtail (various places), Brown Dipper (a much wanted bird but only two very brief views - Karuizawa), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Karuizawa and Kusatsu), Siberian Blue Robin (1 - Karuizawa), Narcissus Flycatcher (few at Karuizawa and Kawaguchiko), Blue-and-White Flycatcher (Kusatsu and Nara), Blue Rock Thrush (phillipensis sub sp) (a number at Shimoda), Azure-Winged Magpie (party next to a lake - Kawaguchiko), Fork-tailed Swifts at 2000 m and over the North Pacific, and also Eurasian Cuckoos (Kusatsu). They may have a thing for the cuckoos over there with their call used at several sets of traffic lights to tell you that you can walk. In a few places in Tokyo they use a sound like a Figbird from Australia, which had me looking up on a few occasions. Seawatching near Shimoda - had two sessions of about 2 1/2 hrs each - first day mild to moderate winds produced countless Streaked Shearwaters way out and 2 Short-tailed Shearwaters. Fly pasts of Great Egret, Black-tailed Gull and Eastern Reef Egret. Second day - no wind and hot - some Streaked Shearwaters and the odd gull. A flyover of a Fork-tailed Swift and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker lifted things a bit and was entertained by a Blue Rock-Thrush calling and displaying about the headland. Sadly no albatross. Notable missing birds - not a single wader of the sandpiper, godwit, etc type - though I did have two Grey-headed Lapwings unmistakable in flight from the train at 200km an hour (not sure if it was quite that fast, but close to it) - and not much in the way of thrushes (in fact very few ground or skulking birds). I new before I left Australia, all the cranes and lots of ducks were to be absent, which was the case - the only ducks were Eastern Spot-billed, Mallard, Mandarin and a lone Tufted. Winter would be the time to go to get those cracking birds. Only 4 birds seen weren't identified - a hawk, cormorant, shrike and a finch/bunting due to very brief views - mostly everything was either readily identifiable or could be quickly sorted by a reference to the field guide. Animal wise saw lots of Sika deer, couple of Japanese Serow (goat/antelope cross), two squirrel types (and only two all up), several snakes of 3 species, a dead mole (I think) and Japanese Macaques (the famous snow ones, and some less so famous and a bit less friendly ones near Mt Fuji). Bear warning signs were prominent in a couple of areas and wearing bells was a requirement/suggestion. On the general tourist side of things – I didn't get much out of Tokyo. Went to the fish markets but mucked up the correct entrance and therefore missed out on the famous tuna auction (not a good thing after a 4 am start), couldn't get a sumo ticket despite getting to the ticket place at 6 am (Di saw a sumo in the subway though), and the odd quirky suburbs were ok, but other than shopping, eating and gawking at the locals, not much to do. Did like the Meiji – Jingu gardens in the centre of Tokyo - written up as a good bird spot (got a few birds), and the forest itself was pretty good with a large amount of tall trees in such a build up area.

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Kyoto was great for temples though when you arrive there you wouldn’t know it at first - full on dismally grey buildings. The temples (when located) equalled birding opportunities, but again birds were generally few and far between, and people aplenty. The Alps were nice with lots of onsens (hot baths) which were fantastic, the scenery was great (not in the men’s onsen though) and some of the better birding was had. The lakes (we only saw one of the five big ones) around Mount Fuji and the associated forest (including up Fuji) produced the most species, though the lake town area where we went was geared for Japanese and Chinese bus/hotel tourist which made for no atmosphere (for us anyway) and hardly any restaurants (other then in the big hotels). Lastly the seaside town of Shimodao where we went to a headland to seawatch was pleasant with lots of greenery and beaches, and some new birds. All up the locals were incredibly friendly, funny and helpful; food was pretty good other than breakfast which had us resorting to Starbucks, bread and croissants (the alternatives were a lot of "what the”); and if you get off on temples there are some great ones about. But by the end of it we were temple out - also train, bus, and tempuraed out. Finally costs were mostly on par with Australia - no bargains to be had unless you ate your dinner at Seven Eleven. Planning and Destinations Generally Last year during late May and early June, with my partner Di and me needing to take leave, we took advantage of some very cheap flights on Jetstar to visit Japan. Other options considered until we saw the bargain flights were Melbourne and New Zealand, both great birding destinations in their own right, but who could resist Japan when the flights were to be pretty similar and it sounded so much more exotic. The trip was essentially a holiday for both of us, but with me being a birdwatcher the trip, as one could expect, was going to have a mandatory birding component.

With about three weeks notice I dug up trip reports for Honshu, Haikodo and some smaller offshore islands to Honshu from various sources on the internet, and Di borrowed Lonely Planet’s Japan from the local library – and with those in hand we attempted to design an itinerary that included both a touristy and birding component. I also quickly sought a copy of Birds of East Asia (Mark Brazil) via the website Booko (the book, a second, turned out to be in excellent condition).

