Wednesday, June 4 – to Abashiri

 

It was drizzling when we got up at 5, so Bob and I didn’t go out for the 7 AM Bird Walk.  My stomach felt a little off so I didn’t go to breakfast either, but Bob said he had eggs and sausage and so was satisfied.  We packed up, managing to respect the tatami floor mats, and hauled our luggage down to the lobby in our slippers, paid our beer bill,  retrieved our shoes from our locker and took off in Mark’s van this morning. 

Birding in the rain!

Mark drove us through potato fields and onion fields, dark brown soil with lush green growth.  We slowly entered suburban areas of the city of Kitami with supermarkets and lots of car dealerships.  He punctuated the long drive with stops at 7-11 for toilet breaks and at another to purchase lunches which we ate in the car: warm chicken nuggets and potato salad for Bob and Shrimp Onigiri, rice pressed into a triangular mold with flavoring in the middle and wrapped in nori, dried seaweed sheets, for me.

Red-crowned Cranes

 As we approached the coast, we stopped at a freshwater pond and birded in the drizzle, spotting several  wet-looking White-tailed Eagles sitting on the ground.  Even with the bad weather, we were seeing a good variety of species. 

A sodden White-tailed Eagle

I had rain pants on, a windbreaker, along with a wool shirt and a down parka, so I was pretty cozy, but still amazed that everyone wanted to stand in the rain.  We finally drove to a large saltwater inlet where immense piles of plastic floats were stored for the fishing fleet. Unusual-looking Japanese fishing boats, long skinny boats with the cabin high up on the bow, lined a wharf.

Fishing floats

Japanese fishing boat

The rain let up and we returned to the freshwater lake and  walked on a road bordering the inlet marsh when suddenly a huge bird flew by and Mark recognized it as a Steller’s Sea Eagle, which should not have been there at this time of year.  It’s one of the largest eagles  in the world with an immense yellow bill that juts right out of its head – a great sight and unexpected! (worth a Google).

Mandarin Duck

We decided to call it a day and headed to our very large hotel on an inlet of the fresh water lake.  Pink interiors! and several banks of elevators in different wings, so quite complicated.

  We found our spacious room with beds made up and futons behind a sliding door so one can sleep either Japanese style or western, and a lovely sitting area.

Our room: Japanese sitting area and Western sleeping

In my Yukata

I put on my evening Yukata and outer coat, as most of us are doing, and went down in our elevator, to another hall and up to the dining room. 

We had three tables of four, separated by low walls, and found another very elaborate variety of appetizers and mains.  Each of our settings was about a meter wide!  King crab, scallops, two broths, tempura, and a tiny “house” filled with tiny dishes!    It is a bit much and overwhelming especially for someone like Bob who didn’t grow up eating a lot of fish.  I wonder what ordinary Japanese eat for dinner?   I’ll have to ask Mayumi.

Contents of the tiny "house" revealed

A word about our leaders:  Mark Brazil is the foremost expert on the ornithology of Japan and wrote my field guide, Birds of Japan, and has led trip all over the world.  He has lived on Hokkaido for many years and is married to Mayumi who was born and educated on this island.  She is an expert on the cultures of both the Japanese and the Ainu and an immense help in teaching us the way of Japan and how to avoid faux pas!  They have been leading birding/culture trips for years, but now are thinking of retiring.

Raymond VanBuskirk, also an expert leader and birder but quite a bit younger, is along to learn the ropes of birding Hokkaido, so he can take over in the future.   Yuka, a young Japanese woman who grew up near Tokyo, has lived on Hokkaido for five years working as a hiking and trekking guide, and know a lots about Japanese culture and the flora of the area.   The plan is for her to co-lead with Raymond in the future, I think.  Our group of eight “guests” has four leaders - we are well taken care of!