Hokkaido Winter 2025: Wildlife & Snow Monkeys

DATES

from February 18 to 26, 2025

TOUR’S HIGHLIGHTS

• Japanese red-crowned cranes in the winter landscapes
• Owls in the winter forest
• Whooper swans in the frozen lake
• Fox and Deer in the winter landscapes
• 2 Boat trips to photograph Steller’s sea eagles and white tail eagles
• Surreal landscape of smoking sulfur mountain
• Stunning frozen lake
• Snow Monkeys

ITINERARIES

Day 1 // February 18: Kushiro, Hokkaido

Official meeting point is Kushiro Airport in Hokkaido. Participants should book a flight with the destination to Kushiro Airport from your city via Haneda (Tokyo). We will pick you up at Kushiro Airport and we will stay in a hotel in Kushiro. At night we will have a dinner together to know each other.

Day 2 // February 19: Japanese red-crowned cranes

Our photo tour starts with the Japanese red-crowned cranes in the wildness, one of the greatest attractions of Hokkaido for wildlife photographers. We will dedicate the whole day to photograph the majestic Japanese red-crowned cranes, visiting two different places.

Japanese red-crowned cranes in Kushiro, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Japanese red-crowned cranes dance in Kushiro, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Day 3 // February 20:  Red-crowned cranes at dawn, owls in the winter forest, and whooper swans at dusk

We will wake up before dawn to photograph picturesque landscape with red-crowned cranes in the river covered with the reddish mist just before sunrise. It all depends on the weather condition, but we will try to capture this amazing romantic moments. After this rising sun hour shots, we will go back to our hotel to have breakfast. After breakfast, we will go back to photograph red-crowned cranes arriving on a field from the river where we have just photographed this morning. We could photograph them flying or dancing after their landing. After lunch, we will head to a winter forest to look for owls. After photographing owls, we will have a lunch and head to a frozen lake famous for whooper swans to photograph them in magic hour.

Red-crowned cranes in the river at dawn in Kushiro, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Red-crowned cranes flying to land on a field, Kushiro, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Owls in a winter forest in Kushiro, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Whooper swans on a frozen lake, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Day 4 // February 21:  Whooper swans, volcanic mountain, and stunning winter lake

After breakfast, we will go back to the frozen lake to photograph whooper swans landing on the frozen lake. If you want, you will be able to bathe in an outdoor hot spring bath just in front of the shore with the swans! After swans, we will photograph the winter landscapes around the frozen lake shore, we will visit the most sulfurous mountain in Japan. Columns of smoke rise from the rocky snowy mountain, and the smell of sulfur permeates everything. It is a surreal and mystical place. In the late afternoon we will arrive at a lake to photograph the stunning winter landscape. Then, we will retreat to our today’s hotel with amazing outdoor hot spring, one of our most favorite hotels in Japan. From the lobby of the hotel, you can photograph many kinds of birds, Japanese marten, and owl at night.

Whooper swans, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Fly fishermen on the frozen lake, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Winter snowy landscape on the lake. ©Akashi Photos

Volcanic mountain in Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Stunning winter landscape with a lake in Japan. ©Akashi Photos

Day 5 // February 22: Notsuke Peninsula

After breakfast, we will visit a peninsula, paradise of wildlife.  We will find wildlife such as fox and deer in the harsh winter landscape. We will have lunch there, and when we are fine with our photos, we will go to our yesterday’s hotel .

Deer in the Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Fox in the Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido. ©Akashi Photos

Deer in the Notsuke Peninsula. ©Akashi Photos

Day 6 // February 23: Boat trip for Steller’s sea eagles and wildlife 

Early in the morning, we will leave our hotel to the Shiretoko Peninsula to catch a boat. We will enjoy two-hour cruise to photograph white-tailed eagles and Steller’s sea eagles on the drift ice. In the ocean, if we were very lucky, we will come across with orca. After the cruise, we will go back to the Notsuke Peninsula to look for wildlife such as fox and deer. Tonight we will sleep in a hotel with hot spring in Rausu.

Steller’s sea eagles on the drift ice, Shiretoko. ©Akashi Photos

White-tailed eagle in Shiretoko. ©Akashi Photos

Orca in the ocean of Shiretoko. ©Akashi Photos

Fox in the Notsuke Peninsula. ©Akashi Photos

Deer in the Notsuke Peninsula. ©Akashi Photos

A family of deer at dusk. ©Akashi Photos

Day 7 // February 24: Eagles in Shiretoko Peninsula and moving to Asahikawa

Today we will wake up very early before dawn, and we will go back to photograph white-tailed eagles and Steller’s sea eagles on a boat. This time we will photograph them with early morning warm light. After the two-hour cruise, we will go back to our hotel for breakfast, then we will head to a local airport to catch a flight to Tokyo. After our arrival at Haneda airport in Tokyo, we will move to Nagano by a bullet train. We will check-in a hotel near Nagano Station.

Dawn off the coast of Shiretoko Peninsula. ©Akashi Photos

Stellar’s Eagle in Shiretoko Peninsula. © Akashi Photos

Steller’s sea eagles in Shiretoko. ©Akashi Photos

Shiretoko Peninsula. ©Akashi Photos

Day 8 // February 25: Snow Monkeys

In the morning, we will drive to the mountain in Nagano to meet with Snow monkeys. We will have lunch before entering the mountain because no food is allowed in the mountain. After intensive photo session with snow monkeys bathing in the hot spring, we will descend the mountain and go to a retro charming hot spring town to enjoy one of the best hot springs in Japan, then we will sleep in this hot spring town.

Snow monkey in Nagano. ©Akashi Photos

Shibu Onsen is an old hot spring town with more than 1300 years of history. The small onsen village is full of traditional wooden ryokans and there are 9 public baths spread around its narrow streets.