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Haikodo was quickly ruled out given the sort length of the trip, but mostly so as it appears that winter is when the place goes off bird-wise. The offshore islands were also ditched because of time constraints and logistics. In the end we never left Honshu and covered a rough triangle of the island from Tokyo, out to the Japanese Alps near Nagano and down to Kyoto, with stops along the way at Karuizawa, Kusatsu, Nara, Mt Fuji and the Izu Peninsula. Landscapes covered from the unrelenting urban expanse of Toyko, the still slightly snow covered Japanese Alps, pine and mixed forests, slightly more luxuriant coastal scrub, the very snow covered peak of Mount Fuji, lakes big and small, and headlands. Transport I sweated somewhat on the local transport issue before I left. I love the idea of not driving (no stress with traffic and getting lost) and I love the idea of driving (freedom to stop where ever I felt, getting to birding spots first thing, and just enjoying the drive itself). Driving in Japan for an Australian requires an international driver’s licence, and what I figured would be heightened navigational skills and nerve to deal with the traffic I had expected. In the end we decided against driving and we did the public transport thing. As it turned out driving would probably have not been scary anywhere, but navigation would likely have been an issue in the Toyko and Kyoto. In reality the only time I was regretting not having a car was in the Karuizawa and Kusatsu areas where it would have made for some pleasant drives and easier access to birding spots. The public transport route was made that much easier by grabbing a Japan Rail Pass before we left home. One of these for 14 days (consecutive) cost about $530 (shorter and longer periods are available) and needed to be purchased outside of Japan. Have to admit it got us to most places we needed to be (or close by) and was extremely efficient, fast and comfortable. The places that it didn’t get us to where covered by other train services, subways and buses. All were an ease to use and any confusion caused by language issues and simple logistics were relatively easily sorted by the transport officials, hotel staff and people on the street’s willingness to assist. Finding someone who spoke English was generally relatively easy. Accommodation Accommodation turned out to be a bit of a mixed affair. We booked Tokyo from Australia for the first 4 nights and planed to do what we usually do thereafter, wing it. In the end we used a variety of avenues to find a place to stay including Expedia, Travelocity, Lonely Planet, and tourist offices with different results - price, atmosphere and comfort wise. Toyko – Stayed at the Park Hotel Tokyo, in Shiodome http://en.parkhoteltokyo.com/. Good hotel, service great,

room larger than the horror stories we had read, and nice Japanese/Western style breakfast. We walked away totally satisfied with our choice and would definitely stay there again if going back to Toyko. BTW the Hotel website turned out to offer the best deal compared the likes of Expedia and Travelocity.

Karuizawa – Stayed 2 nights at the APA Hotel Karuizawa-Ekimae right next to the train track. Lovely and

helpful staff, cramped and smoke scented room, no hint of train noise - for the price on offer it was what was expected.

Kusatsu – first night stayed at a Japanese/Chinese style resort, Nakazawa Village, which caused major

haemorrhaging to the bank account. It did include dinner and breakfast though – however we are still trying to work out what half of what was on offer was. Rooms were exceptionally large, but they along with the whole place didn’t provide an atmosphere to our liking – though all the other guests seemed to enjoy it decked out in the hotel kimonos and sandals. I gave what would have been a tragic look on me a miss.

The next day we bailed and went back to the tourist office again – this time they set us up in a semi-traditional Japanese home stay arrangement - sleep on futon, bamboo mats, shoes off at the door, donning of different shoes for the loo, ever smiling hosts etc – and this set the standard for the rest of our trip – we loved it – maybe not the shoes which didn’t come in giant Australian size.

Yudanaka – sourced from a Lonely Planet recommendation, the Uotoshi Ryokan http://www.avis.ne.jp/~miyasaka/index-e.html was undoubtable one of the most unusual and best places to stay. Between the owners Alsatian dog with a serious incontinence problem when other dogs passed (it sleeps on some of the biggest incontinence pads ever seen), the free traditional archery lesson in the owners backyard (should say archery centre), the large and comfortable rooms and the owner’s absolute hospitality – we loved this semi-traditional style set-up.

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Kyoto – arranged through the tourism office in the train station. We were offered a number of options and ultimately were able to secure another semi-traditional Japanese style room at the Kyoraku Ryokan http://www.ryokankyoraku.jp/en.index.html within 5 or so mins walk. The room was nice and a good size, and the place was convenient and well run. We were shown lots of courtesy in the time we spent here.

Kawaguchiko – another one of the big disappointments accommodation-wise. Organised through the tourist

office at the train/bus station, through a rather formal-officious lady. The room though semi-traditional Japanese style was again in a Japanese/Chinese tourist focused set-up with no atmosphere (other than that of cigarettes), and the relatively few other guests were loud. But it was a relatively good location in a relatively lacklustre lakeside town.

Shimoda – another one sourced from Lonely Planet. Unfortunately I can’t remember the name though it was on

the south side of town if that helps and LP says no one speaks English. Spent a night here and surprisingly no English was spoken. The elderly lady with dementia in the shopfront was a delight, a nudie moment with the sight of a more mature Japanese lady walking out from the bath into the hall - more embarrassing for me than her, and the overall hospitality made this a lovely place to stay (maybe not the nudie moment).

