YOU NEED A BIRDWATCHING HOLIDAY, !

I know what you think! You don’t have time for long overseas birding holidays! Yet, this time of year, when it is still too long to spring, the dark gloomy days in the northern hemisphere are suffocating. You certainly wish you were somewhere else.

So you think, why not take a birdwatching trip somewhere to get your spirits up? You know you always get in a great mood when you are out enjoying nature. Maybe there is somewhere you can go by just taking 5 days off from work? You’d still save some holiday for the summer and you certainly deserve and need to recharge your batteries by having some quality time enjoying nature RIGHT NOW!

Let me present a destination for you that is at its prime right now.

Birding Hokkaido, Japan!

Yes, it is still winter and cold, but you know there have been some great birding experiences for you also during winter. You fondly remember your encounters with Snowy Owls, Hawk Owls, Great Gray Owls, Glaucous and White-winged Gulls, or perhaps you even been lucky twitching an Ivory Gull. Even occasional flocks of Waxwings, Crossbills or Redpolls get you in a good mood. So some winter birding can actually be what you need, as long as there is tremendous quality. Hokkaido, Japan is the answer to your prayers. 

Birding Hokkaido, with it's Steller's Eagle, Red-crowned Cranes, Blakiston's Fish-Owl, White-tailed Eagle, Whooper Swans, alcids and weird gulls can easily be done in just three-four days, so allowing some time for travel as well as some time in Tokyo, to get into the time zone, it can be fitted within two weekends.

Thus, it is perfectly feasible for anyone in Europe or North America to make the trip with just five days off from work.

Start traveling on a Saturday from your native country, arrive to Tokyo on the Sunday.

Take it easy, and then start birding Monday to Friday including a visit to the Snow Monkeys on day visit from Tokyo.

Do some sightseeing in Tokyo the following Saturday and you fly back to your native country on the Sunday. 
 

A perfect plan!

Follow this link for full blogpost for the plan How to bird Japan in the Winter just taking 5 days off from work. You can do it yourself or Join a Tour With Us.  For the third year in a row we offer Winter Japan. This year we have two departures :

• Feb 24-March 2, 2019
• March 3-9, 2019.

If you have more time there are three to four days extensions before for Izumi Crane Crazy and after to Okinawa with very cool endemics including the Okinawa Rail, which gave fantastic views last year.  Less money and less time than the tours of the big birding companies but still all your main targets are included.  

We are now filling the last couple of spots, don't miss out! 

Saludos

Gunnar

Photos by ChunHsien Huang used with permission.