Day 9 // February 26: Snow Monkey and travel back to Tokyo

In the morning we will go back to photograph the snow monkeys for a little while just in case we are not satisfied with the pictures or the weather of the day before before we head to to the Nagano Station to catch a bullet train to Tokyo. Then, our tour ends at Tokyo Station.

Snow monkey in a hot spring bath. ©Akashi Photos

Snow monkey in Nagano. ©Akashi Photos

SUMMARY OF THE TOUR

Toru Morimoto and Tina Bagué, both professional photographers, have organized a dream trip to Hokkaido to explore the northernmost island of Japan, capturing the amazing winter wildlife, including Snow Monkey in Nagano.

Hokkaido is the second largest island of the four main islands that make up Japan. Located to the north of Honshu, the northernmost point of Hokkaido is just about 40 kilometers south of the southernmost point of Sakhalin Island, Russian territory. Despite of occupying a fifth of the entire country, Hokkaido barely has 5% of the population of Japan. Its population multiplies exponentially in summer when Japanese tourists look for cooler weather to enjoy summer. However, from our point of view, and after traveling to the area both in summer and winter, we believe that there is no better time to enjoy nature and wildlife of Hokkaido than in winter. Hokkaido is absolutely magical place during this season. Akashi Photo Tours will take you to places with difficult access in Hokkaido to discover all the wonders of Hokkaido.

Hokkaido is synonymous to nature, pure wildlife and breathtaking landscapes. Traveling through its snow-covered minimal plains with trees, walking on frozen lakes or photographing Japanese cranes dancing in the snow are priceless experiences. The silence, the crunching of the drift ice or the whistle of the wind is Hokkaido’s daily soundtrack. For the all attractions that offer to people who love nature and photography, Hokkaido is often described as “the magic island”. Hokkaido keeps attracting travelers and photographers from all over the world.

We will travel in our private van, so we can stop anywhere we like . To compensate for the icy temperatures that usually occur in the winter months, Hokkaido offers many accommodations with hot springs that will be a real balm for the body at the end of a day to have a good sleep. Bathing in indoor and outdoor baths with its hot springs at 40ºC, with an outdoor temperature of -15ºC is an unique experience that you have to live at least once in your life! We will stay in some ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) with hot springs as well as in western hotels. We will also enjoy kaiseki dishes, artistic Japanese cuisine, as well as authentic local food.

And we have included “Snow Monkey” in this Hokkaido Tour for wildlife photographers. In stead of visiting the places for minimal landscape photography in Hokkaido like our another Hokkaido Tour, we will visit Nagano to photograph snow monkey. We will fly to Tokyo from Hokkaido and get on a bullet train to visit Snow Monkey. If you were interested in only wildlife photography and not so much in landscape photography, this is the tour for you.

This photo tour is recommended for participants with adequate photo equipment for wildlife photography. We recommend to take at least 300mm lens with you. If you have 500mm it would be better.

ACCOMMODATIONS & MEALS

During our photo tour to Japan we will combine nights in ryokan and western hotels. Whether they are traditional Japanese inns or western hotels, all of them are mid class with good reputation or selected by tour leaders from their experiences.

In this tour, all breakfasts and dinners are included. Any lunch is not included. Since we normally go to a restaurant together for lunch, you just choose what you would like to eat and you pay for it. Normally each lunch costs less than 2,000 yen.

If anybody has allergy or food intolerance problems, or is a vegetarian, we will try to make the necessary changes in the menus when it is possible.

PRICE

The tour price will depend on the number of participants.

Price for 6-8 persons：￥495,000 per person

Price for 5 persons: ￥550,000 per person

Price for 4 persons: ￥635,000 per person

Price for 3 persons: ￥705,000 per person

Price for 2 persons: ￥905,000 per person

• *The tour price is fixed in Japanese yen (￥). When you make a payment, depending on the exchange rate with your currency,  tour price in your currency will change.
  

   

  RESERVATION

  • • • To make the reservation it is necessary to make a payment of the deposit of ￥100,000. Payment can be made by credit card.
      • Payment of the total cost of the trip must be made 90 days before the starting date of the tour.
      • All transaction fees that occur for reservation are paid by the payer of the reservation.

   

   

  The MIN. and MAX. NUMBER of PARTICIPANTS
  

  For the trip to be carried out, there must be at least 2 participants (maximum of 8 participants). If you were only one person and would like to do this tour, please contact us.

   

  TRAVEL INSURANCE
  

  It is mandatory to have comprehensive insurance cover for cancellation, medical expenses, personal accident, emergency evacuation, repatriation of remains, dismemberment, and accidental death. You have to give us a copy of travel insurance before the trip.

   

  CANCELLATION
  

  If the cancellation is made more than 91 days before the start of the tour, deposit will be refunded in full. If you choose to cancel within 90 days before the start of your tour, no refunds will be granted unless you show us official certificate of unexpected serious illness, hospitalization, and death of your family that made you cancel the tour. Deposit will not be refunded anyway if the cancellation is made within 90 days before the start of the tour. For more details of cancellation and conditions of refund of the balance due after 90 days, please read our terms & conditions.

   

  DRIFTING ICE & WILDLIFE
  

  The drifting ice and wildlife can not be guaranteed in any case. Drift ice comes and goes each year depending on the currents, the temperature, and many other factors that cause this natural spectacle. Sometimes we find wild animals very easily, but other times it is difficult to find them. It is important to keep it in mind that the organizers will not have any responsibility if there is no drifting ice or wildlife during the specific dates of the tour.
  

   

  MORE QUESTIONS
  

  If you have more doubts about any topic related to the photo tour to Japan, send us an email to: info@akashitravel.com