Semi-traditional Japanese Style Room

Specific Places by Date Toyko Arrived at the airport and was very efficiently passed through immigration and then straight on to the train into the centre of town. Despite thinking I had everything under control - navigation wise - we were quickly lost upon walking out of the Shimbashi Train Station. With the help of a couple of business men we were pointed (actually lead the near 1/2 km) to our hotel. The local’s courtesy was to become a regular and much appreciated occurrence for the rest of our trip. In the hotel room we collapsed into the bed and we eased towards sleep – with me thinking of what will be my first bird for Japan next morning (well that’s what we do isn’t it). Up at about 6 am I went outside into a concrete landscape, and a much warmer and humid one than expected, in the hope of something good - ok it was a Eurasian Tree Sparrow - not so exciting having seen them on several Asian trips before (many more would be seen on this trip as well), but Large-billed Crow as the second species was good to see. Domestic pigeon followed – another disappointment but at least the Japan list was off to a start. After about 5 mins I was at the Imperial Palace East Garden. A moat and locked gates over the bridge access points proved very frustrating - the place opens after 9 am - and the only birds observed from across the moat were Eastern Great Tit and Great Cormorant. Breakfast back at the hotel was the only real option at that stage. Later that morning I hit the Imperial Palace East Garden again with Di in tow and had some more success. Barn Swallow, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Grey Heron, Intermediate Egret and Little Egret were about in their ones and twos. What got me a bit more excited were White-Cheeked Starlings which were numerous in the open areas, and the two Oriental Greenfinch that flew off the path in a more sheltered and quieter corner of the Garden. Best of all was a sallying Brown-eared Bulbul. These birds, as anyone who has been to Japan would know, were to become regulars.

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Little Grebe at Imperial Palace

Ginza – not quite the madness expected

Imperial Palace Gardens

After an hour or so here we made our way through the Ginza shopping district - coffee and lunch along the way – eventually making it to the Imperial Palace. Birding here had potential, but was ultimately disappointing. Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White-Cheeked Starling, Large-billed Crow, Little Grebe, Great Cormorant, Brown-Eared Bulbul and an assumed domestic Mute Swan. Not much for a couple of hours, with just the one new species being the Grebe, but it covered off on a tourist spot anyway. An excellent dinner of tempura prawns and vegetables at the Tokyo Train Station and some shopping rounded off the day. Next morning we headed for Meiji – Jingu, a large forest and shrine complex in one of the suburbs - Harajuku. After getting off the train it was straight into the park and through an impressive wooden gateway, which signalled the start of some nice tall forest and some fields. There is also another smaller park that abuts – Yoyogi Park – which was also visited. These locations were a pleasant change from the concrete expanse outside the parks.

Meiji – Jingu Entrance Gate

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I had gleaned from the trip reports of others that there was a chance to see Azure-Winged Magpie here. That didn’t eventuate, but I did manage a few new ticks – Carrion Crow, White Wagtail and Varied Tit, the latter of which was very nice. Other birds seen were Barn Swallow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Eastern Great Tit, White-Cheeked Starling, Oriental Greenfinch and Large-billed Crow. Next door in Yoyogi Park an unexpected Rose-Ringed Parakeet feeding in an Australian Cootamundra Wattle made for an odd international combination of species and location. I recall there is a resident escapee population of the parrot in Tokyo, so I have claimed it as valid tick? Essentially this day was filled in by visiting these parks and the shopping districts surrounding.

White-Cheeked Starling

Large-billed Crow

Next day with the very early rise of 4 am we made our way to the Tokyo Fish Markets for a tour and to attend the tuna auctions. Soon thereafter the crappy early start to the day worsened when we failed to get onto the tour of the markets. We did see them – the markets and some small tuna - unofficially, when we got lost in the markets on the way to the start of tour. That was just before we were pointed to the way out by security – very kindly though. After that failure we then changed direction to try and secure some last minute sumo tickets. Several trains later (and with the help of more locals) we ended up at the Sumo stadium at 6 am in the morning, only to find that they were sold out. More than disappointed on our two failures for the day we hit breakfast at McDonald for a much needed coffee (sadly the coffee was failure three) and a rethink of our plans for the day ahead. We decided to hit the Ueno Zoo Area for some potential waterbirds and to visit the local museums.

Spot-Billed Duck – about as exotic as it got for waterfowl at Ueno

Black-tailed Gull

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Some substantial ponds with varying plant cover looked promising, but ultimately delivered only a few birds. Black-crowned Night Heron, Striated Heron and Black-tailed Gull about the lake, and Japanese White-Eye in the park trees were new, but some previously see birds were also there - Grey Heron, Eastern Great Tit, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Domestic Pigeon, Great Cormorant, Carrion Crow, Little Grebe, Eastern Spot-Billed Duck and White-Cheeked Starling. The Tokyo National Museum, eating, shopping and sightseeing (up the Tokyo City View Observation Deck for a overcrowded and smog filled view of town – a must do despite) saw out the rest of the day before another late night ended the day.

