©Wolfgang Kaehler

Japan Day Seven

By Michelle Alten

traditional Japanese dinner

traditional Japanese dinner

Photos © Wolfgang Kaehler, phototours.us

 

Last night we checked into our charming inn, Ryokan Utaseya, and had a traditional Japanese dinner with about a dozen little courses including sashimi, a cooked scallop, salmon in a sesame sauce and striped prawns—both the prawns and salmon are special products of Hokkaido.  At the inn I also dipped into the hot spring, known for its clear water, ideal therapy for my cold.

Red fox

Red fox

Our group of eager photographers began the day with a shoot at a location on Lake Furen where a man, a restaurant owner and very good photographer, feeds frozen fish to the eagles and Black-eared kites.  Steller’s sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), white tailed sea eagles and Black-eared kites all came to wrestle over the dinner.  The action shots with eagles sparing with their sharp talons in flight, was a photographer’s dream.

Fishing boats and bouys on a beach of the Notsuke Peninsula

Fishing boats and buoys on a beach of the Notsuke Peninsula

 

Ezo deer (a subspecies of Sika deer, Cervus Nippon)

Ezo deer (a subspecies of Sika deer, Cervus Nippon)

Throughout the day we spotted red foxes trotting through the snow.  On the Notsuke Peninsula, the foxes scampered between herds of Ezo deer.  Like the foxes, the Ezo deer (a subspecies of Sika deer, Cervus Nippon) are common and their numbers, some 600,000, are challenging for the people of Hokkaido to manage.  Both the foxes and the deer made great subjects for photography.
Run with the Wolfies – See the world from a different angle!
Upcoming Photo Tours and Digital Photo Workshops:
2016
May/June Wildlife and Wine in Southern Africa – waitlisted
June Galapagos – waitlisted
2017
Burma (Myanmar) January 8 – 19, 2017- email me to get the information
Iceland June 20 to July 1, 2017 – perfect time for puffins!- email me to get the information
Mongolia September/October
2018
May Galapagos – email me to get on the priority list

Comments are closed.