A February trip to the Land of the Rising Sun offers unique nature experiences. Snow monkeys bathing, Japanese cranes in a snowstorm – as well as Steller’s sea eagles and white-tailed eagles together in perfect harmony. Up close, without camouflage – and all this in one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Join Natur&Foto in Japan in February 2028.
A February trip to the Land of the Rising Sun can offer unique nature experiences. Bathing snow monkeys and Japanese cranes in a snowstorm – as well as Steller’s sea eagles and white-tailed sea eagles together. Up close, without camouflage – and all in one of the world’s most populous countries. Join Natur&Foto in Japan in February 2028.
At first, it may not seem like Japan has much to offer a nature photographer. You imagine a high-tech society packed with people. Indeed, the 3,000 islands of the Japanese empire are home to 124 million inhabitants on an area only slightly larger than Norway, so it would be no surprise if the country were devoid of exciting wildlife. How wrong one can be! Rarely do I return home with as many animal and bird photos as after two weeks in a wintery Japan.
On this tour, we will photograph some of Japan’s most iconic wildlife. We will photograph the famous snow monkeys bathing in hot springs, as well as dancing Japanese cranes and Steller’s sea eagles in the drift ice north of Hokkaido. We will also photograph the brown Blakiston’s fish owl, the largest owl species in the world.
The Snow Monkeys’ Spa
We begin with the snow monkeys, or Japanese macaques, at Jigokudani Yaen-Koni – Hell Valley Monkey Park – near the Olympic city of Nagano. Around 200 monkeys live here, and they all head down to the hot spring. Some move slowly, while others leap down the slopes and immediately start picking up seeds. Among the snow monkeys, there are many charming young ones. They have thick fur, play, roll in the snow, and increasingly look like little snowmen.
Some monkeys go straight into the bath. After a long, cold night with around minus ten degrees Celsius, it is a delight to sink into the warm water, which can reach up to 40 degrees. We stand ringside at the pool, just a few meters from the bathing monkeys. The hot water steams, and frost smoke drifts back and forth over the monkeys. An incredible experience that can only be experienced here in the entire world!
More and more monkeys lower themselves into the water. They sit beside each other and, spontaneously, start grooming one another. Not simultaneously, but one by one. The monkey being groomed sits still, closes its eyes, and enjoys the treatment. The grooming monkey leaves nothing to chance. It carefully grooms the head, checks the ears, looks around the eyes, and systematically goes over the body. This is full-body care – just like at any spa! Grooming is extremely important to the monkeys. In addition to removing lice and other parasites, it plays a very social role, creating cohesion in the group. When one monkey has groomed another, the roles are switched. Now the first one receives a full-body treatment.
It is said that the monkeys began their bathing culture here about 50 years ago – after observing humans bathing in hot springs. To avoid conflicts with spa visitors in the nearby resorts, the monkeys were given their own pool in the valley, and since then they have loved spa more than anywhere else on earth.
“Tancho”
A few days later, we are on Hokkaido – the northernmost of the Japanese islands. Already at Kushiro airport, I see a large model of “Tancho” – the beautiful Japanese crane. There is no doubt that the Japanese crane holds great importance for the Japanese people. At one point, it was nearly extinct, with only a handful surviving near Kushiro. After some cranes were found starved in 1952, locals began feeding them grain. This practice continues each winter, and now the population numbers around 1,000 cranes on Hokkaido. Besides Japan, they also breed in China and Russia. The total global population is only around 2,700 individuals, so the species is still considered critically endangered.
At the Akan Crane Centre, it is full of photographers. It is almost like Hornborga Lake in Sweden – except here we can openly photograph the majestic cranes at 20–30 meters. On the feeding grounds, the birds dance and display their lively skills – just like European cranes. A flock of whooper swans also waddles around the area.
After two full days of crane photography, we continue north on Hokkaido. The next stop is Lake Kussharoka, with hot springs and beautifully snow-covered hills in the background. This is the great swan lake of Japan. Large numbers of swans come here from Siberia to overwinter, and like the crane, the swan has become an icon of winter Japan. In places where hot springs keep the ice away along the lakeshore, there are swan centers. Japanese locals come to feed hand-tame swans, just as we feed mute swans at home. This provides excellent opportunities for photography – wide-angle for birds in landscapes, and long lenses for details and action. Particularly exciting is early in the morning, when swans arrive flying individually or in small flocks. Here, we can capture stunning flight shots – and especially landing sequences on water and ice.
Steller’s Sea Eagle Paradise
Rausu is Japan’s eagle capital. Our familiar white-tailed sea eagle is common here, but it is primarily the Steller’s sea eagle that attracts photographers – also known as the Steller eagle. Along the main street of this small town, a hill with tall trees is home to up to 50 eagles lined up side by side.
The main attraction for photographers, however, is photographing the Steller’s sea eagles on the drift ice in the strait between Hokkaido and the Russian island of Kunashir. This drift ice originates from the great Russian rivers and usually arrives at Hokkaido’s coast in February. Due to climate change, the ice arrives later each year, and for a long time it was uncertain whether there would even be drift ice during our visit. Fortunately, the ice arrived just a couple of days before our arrival, but it was still a distance offshore. After a few hours by boat, we locate the drift ice, and with buckets of fish, we lure the majestic eagles into photographic range.
In this area, there is also a spot where the large brown Blakiston’s fish owl arrives every evening to catch a fish or two. This occurs at a floodlit fish pond.
Photos in gallery: Tom Schandy
