JAPAN Winter 23 February–6 March 2009 Leaders: Chris Cooke and Vaughan Ashby

This superb new tour visits the three main islands of Japan; Honshu, Hokkaido and Kyushu. We will enjoy two of the world's greatest bird spectacles; watching huge gatherings of wintering cranes (including dancing Red-crowned Cranes) and being within a few metres of large numbers of one of the world's largest raptors, the mighty Steller's Sea-eagle. Additionally, we will see many of Japan's endemic birds together with a number of other specialities including the rare Blakiston's Fish-owl. As well as the birds however, we will experience a totally different culture and cuisine.

Day 1 Overnight flight from London to Tokyo.

Day 2 Arrive in Tokyo and transfer by train to Tokyo, and then by Shinkansen (bullet train) to Karuizawa. After arrival at our hotel we will spend the rest of the daylight hours searching out some of the local woodland species such as Japanese Green and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Japanese Grosbeak as well as Eurasian Jay, Willow Tit and Hawfinches. Two nights in Karuizawa.

Day 3 We'll spend all day birdwatching around Yacho no Mori (bird forest) and other sites near Karuizawa, looking for such specialties such as Copper Pheasant, Crested Kingfisher, Japanese Accentor and, if we are lucky, Japanese Waxwing. Other birds may include Red-flanked Bluetail, Bull-headed Shrike and Rustic Bunting. At nearby Yokokawa we should find Brown Dipper and Japanese Wagtail in the river and if we are lucky Azure-winged Magpies in the farmland. On the reservoir, colourful Mandarin Ducks are normally present.

Day 4 Our final hours in Karuizawa will be spent trying to catch up with any birds that we might have missed yesterday, then we'll retrace our steps back to Tokyo. From Tokyo Haneda Airport we'll take a 90-minute flight to Kushiro, on the northern island of Hokkaido, and transfer to our cosy hot-spring hotel, which is run by noted crane photographer Tadahiro Wada. Overnight Tsuruimura.

Day 5 We'll be up early this morning for our pre-breakfast visit to the nearby Setsurui River to see Red-crowned Cranes at their roost site. After breakfast, we will watch them fly into their feeding area at Tsurumidai. We will leave the area late morning to drive via Kushiro to Cape Kiritappu. Here, at a feeder in a garden, we should see a flock of Asian Rosyfinches, and around the headland, several species of seabirds, including Red-necked Grebe, Long-tailed Duck, Black and White-winged Scoter and lots of colourful Harlequin Ducks. Overnight Nemuro.

Day 6 This morning, we will visit Cape Nosappu, the eastern-most point of land in Japan, where we should see a variety of seabirds including Pelagic Cormorant, Spectacled Guillemot and Ancient Auklet. Other birds likely to be seen include the magnificent Steller's Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, and a variety of seaducks and gulls. After our time there we will move back west then head north up the coast, stopping off here and there to look at various sites where we might get more Asian Rosyfinches and possibly Snow Buntings. Eagles are fairly common along the coast, and we will also see good numbers of Sika Deer and maybe a fox or two. This evening we will be at the fishing port of Rausu, famous for its concentrations of several hundred Steller's and White-tailed Eagles and the rare Blakiston's Fish-owl, which we hope to see tonight as it feeds in the river in front of our lodge. Two nights Rausu.

Day 7 If the weather and sea ice is cooperative today, we will begin our special day with a sunrise boat trip, which takes us out among the sea-ice. Here, we will see both Steller's & White-tailed Sea-eagles down to just a matter of meters as they feed on the fish scraps thrown to them. This is surely one of the most spectacular sights of the avian world. Also in the area will be flocks of gulls including Glaucous, Glaucous-winged and Slaty-backed and there is also the chance of one or two species of seal. The rest of the day will be spent around the Rausu area and as this is the northernmost harbour in Japan, there is the possibility of a rare auk since as Crested and Least Auklet or even Long-billed Murrelet. We'll also have another chance at seeing Blakiston's Fish-owl again tonight.

Day 8 Although today is basically a travel day, we will attempt the sea-ice cruise at dawn if we were not able to get out yesterday. After breakfast, we will say goodbye to the Shiretoko Peninsula and head back across the white landscape to Kushiro Airport then take an early afternoon flight back to Tokyo. Here we will transfer to another flight to Kagoshima in southern Kyushu. After arrival, we'll drive to Yunomoto Onsen, where we will stay in a very welcoming long-established family-run hot spring hotel close to Miike for the night.

Day 9 The morning will be spent in the forests around Miike and Ko-ike, searching for endemics like Copper Pheasant, Japanese Green Woodpecker and Ryukyu Minivet. Other woodland species may include Japanese Grosbeak, Varied Tit, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and White-backed Woodpecker. On the lake, if we are lucky, small number of the beautiful Baikal Teal will be mixed in with the duck flock, and there is a chance of Mountain Hawk-eagle soaring over the crater. After lunch our course will take us up the east coast of Kyushu, where we will stop off at any suitable habitat, before arriving at Hyuga City for the night.

Day 10 This morning we will search Cape Hyuga/Kadogawa harbour for Temminck's Cormorant, Eastern Reef-heron and Japanese Murrelet before boarding a boat to take us offshore, which will give us a far better chance of seeing Japanese Murrelet. After lunch, we will transfer to Izumi, driving right across the island to the west coast. This will be our final birding spectacle of the tour with an amazing concentration of 10,000 wintering cranes. Two nights in Izumi.

Day 11 Today will begin (weather permitting), with the spectacular sunrise flyby of several thousand Hooded and White-naped Cranes as they move between their roosting and feeding areas on reclaimed land at Arasaki. As it gets lighter, we will see in front of our eyes, literally a wall of cranes as they feed in the rice paddies. Amongst them we'll search for unusual species like the regular Common & Sandhill Cranes (and their hybrids) and maybe even the rare Demoiselle and Siberian Cranes. In such a gathering there are other birds to be seen and, for the rest of the day we will look for such species as Black-faced Spoonbill, Saunder's and Vega Gulls, Chinese Penduline-tit, Daurian Jackdaw and Pallas's Reed Bunting. At the nearby river, Chinese Bamboo-partridge, Long-billed Plover, Japanese Bush-warbler and possibly Falcated Duck and American Wigeon can all be found whilst in the nearby fields Buff-bellied and Red-throated Pipits Brown-eared Bulbul, Daurian Redstart, Dusky and Pale Thrushes, White-cheeked Starling, Siberian Meadow, Black-faced and Chestnut-eared Buntings occur.

Day 12 Before breakfast, we will visit a reservoir in the mountains near to Izumi, where we will look for Mandarin Duck, Crested Kingfisher and Grey Bunting. There is also a chance of seeing Japanese Green Pigeon. After checking out of our hotel, we will take a last look at the cranes before heading back to Kagoshima airport for our flight back to Tokyo. If time allows we will stop off at Takae to look for a Greater Spotted Eagle that has wintered in the area for the last 15 years. From Kagoshima, we will return to Tokyo Haneda Airport and take the limousine bus to Narita where we will spend our last night. Overnight Narita Airport Hotel.

Day 12 Return flight to London arriving mid-afternoon.

General Information Japan can be very cold at this time of year with rain/snow possible at any time. The tour pace is moderate with generally easy walking. There are no special health requirements. Visas are not required for EU, US and Canadian citizens.

Group size Minimum number for tour to go ahead: 6; maximum group size: 14 with 2 leaders.

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