Red crown crane (tsuru 鶴) has been one of my favourite animal to watch. They’re such graceful creatures. These birds do roam around all over Japan, but the easiest stop will be Kushiro. Kushiro is a small town to the east of Hokkaido. No fast train from major towns, 4.5 hours from Sapporo.
There are several options in the area:
- Akan International Crane Center
- Tsurui Ito Tancho Crane Sanctuary
- Japanese Crane Reserve
- Kushiro Shitsugen Observatory (Kushiro Shitsugen National Park)
- Tsurumidai Feeding Point
- Tsurui-It Tanch Sanctuary
For those epic crane dance in the snow photos, go to Kushiro Shitsugen National Park in the winter. Otherwise for the balance of the year, I recommend visiting the Japanese Crane Reserve instead; sheer for the chance to spot the bird.
I am not very hardy in cold weather. I went to Kushiro Japanese Crane Reserve in summer. Got quite lucky and spotted a baby crane.
This tested my patience immensely. Although I will love to see THE winter dance, I don’t know whether I have the endurance for this type of photography.
Why were there no net in my photos? This is why.
The reserve had these holes in the net for visitors to take their clean shot. This Japanese guy was very sweet and we shared this spot; like 5min was his turn and 5min was mine.
Tips
Bring your 300m-500m with you.
Camera should shoot can minimum 7 photo per second to avoid additional frustration.
Winter is THE time to shoot the crane dance. It’s the ONLY time.
If you visit in winter, be prepared for the crowd. Tripod & lens jacket is highly recommended.
Where was I?
Japanese Crane Reserve
112 Tsuruoka, Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan
釧路市丹頂鶴自然公園
釧路市川北町9番34号
This park was easily accessible by bus. It was less than 1 hour from the Kushiro bus terminal.
**Again, will like to emphasis that only the summer photos are mine. I felt that it would make this post more informative if I offer both winter and summer photos. “Borrowed” photos’ original sources are marked in the caption beneath the photo.
Camera: Canon 5D mark 3
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10 Comments
This is so cool.
Thank you, Jen 😀
Great images and story Joyce, what amazing birds. We have a crane here in SE Australia called a Brolga, it is almost identical except it is grey.
Thank you, Denis 😀 I didn’t see that!!! >_< I must try to spot them next time.
I was shocked that I came across several cranes at their gardens. I thought they were fake at first!
I love that photo of all the people with their cameras – it’s like the humans are part of the attraction. Humans watching humans watching cranes. 😉
Really? You know the saying right? If you spot them randomly, it means that you’ll have a long life 😀
*LOL* Yes, the camera men and their gigantic lens steals the show wahahah
こんばんわ！！
日本時間１８日の午後１０時です。
日本の情景を世界に配信してくださり、
おおいに感激と期待に満ち溢れています。
どうもありがとうございます。
感謝！感謝！
It’s nothing. I love Japan and I enjoy sharing 😀 I thank you for the continuous support on twitter and my blog. *bow*
You read Japanese?!
Yes 😀 Why, you too?!?!?!? This is getting very scary, doppelganger~~