Shinobazu Pond at Ueno

Karuizawa Following a bit of a sleep-in we eventually checked out of the hotel and made our way down to the train station, destination Karuizawa. This town was on my target list of must visit places for birding, having seen it mentioned in a number of trip reports, mind you they were always set in the depths of winter. An hour or hour in a half later after passing through endless Tokyo we eventually arrived at the Karuizawa train station. Was fantastic to see green field, mountains, large tracks of forest and even snow up on the peaks. We hit the information centre at the station and secured some maps, touristy info and a bus timetable - and then checked into our hotel seeing Black-eared Kite, Asian House-Martin and Barn Swallow along the way. Not to long after dumping our bags we were off to the bus stop (next to the station) to catch a ride up to the Shiraito Falls in the mountains nearby. Wasn’t too long before we reached the spot, but the arrival of rain with us put a bit of a dampener on the moment. Birding was very slow, but still three new birds were found - a Winter Wren singing its heart out, a much desired Brown Dipper which somehow managed to give me only glimpses as it kept its distance and Grey Wagtail. Carrion Crow was the only other bird up there. Back in town we scored a White Wagtail walking the pedestrian mall as we searched for dinner as well. On the latter we found that finding a decent place to eat, and one that served vegetarian food for Di in the evening was difficult - not much seemed to be open, but we did find some local style food eventually near the train station. There were Italian and Pizza joints about also, but we were in Japan after all and local food was what was on our minds. Next morning, again on a local bus, we made our way to the much anticipated Karuizawa Wild Bird Sanctuary (Forest), unfortunately at a much later time then was desirable due to the bus schedule. It was way to far to walk there (6 kms I guess) and costly to cab it. Forests, streams, grassy area, hills, nice coffee and food, and an onsen (Japanese Bath House) all added up to make this an interesting place to bird.

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Various environments of Karuizawa Wild Bird Sanctuary and Onsen – not sure about the dripping blue creature

On arrival we had a coffee and a crème brulee at the restaurant outside the onsen, having failed to get breakfast back in town. A Grey Heron flew by. After this relaxing start we went to the visitor centre to suss it out and get some goss, particularly on the possibility of pheasants. Though there was no current information for where to spot the pheasants in the Sanctuary, the lovely lady behind the counter was able to tell me about the Japanese Green Pheasant and Ring-necked Pheasant (?) that she sees in her garden on occasion. With a few tips on where to head towards and a bear bell (apparently they are taken seriously here) we headed up stream and towards a small wooded valley. Eastern Great Tits were about and as we reached a small pond, Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Mallard were found. Then it started to heat up when skulking in the low scrub I spotted a blue and white bird, a lovely Siberian Blue Robin, which was quickly followed by a colourful Narcissus Flycatcher. Further along the track, with a large thunderstorm looming, I saw my one and only for the trip - Japanese Woodpecker - bolt thru the forest whilst calling. Whilst watching an Asian Brown Flycatcher Di pointed out the largish colourful snake at my feet which we later identified as a Japanese Keelback or Japanese Grass Snake (Yamakagashi) – apparently poisonous, but it needs to have a good chew of the victim to deliver poison. Though it didn’t pose any danger (what you don’t know at the time), the soon to follow deafening lightning strike close enough to turn everything momentarily bright white did, and had us running back down the path to a building near the pond, were for the next 15 minutes, with the offer of the local park workers, we sheltered from the lightning, hail and rain.

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Mandarin Duck, Japanese Grosbeak, Varied Tit, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Siberian Blue Robin

Once the storm had passed, a glance at the pond again revealed the arrival of a pair of Mandarin Duck, a much wanted stunning species, and at the current time breeding in the park. Heading back up the path that we had just ran down, we this time encountered in the forest a Brown–eared Bulbul, Varied Tit, Eurasian Jay, Willow Tit and a Japanese Grosbeak - great birds. Eventually, the path opened out to a flat area where the trees were replaced with scrub and a vista of a snow caped peak nearby. Here on the edge of the last of the trees, we had our first Long-Tailed Tit, very cute. Also a bird calling reminded me of Eastern Whipbird from back home, but I could not locate it in the low rank scrub (bear bell – a ringing) before showers forced us under a rotunda nearby. After about 20 minutes, showers ceased and we continued along the track back towards the onsen, picking up Japanese Yellow Bunting, Meadow Bunting and a fantastic Great Spotted Woodpecker.

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A – location of accommodation and railway station, B - Ski Slopes and C – Bird Sanctuary. Top of the map also shows Shiraito Falls

Back at the onsen we paid our entry fee and we both, in separate sides of the complex, enjoyed the next half or so hour in absolute relaxation – much more and we would have been stewed. Coffee and lunch followed at one of the neat collection of food outlets slightly downstream from the onsen. Winter Wren, and White and Grey Wagtails seen on the walk down. Afterwards we again tackled the loop up through the forest and sighted some of the earlier seen birds again, and finally identified the Eastern Whipbird mimic as Japanese Bush-Warbler, a bird (its call) that I would pick up on many times over the rest of the trip. Back in Karuizawa town we visited the large shopping centre for designer seconds at the Karuizawa Prince Hotel – prices weren’t good - and again struggled for food for dinner afterwards. Back at the hotel I was advised that if you catch the “local” train (same station as JR) to the next town towards the bird Sanctuary you are much closer to it and the cab ride from the station there, that much cheaper. That was the making of my plan for the following morning. Next morning arrived and my plans to visit the Bird Sanctuary early were again quashed with Di feeling quite ill with stomach pains. With me having the same, but much milder, we put it down to last nights dinner - should have had pizza after all. Eventually when Di was feeling a little better, an hour or so later, I made my way out (ok abandoned her) into the township - across to the Prince Hotel - and up onto its partially wooded slopes and ski runs. On the way and in town, the usual expected birds were there, Barn Swallow, Black-eared Kite, Oriental Greenfinch etc, but a Chestnut-Cheeked Starling was a nice new bird. Once up on the ski slopes I found Japanese White-eye and the new tick of a Eurasian Nuthatch amongst some others. Later that day we hit the bus station again and made our way to Kusatsu, about an hour and half away – I guess. Kusatsu Having arrived in town we made our way to the tourist information centre in the local government building, next to the bus station. When we arrived it was comforting to see that public servants in Japan look just the same, and have the same office junk on their desks and computers, as public servants do at home (though there was a bit of a throw back to a 1980’s style). We are both public servants and if you are one you will know the look.

