Snow Monkeys & Cranes of Japan with Mark Brazil- Premium Adventures

Welcome to Tokyo! Today you will meet your English-speaking tour guide at the
Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyo at 7pm for a welcome briefing, followed by a group
welcome dinner, and the chance to get a good night's rest before our journey
to Kyushu the next day.Premium accommodation: Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu,
Tokyo Haneda (4 star)

A morning flight takes you to Kyushu Island. From Kagoshima, drive through
wooded hills into the Kirishima-Yaku National Park. Visit the ancient
Kirishima Shrine and walk through the beautiful mature laurel forests around
Lake Miike to observe resident forest birds and wintering waterfowl. Dinner
and overnight at a hot spring hotel in Kirishima. Standard accommodation:
Ryokojin Sanso, Kirishima, Kyushu (3 star)

The fallow rice paddies around the coastal village of Arasaki are the site of
a spectacular winter gathering of Asian cranes. The sights and sounds of
nearly 14,000 hooded and white-naped cranes make this one of the most
powerful wildlife experiences one can hope for, and a photographer’s dream.
Overnight at Hotel Sengokutei for the next two nights.Premium
accommodation: Hotel Sengokutei, Izumi, Kyushu

Rise early to visit the main concentration of cranes to witness their mass
departure from the roost at dawn. After breakfast, explore the surrounding
fields to photograph adults and juveniles and search for other wintering
birds.Premium accommodation: Hotel Sengokutei, Izumi, Kyushu

Leave Kyushu on an early morning flight for the snowy mountains of central
Honshu. Visit the village of Shirakawa-go, located in an isolated, steep,
mountainous area of the Sho River Valley. This World Heritage Site showcases
the unique architectural style of houses that resemble hands folded in
prayer. Overnight in Takayama.Premium accommodation: Hotel Associa Takayama
Resort, Takayama, Honshu (4 star)

This morning explore the historical town of Takayama, visiting saké
breweries and miso stores, before continuing by road to Matsumotos to visit
the historical castle, ending at Kambayashi Onsen. Here you have the
extraordinary opportunity to watch and photograph snow monkeys.
Your ryokan, or inn, Senjukaku Inn, for the next three nights features an
attractive and artistic interior and a delightful garden. With its
own onsen (natural thermal spring), you are able to emulate generations of
Japanese people (and the monkeys!) and enjoy a relaxing and therapeutic soak
in the mineral waters.Premium accommodation: Senjukaku Inn, Kambayashi Onsen,
Honshu (4 star)

Jigokudani is a steep-sided valley set amid forested mountains. After
breakfast walk along the mile-long trail to the viewing area and spend the
day observing and photographing the resident troop of Japanese macaques as
they feed nearby and soak in their very own thermal pool. Also keep a lookout
for the shy and elusive Japanese serow, and birds such as the brown dipper
and alpine accentor.Premium accommodation: Senjukaku Inn, Kambayashi Onsen,
Honshu (4 star)

Today drive across Honshu and then fly from Tokyo to Kushiro. Arriving in
eastern Hokkaido, more wildlife spectacles await—huge numbers of
red-crowned cranes, flocks of whooper swans, magnificent Steller’s eagles,
and possibly Eurasian red squirrels, Japanese deer, and red foxes. Overnight
at a family-run hot spring hotel in Tsurui-mura for the next three
nights. Premium accommodation: Minshuku Taito, Tsurui Mura, Hokkaido

In snowy east Hokkaido, visit several areas to view red-crowned cranes. You
can expect to see large flocks of these magnificent birds at ranges down to
100 feet or less. Greeting ceremonies and courtship dances involve leaps and
pirouettes, posturing, and trumpeting cries. Such behavior can be infectious,
spreading through the flocks in waves, and oftentimes dozens of cranes leap
and trumpet together in a thrilling display. Premium accommodation: Minshuku
Taito, Tsurui Mura, Hokkaido

Akan-Mashu National Park is geothermally rich and over two days you will
explore a variety of visually stunning subjects—volcanic peaks, steaming
sulphuroles, Hokkaido’s most scenic crater lake, and flocks of whooper
swans. In the evening, retreat to your delightful lakeside pension for a
gourmet meal.Please note: single supplements are not available at Pension
Papilio and rooming is based on twin share (single supplement guests will be
sharing with another group member of the same gender on these two
nights).Standard accommodation: Pension Papilio, Kawayu, Akan, Hokkaido (3
star)

Today drive to the Shiretoko Peninsula, another of Japan’s World Heritage
Sites. This rugged, mountainous finger of land attracts white-tailed and
Steller’s eagles, truly immense birds, half again as big as the bald eagle.
Weather permitting, visit the edge of the sea ice by boat and lure these
impressive raptors with fish scraps. Tonight stay at a local inn overlooking
the sea.Standard accommodation: Rausukur, Rausu, Hokkaido

Depart early this morning for a second opportunity to watch the eagles at the
ice edge. Following breakfast continue your exploration of eastern Hokkaido,
first along the Shiretoko Peninsula for more views of winter wildfowl and
raptors, and to watch for foxes, deer, and seals (sightings of Steller’s
sea lion and harbor seal are possible), and keep a look out for sea-urchin
harvesters. Then head south to your accommodations inland at Yoroushi where
you will spend two nights.Premium accommodation: Yuyado Daiichi, Yoroushi,
Hokkaido

Today explore the scenery of the southeast coast of Hokkaido, where there are
more chances to encounter deer and foxes, as well as wintering swans, ducks,
and raptors. Time permitting, learn how mochi, a type of Japanese rice cake,
is created. Premium accommodation: Yuyado Daiichi, Yoroushi, Hokkaido

After breakfast drive back to Kushiro for your flight south to Tokyo. Pause
for your last glimpses of cranes and views of Kushiro marsh before saying
farewell to Japan’s wildest island, Hokkaido. Overnight at the The Okura
Tokyo, with a special farewell dinner.Premium accommodation: The Okura Tokyo,
Tokyo, Honshu (5 star)

Wave goodbye to the rest of the group and board your flight home.