summer-wild-hokkaido
What you'll see
The journey, one day at a time
Arrive Kushiro
Arrive in Kushiro, met and transferred to your accommodation. The red-crowned crane, symbol of longevity in Japan, performs its courtship dance in the Kushiro snow — a photographer's dream.
Kushiro
Crane feeding stations and the winter wetland. Photograph the dancing red-crowned cranes in the snow.
To Shiretoko National Park
Transfer to Shiretoko National Park. A wilderness cruise for coastal brown bears. The UNESCO coast by boat, with bears and eagles.
Shiretoko National Park
The UNESCO coast by boat, with bears and eagles. A full day of Shiretoko's wild coast and wildlife. Shiretoko's roadless, UNESCO-listed coast is the wildest in Japan — brown bears on the shore, eagles overhead, whales offshore.
Shiretoko National Park
A full day of Shiretoko's wild coast and wildlife.
To Rausu
Transfer to Rausu. A dawn cruise among sea eagles on the drift ice. Drift ice and eagles by boat, with coastal wildlife.
Rausu
Drift ice and eagles by boat, with coastal wildlife. A full day of sea-eagle and drift-ice photography. Off Rausu, hundreds of Steller's sea eagles gather on the winter drift ice — one of the planet's great raptor spectacles.
To Lake Akan
Transfer to Lake Akan. A night vigil for Blakiston's fish owl, with the frozen lake by day. Winter forest, the frozen lake and Ainu culture.
Lake Akan
Winter forest, the frozen lake and Ainu culture. Blakiston's fish owl, the largest owl on earth, haunts the rivers around Lake Akan — a rare and magical sighting.
Departure
A final morning in Lake Akan — a last outing or a slow start as time allows — before the transfer onward and the journey home.
The season changes what you see.
Peak season
Peak crane season — the dancing and snowy backdrops.
Good season
Cranes are resident; winter is the spectacle.
Hand-picked camps & lodges
Akan Tsuruga Besso Hinanoza
A refined hot-spring ryokan at Lake Akan, the area's most luxurious stay.
Kitakobushi Shiretoko Hotel & Resort
A seafront hot-spring resort at Utoro, the gateway to Shiretoko's cruises.
Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel
A comfortable hot-spring hotel well placed for the Rausu sea-eagle cruises.
Kushiro Prince Hotel
A reliable city hotel in Kushiro, convenient for the crane sites.
New Akan Hotel
A comfortable hot-spring hotel on the shore of Lake Akan.
Rausu Daiichi Hotel
A simple, welcoming hotel in the Rausu fishing port.
Make it yours.
Add nights, swap a park, extend to the coast — this route is a starting point, not a fixed menu. Tell us how you travel and we'll route the rest.