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Anyways it wasn’t the place to go and we were kindly given a map that showed the real tourist information centre nearby. So we trundled off in the new direction and after 15 minutes we hear the clip-clop of high heals as this lady called out. The place was actually way back up the hill from where we started, directly across the road from the station, but we misread the scale of the map and the lack of any signage (in English) didn’t help. Anyways the nice guys at the public service had rung ahead and let the lady know we were coming, and when we didn’t make it there she figured that those two foreigners (and clearly public servants) that passed her office earlier must have been us. Twenty or so minutes later we had selected a hotel with her and headed off on the free bus there. As mentioned earlier this hotel ended up not being to our taste. The rest of the day was spent doing some touristy things in town, though these were somewhat limited - looking at hot springs and shops, and eating the undisputable local speciality of steamed sponge cakes - before we went back to the hotel for dinner.

Kusatsu’s Sainokawara Park (hot springs) and outdoor onsen are worth the 15 minutes walk from the town centre

Next day the forest behind the hotel delivered a few new birds and further viewings of previously seen ones. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Eurasian Cuckoo were new, and others included Japanese Bush-Warbler, Eastern Great Tit, Brown-Eared Bulbul and Great Spotted Woodpecker. I should give a special mention to the Eurasian Cuckoo – its been a much wanted bird for years (not that I had ever gone looking for them overseas) and the initial confusion it would cause in looking like Oriental Cuckoo (an Australian summer visitor) is quickly dealt with once it calls (also should mention that they aren’t one to call in Aus but I had them on tape to compare). Again bears were meant to be an issue in this patch of forest, and I didn’t see one, but I would say that the large group of morning strollers on a nature walk yelling to the nature gods and ringing a doosey of a bell made sure that any bear would have buggered off if it had any sense - I know I eventually did. After breakfast at the hotel – a lot of ‘what the’ was on offer but the locals really enjoyed it – we took the hotel mini bus into the bus station in town – checked into our new traditional Japanese home-style digs around the corner and caught a local bus (free with our JR pass) up Mount Shirane – a dormant volcano (I guess it was). A scenic and relatively short ride - Eurasian Jay on the way up the mountain - saw us let off outside a number of shops, and trails into the partly forested and barren landscape. It was cool and cloudy. Birds about included Asian House-Martin, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Carrion Crow, Black-eared Kite and several Eurasian Cuckoos being very vocal and one which was obliging for pics. New however was a flock of twelve Fork-tailed Swift, a bird from home I have only occasionally seen, but now giving great views - and some more sweet Willow Tits. A distant shrike and a flash of a yellowish bird remain unidentified. A further bonus up Mount Shirane were three Japanese Serow that from a far had me thinking excitedly for a few moments as we hurried towards them, that they were Asian Black Bear (if I was only wearing a bell I wouldn’t have dipped). Weird looking creatures. Hot chocolate, baked sweet potato and a spongy anaemic looking sweet for food rounded up a lovely 4-5 hours up the volcano before we bussed it back to town and had a much appreciated bath in the outdoor onsen set amongst the forest, essentially abutting (pun intended) the town.

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Environments up at Mount Shirane, Eurasian Cuckoo and Japanese Serow

Next morning I did an early morning wander up to the forest surrounding the onsen. Its quite forested for such an area in close proximity to town, and found Varied Tit, Barn Swallow, Meadow Bunting, Spot-billed Duck, Oriental Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail and new for the trip a Blue-and-White Flycatcher calling from the top of a pine in a creek valley – very nice. After that, we checked out and again caught the local bus up Mt Shirane where we changed to another bus and made our way to Yudanaka on our quest to see the Snow Monkeys (Japanese Macaque).

A – good forest behind the resort and B – outdoor Onsen, hot springs and birding

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Yudanaka Arriving at Yudanaka bus/train station I rang a local pension – the one that Lonely Planet says at which they spoke English – and was given very exacting and simple details on how to walk to the place about 10 mins away. Wasn’t long before we were lost and so we went back to the station and this time the local tourist man came running out providing us with a point in the right direction. Apparently, the pension had rung them in the mean time – probably asking them to look for the two lost Australian public servants. Off we trundled again – this time heading the correct way and it wasn’t long before a lovely elderly lady in her van pulled up, asked us where we were going, and kindly drove us to the pension. Again the courtesy of people in Japan was truly appreciated. A short time later we had ditched our bags into our room and with the kind offer of the owner we were driven to the entrance of a ‘couple of km long’ walk into the Snow Monkey Park. The forest walk was very nice through the pines and ferns and included signage of what birds may be seen along the way. Though it wasn’t particularly birdy, we did see Coal Tit, Varied Tit, and Winter Wren. A Japanese Keelback and mole/shrew type thing both sprawled out dead on the path rounded up sightings on the walk.

