Japan June 2001

I was forced to accompany Stuart to a meeting in Chiba (near Tokyo) this year so what else could I do but go birdwatching. With limited time and money, I chose to go firstly with Stu to Karuizawa and then to the less well-known Uramyogi. Both are well worth a visit if you find yourself in a similar situation. 

Karuizawa

Karuizawa is a well known mountain resort town located in the prefecture of Nagano-ken in the foothills of the Japanese Alps. Anyone who has ever contemplated birding in Japan will undoubtedly be aware that the area is renowned for its excellent birdwatching. It certainly is a beautiful area with some gorgeous temperate evergreen forest. Rumour has it that in recent years there has been a decrease in bird numbers and we did find it slow going at times - this may have had more to do with timing on our part though. A lot of birds were obviously sitting tight on their nests in late June!

Getting there: this is easy, of course (it is Japan, after all!). Just get the Nagano-bound Shinkansen from Tokyo Station and get off at Karuizawa, from there you can catch the local train to Naka-Karuizawa or take a more expensive taxi.

Where to stay: there are lots of places. We stayed at Cocotte Pension but if you don't speak Japanese this may be problematic. Try the Naka-Karuizawa Onsen, which is rather more expensive, however.

Birding: The best birding was in the Yacho-no-mori (Wild Bird Forest). The slopes of the nearby Asama-yama volcano are also very worthwhile. (Copper Pheasant is apparently easy to see at times but not when we were there!) Some of the best birds we saw at Yacho-no-mori were Ural Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Grosbeak (fabulous song), Yellow Bunting, Brown Dipper, lots of Narcissus and Blue-and-white Flycatchers and Siberian Blue Robin. The birding on Asama-yama was quiet due to poor weather but the walk is worth it for the forest and scenery and the chance of Copper Pheasant, of course. We also had super looks at Winter Wren - a real troglodyte!

Uramyogi

According to Mark Brazil's authoritative tome, this is a good place to find Crested Kingfisher. Unfortunately, this was not to be but I would still recommend this excellent area on the strength of its good birding and wonderful scenery. 

Getting there: Again, not a problem. Grab the Nagano bound Shinkansen from Tokyo Station, get off at Takayama and take the local train to Yokokawa. From there walk (about 5 km uphill) or take a taxi to Uramyogi Onsen.

Where to stay: If you wish to bird (of course) then you have to stay at the onsen. Again, language could be a problem as could certain cultural complexities eg. ofuro or communal bathing, dining etiquette, futon and so on. But persevere - it is worth it.

Birding: There are a number of options - down the tarmac road as far as the Uramyogi Reservoir, up the dirt road or on the trail to the summit. The area seemed to be a particularly good spot for Asian Stubtail, which at this time of year anyway responded incredibly strongly to pishing. What a great bird! A great spot for raptors - Golden Eagle, Northern Goshawk, Common Buzzard and Japanese Goshawk. Best find by far was oversummering Mandarin Ducks on the reservoir.