Japan

Japan - December 1996

I lived in Japan for 4 years from 1988 to 1992. So in the winter of 1994 I made a short trip back to visit friends. During my short stay in Osaka I managed to get out to a few nearby places in search of birds although my time was a bit limited. Things were also rather quiet in the forested areas due to my timing and location but there seemed to be no shortage of waterfowl - just no Baikal Teal or Mandarin Duck that I could find. This is just a quick rundown on some of the birding I did there over two weeks.

I visited Minoo, Nanko Bird Sanctuary, Koya-ike, Himeji Nature Forest, Shoshazan, Nara and Akame. Here are a few details:

Birding with my friend, Masako

Minoo (pronounced Min-o-o) is only about 30 minutes by train from the centre of Osaka but is a beautiful area of very good forest. As is typical in Japan, the paths are lined with yatai or small shops so you will never be in danger of finding any truly secluded sites. Another problem is the macaques - it seems that no amount of signage can deter people from feeding them and they just get cheekier by the year. At one stage I had to retrace my steps when a male macaque blocked the path and was obviously not going to move for anyone. I'd prefer to go back the long way than tangle with a macaque, thanks very much!

Good birds here included: Winter Wren, Willow Tit, Japanese White-eye and the ubiquitous Brown-eared Bulbul.

Nanko is similarly located not far from the centre of the city. An area of brackish lagoons and parkland perched on the edge of Osaka Bay but otherwise surrounded by suburbia. I imagine this would be a very pleasant spot in summer or on a fine winter's day but I found it to be cold, windy and miserable.

Good birds: Japanese Bush-warbler, Japanese Cormorant, Northern Harrier, Mew Gull

The Ninai Waterfall at Akame

Akame is a small town in Mie Prefecture, it's claim to fame is the "Forty-eight Waterfalls". I visited on the strength of a recommendation in a Japanese book, "Birdwatching Guide to Japan". A fabulous 4 kilometre walk through the forest traverses forty-eight picturesque waterfalls and some stunning forest. The area is also famous for its salamanders, especially the Giant Salamander which can be seen in the Japan Salamander Centre at the start of the walk. I found the birding to be slow but I imagine at certain times of the year it could be fantastic. I was hoping to find the Yama-semi or Pied Kingfisher but was unsuccessful. I did see lots of Long-tailed Tits, Japanese White-eye, Varied Tit and Winter Wrens. The most exciting sight of the day for me though, was watching the Brown Dippers or Kawagarasu feeding in the clear water of the river below the Salamander Centre. Amazing birds! As I watched, a Sika Deer came out of the forest, ran through the shallow water of the river and disappeared just as quickly.

Koya-ike is a small urban park in Hyogo Prefecture, not far from Kobe. It's not a very exciting spot but there were a few interesting waterfowl here including Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveller, Green-winged Teal, Tufted Duck as well as Little Grebe, Black-crowned Night Heron, Grey Heron and Common Kingfisher. I was in search of Mandarin Duck but failed miserably here as elsewhere!

Himeji Nature Forest is a really nice area of forest located near the town of Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture. A lake near the nature centre was good for Smew, Falcated Teal and Goldeneye. A walk through the forest was reasonably successful with Japanese Sparrowhawk and Daurian Redstart.

On the mountain of Shoshazan, again in Hyogo prefecture, is perched a collection of magnificent temples apparently built in 966! As is the case for many temples in Japan the area is still cloaked in excellent forest composed of Japanese cedars, cypress, oaks and maples. A ropeway took us to the top of the mountain from where we were able to walk around the temples and along a narrow road as we birded. As I found throughout my stay the birding was rather slow but relatively rewarding with good views of Japanese Green Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Japanese Wagtail, Alpine Accentor, Long-tailed Tit and Varied Tit. Of course, another highlight was the magnificent koyo or autumn colours, which really are out of this world!

Wandering around a few sites in Nara, including Nara Koen (Park), Mizukami Pond and Heijokyo-ato, I had some success with birds. The Koen was good for Indian Tree-pipit, Water Pipit, Japanese White-eye and Oriental Greenfinch. The Mizukami Pond held a good number of wildfowl including Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Falcated Teal and Pochard. Over at the Heijokyo ruins I found Grey-headed Lapwing, Bull-headed Shrike, Pale and Dusky Thrush, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Grey-headed Bunting and Black-faced Bunting.