Must have read this trip report

Arriving at the monkey park we weren’t disappointed with the monkeys doing what they normally do, with the added trick of hopping into their outdoor hot bath, despite there being no snow on a relatively warmish day. A good 45 minutes was spent here taking countless photos of the monkeys from every conceivable angle in every conceivable pose. Was enjoyable despite the mildly theme park atmosphere. Same walk out of the park through the forest delivered nothing new and it was onto the local bus back towards the pension. Halfway back we got off the bus following a tip from our host about a traditional style part of town that was worthy of a walk thru. It was aesthetically attractive with some quaint shops, locals in kimonos and a free warm bath for the feet along the way. From there we walked several kms back towards our pension along the very large open causeway. It was once a river that has been sterilised into a series of barriers with some pondage and no trees, but lots of reed and gravel areas throughout. A typical river environment in Japan from my observations – sad. Anyways it proved to be a good birding spot with my first and much anticipated Japanese Wagtail. Also seen on our walk were Oriental Turtle-Dove, White and Grey Wagtail, Carrion Crow, Asian House-Martin, Barn Swallow, Brown-eared Bulbul, Domestic Pigeon, Eastern Great Tit and Spot-Billed Duck. I hit this place the following morning also and it produced in addition, White-Cheeked and Chestnut-Cheeked Starling, Mallard, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Meadow Bunting and Oriental Greenfinch. That night a local noodle speciality and a beer in a recommended restaurant (house) made for a pleasant end to the day - err well that was before the three hour traditional archery lessen with all the bells and whistles. It was a great, but a very exhausting lesson from our exceptionally skilled and patient host.

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Oriental Turtle-Dove, Japanese Wagtail, Meadow Bunting and Chestnut-Cheeked Starling

After birding, breakfast and a free ride to the train/bus station we hopped on the train (actually a few) to make our way to Kyoto. The tip from our host was to take the route through the middle of the island rather than through Tokyo – more scenic and about the same amount of time. The next half day or so was pleasant and relaxing as we chatted with some locals, took in the scenery and I spotted two Gray-headed Lapwing blurs flying in some paddy fields whilst hurtling along at high speed.

Kyoto After lunch we arrived at Kyoto and having failed to secure a room by internet or phone before we left Yudanaka (little time between monkey viewing and archery lessons) we headed into the tourist information centre at the station. Twenty minutes down and we headed off for our 5 or so minute walk to our new digs for the next few days – traditional style again. Kyoto is described as a temple city but when you first arrive it is hard to spot them amongst all the ugly buildings. Most of the temples turned out to be like hidden gems scattered around the city and along the forested ridge lines that surrounded it. Couple of days in town, finding the gems and having some very nice meals lead us to remember Kyoto fondly.

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Its worth mentioning that visiting temples generally equalled the only birding opportunities for us in Kyoto – that said the marriage of some culture and birding worked out well. Highlight bird wise was a Japanese Green Pheasant. The temples and what birds were seen at them and in the city follows.

Bamboo Grove and various sites and temples (Arashiyama and Sagano District) Brown-eared Bulbul, Black-eared Kite, Oriental Greenfinch, White-Cheeked Starling, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Carrion Crow, Japanese Bush-Warbler and Japanese White-eye.

Togetsukyo Bridge (Arashiyama and Sagano District)

Japanese Green Pheasant (in rank grass along the river downstream from bridge), Little Egret, Japanese Wagtail, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Intermediate Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron and Great Cormorant.

Kyoto Generally

Barn Swallow, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Rock Dove, Cattle Egret, White-Cheeked Starling, Great Egret Oriental Turtle-Dove and Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine

Barn Swallow, Asian House-Martin, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Varied Tit and Japanese White-eye.

Kiyomizudera

Barn Swallow, Brown-eared Bulbul, Great Eastern Tit, Oriental Greenfinch, Eurasian Tree Sparrow Carrion Crow and Japanese Bush-Warbler.

Shimogamo

Grey Heron, Rock Dove, Black-eared Kite, Carrion Crow, Mallard and White Wagtail.

Togetsukyo Bridge Area (Arashiyama and Sagano District)

A side trip to Nara (about an 1 or 1 ½ hrs from Kyoto by train) and a visit to the ancient forest, surrounding parklands, ponds and magnificent temples delivered Barn Swallow, White-Cheeked Starling, Little and Intermediate Egret, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Little Grebe, Carrion Crow, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Great Cormorant, Japanese White-eye, Brown-eared Bulbul, Eastern Great, Long-tailed and Varied Tit, Blue-and-white and Narcissus Flycatcher, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and White Wagtail. There were also hundreds of wild/tame Sika deer throughout the parklands eager to hunt down the billions of school children for their little bags of deer food – the whole spectacle was bit of a circus, but both deer and children all seemed happy with the arrangement.

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The awesome Todaiji Temple's Great Buddha Hall at Nara, the most sedate Sika Deer and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker

The Blue-and-White Flycatcher giving exceptionally great views and singing its heart out, was surely the highlight of the visit. Another high point was when some locals tracked me down and returned my binoculars which I had left on a bench in a temple - the sinking feeling of realising that I might not have seen them again hitting me seconds later was the low point of the visit.

The outlook towards Nara and the Ancient Forest behind

I think that the “ancient forest” as named by the locals has a lot of potential for birding, but sadly it didn’t pan out that way particularly for me. A forest road takes you from the lower parklands through some good forest, along a stream, and eventually delivers you on top of a cleared hill overlooking the rest of the forest and the city of Nara – it looked good for raptor spotting. No raptors that day, but the hot coffee in a can vending machine was a novelty.

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Then it was back in Kyoto for another great dinner before some last minute planning on making our way to Mt Fuji the next day.

Blue-and White-Flycatcher

Kawaguchiko (Fugi Lake Area) The next day after breakfast at Starbucks we made our way to the station. From here we had purchased tickets to Mishima, from where we would then catch a local bus to Kawaguchiko. Our last minute planning the night before and after reading a trip report, determined that this would be the best gateway town for our access to Mt Fuji. A couple of hours later after a comfortable train ride we started to arrive at Mishima. A glance out the window as we approached town revealed a fantastic view of Mt Fugi in all its glory. Some hastily snapped pictures were to be, what we believed at the time, our only of a volcano with a reputation for not being seen well at that time of the year. On the local ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ themed bus shortly after, we started to make our way to Kawaguchiko. More great views of Fuji amongst the houses and telephone poles were delivered on the otherwise tediously boring hour or so journey. Arriving in Kawaguchiko views of Fuji lingered, but by the time we stepped out of the tourist office it had retired for the day. After checking into our hotel we headed outside to find a restaurant for lunch whilst we waited for a lift back to the tourist office for our bags. No luck in this tourist town, so it was nibbles at the 7-11 equivalent. Walking towards our hotel again I heard the calls of two birds – both significant enough to catch my immediate attention. One was quickly put down to a warbler, but it was not located in the reed beds of the lake, and the other turned out to be a small party of Azure-winged Jays which were a delight to see and one of my most wanted species for Japan. Look for them at Heidi’s Gardens on the lakeshore where they were roosting/nesting. After a quick trip to grab our bags and then chucking them in our rooms we were out for a walk along parts of the large lake abutting town. It proved to be a good walk for birds with two new species seen, along with the now ever present regulars of Black-eared kite, Mallard, Barn Swallow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Brown-eared Bulbul, White and Japanese Wagtail, Eastern Great Tit, Oriental Greenfinch, Carrion Crow, Great Cormorant, Meadow Bunting, Grey Herron, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, White-Cheeked Starling, Oriental Turtle-Dove, and Asian House-Martin. New were a mangy looking Tufted Duck and the Oriental Reed-Warbler, which I hadn’t identified earlier by its call. There were also some feral Canada Geese being raucous on the shore. Finding dinner afterwards was an issue again with the restaurant we had chosen to walk several km to having closed. The only really viable alternative was a noodle takeaway place, but fortunately the English speaking chief was a blessing in that he could help us interpret the Japanese menu and managed to conjure up something vegetarian for Di in an otherwise non-vegetarian restaurant. Next morning I was up early for a walk in the on-and-off drizzly rain. A good patch of forested hillside around the end of the lake looked promising, but I just had to figure out how to get access to it as it was behind a barrier of shops and hotels. I eventually did and it wasn’t long before I was onto a skulker which was fortunately calling – Asian Stubtail. The fleeting glimpses of it in the gloom were enough to claim a new tick. Walking along the dirt trail/road to some houses also delivered a squirrel, some very flighty Japanese Macaques and a Grey Wagtail. Other birds that morning were Japanese White-eye and Striated Heron.

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A – location for Asian Stubtail, B - Heidi’s Gardens, C – Great view of Fuji across lake and D to E - best spot found for lakeside bird viewing

After my walk I collected Di back at the hotel and we made our way back to the bus station for our much anticipated trip up Mount Fuji. Once on the bus it made its way up to the 5th station, just below the snow cover. The circus of tourist buses unloading their cargo in front of the several large souvenir outlets was a surprise, and the surrounding thick mist and drizzle obscuring views, disappointing. We decided to succumb to the shopping madness and elements - and we purchased some green tea to bring back home, Di did the touristy thing and posted a letter to her mum, and we had a breakfast of a lame coffee and a surprisingly nice Mount Fuji Cake. After sheltering for about an hour we decided to brave it outside and walk as far as we could (had the motivation to) up towards the top of the mountain – motivation dictated about a 1km walk essentially along a horizontal section of the track. This was good for a few new birds with Red-Flanked Bluetail and Eurasian Bullfinch, the latter being a really nice bird. Carrion Crow was also seen before we went back for some more shelter in the shops. Emerging another hour or so later after some lunch, and a conversation with some other Aussies we made our way back along the same track in much more favourable conditions – blue skys and great views. Goldcrest and Spotted Nutcracker were new ticks and Coal Tit and Japanese Bush Warbler rounded off on the species seen up Mount Fuji, with a Sika deer seen by bus on the way back to town. Back in town we went up in a cable car to a spot in the forest overlooking the lake. It was above the forest patch I had visited in the morning. This time I added Varied Tit, Asian Brown Flycatcher and Narcissus Flycatcher to the forest area. That night is was back to the noodle place for dinner.

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Eurasian Bullfinch, Red-Flanked Bluetail, Azure-Winged Magpies and Narcissus Flycatcher

Next morning I decided to tackle the same forest as the day before again. This time nothing new was added but the macaques were out in number in the forest and the Azure-Winged Magpies were showing well at Heidi’s Gardens on the way there. Also had the most fantastic view of Mt Fuji across the lake. Before to long we were back at the bus station to commence our journey to our final destination - the town of Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula.

Shimoda Back in Kyoto a few days earlier Di and I decided that we wanted to see the North Pacific and the Izu Peninsula looked like a good place to go and seawatch after having looked on Google Earth – swell hitting headland set-up. So a bus back to Mishima, JR train to Atami, and then on another JR and a local train saw us arrive at the nice seaside town of Shimoda a few hours later. The trip on the local train proved to be quite scenic as it made its way out along the Peninsula.

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When we arrived in town we visited the information centre for assistance in making arrangements with the non-english speaking place that we had already decided we would stay at. We soon checked in, enjoyed our complementary green tea and biscuits, and then made our way back to the tourist centre again to see about getting on a boat trip to the tip of the Peninsular – Irozaki, the hope being to spot some seabirds and mammals on route. Sadly the boat wasn’t operational so we boarded the local bus and took a 20 minute trip to the tip, followed by a ten minute walk to the lighthouse at the very end. The lighthouse area is very well set up for sea watching and the walk up to it, to pick up other species on route. You walk up the headland through some good shrubby wetter looking vegetation, pines, and some small cleared areas, past a drink vending machine selling the usual assortment of drinks to keep the energy up, past a public toilet if you need it, down some stairs past the light house to the extremities of the cliff where a lovely railed off platform awaits. From there you look out towards the Izu Islands (home of the Izu Thrush) and just for some added support from the gods in your quest to score something good, immediately behind you is a small temple carved into the rocks.

An ideal seawatching spot at Irozaki; Toshima Island, one of the Izu Islands; Blue Rock-Thrush, not the one calling from the rocks or the greatest shot, but still its a great bird; and Black-eared Kite

Well the potential was high, but I suspect that as I wasn’t there in winter I should be happy with the low amount of species I got. Out to sea was a constant stream of Streaked Shearwaters plus a number of passing Black-tailed Gulls. Also on the move were two Short-tailed Shearwaters, a Pacific Reef Egret and a pair of Great Egrets. Murrelets and Albatross weren’t to be found unfortunately. The path up to the lighthouse delivered Eastern Great Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Carrion Crow, Black–eared Kite and Japanese White-eye. The couple of hours spent on the cliff were good though and the added Barn Swallow and Eurasian Tree Sparrow rounded things off as I waited for the bus. That evening we strolled around the town and the bay area, and then desperately searched for something to eat. When we arrived earlier in the day the place was alive with places to eat, however at night we failed to find anything other that an Indian restaurant (weren’t game given we had a flight to catch the next day), a place that was only in Japanese and had no prices (looked expensive), and Maccas. Though we dreaded the thought, it was going to be Maccas and a rather dismal culinary end in a country that has so much to offer was had.

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After that it was back to the hotel for a soak in the onsen and a pre-bath nudie moment as one of the local elderly ladies decided to do a runner out into the hallway as we approached – god only knows why she did it or why I was the one that was more embarrassed and apologetic. Next morning I risked an early morning onsen visit before another stroll around the town and bay area, picking up Japanese Bush-Warbler, Carrion Crow, Barn Swallow, Asian House Martin, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Black-eared Kite, White and Japanese Wagtail, White-Cheeked Starling and more Streaked Shearwater cruising off shore. Then it was back to the pension to finish packing and ask the owners if we could store our bags with them (they spoke no English and we little Japanese, but gestures and watch pointing did the trick). After that we headed back to the bus and off we went to the lighthouse again. On arrival conditions were pretty hot and the sea calm, therefore I wasn’t expecting much. My expectations were met with only some Streaked Shearwaters and only a few more gulls. What was a bonus on this rather dismal seawatch was to see a Fork-tail Swift cruising close by over the sea, a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker bolting overhead, and watching and listening to a Blue Rock-Thrush calling from the adjoining rock outcrop – to me that was one of the highlights of the trip given the bird itself, the dramatic location and the warm summery feel. The scrub on the way up to the lighthouse also produced a large Japanese Striped Snake and bird-wise a Barn Swallow, Meadow Bunting and Japanese Bush-Warbler. The eclectic collection of species saved the day and the Rock Thrush was to take its place as the last of the new species seen in Japan (though after that I did see several more of them along the road and railway track along the Peninsula). After that our planned-to-the-minute day had us on the local bus back to Shimoda, checked out of the room with copious amounts of bowing, onto the local train (tickets luckily booked the day before – otherwise we were stuck there), off that train at Atami and onto the JR train to Tokyo, off that train and onto another to Narita Airport and eventually with time to spare we were - with another breezy session with Japanese Airport authorities - through check in and into some duty free shopping, snacks and a last beer for me before our bargain priced business (best ever) flight home to Australia.

A – Shimoda and B –Irozaki

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Journey’s End Many hours later after a good night’s sleep onboard and the horrors of Australian customs/immigration (filling in documents confessing to all sins, boots to be scrubbed down and painful slow progress) we were eventually released to winter at Coolangatta on the Gold Coast. Coffee and breakfast at a familiar haunt nearby with Welcome Swallows and Rainbow Lorikeets in number, was followed up by some seawatching at Point Danger spotting Hutton’s Shearwater, Australasian Gannet and Silver Gulls. This was a fitting end to the holiday and pretty cool I thought, knowing that I had been overlooking the North Pacific seawatching the day before and now seawatching over the South Pacific….. small things! All that was left for us to do was to drive back to Brisbane, return the hire car, have lunch, collapse in bed and come to terms with going back to work in a few day’s time.