Japan's Far East 7 Day Wild Winter Tour - February Special

Meet at our hotel at 6:00 pm near JR Abashiri Station in Hokkaido's largest city on the Sea of Okhotsk coast. After introductions and a briefing about our upcoming adventure, we enjoy dinner in downtown Abashiri. Don't worry if you're not used to walking on icy roads - we'll teach you the penguin-walking technique!

After breakfast, we journey south to Lake Kussharo in Akan-Mashu National Park. Here in Japan's largest caldera lake, we discover Whooper Swans soaking in hot spring-fed areas of the otherwise frozen waters. Exploring the lakeshore by snowshoe, we keep our eyes peeled for forest birds like woodpeckers, tits, nuthatches and jays. We enjoy a picnic lunch if weather permits, or warm up in a local café.

Our final stop is Mt. Io, where we witness an active volcano's impressive sulphur vents and otherworldly landscape. We then continue to our accommodation in Utoro, the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage Shiretoko Peninsula.

Today is all about the incredible drift ice experience! Wearing special drysuits over our warm winter clothing, we venture onto the frozen Sea of Okhotsk to walk and float amongst the ice floes. These huge sheets of sea ice make their way south from Sakhalin each winter between February and March, creating a unique natural spectacle along Shiretoko's coast.

After lunch in Utoro, we journey to the fishing town of Rausu on the other side of the peninsula for our overnight stay.

We start our day exploring Rausu, a thriving fishing town known for its kombu seaweed and sea urchins. After breakfast, we embark on a 2.5-hour wildlife watching cruise, keeping our eyes peeled for Steller's Sea Eagles, White-tailed Eagles, Brunnich's Guillemots and Steller's Sea Lions. Following lunch in downtown Rausu, we travel to Yoroushi Onsen.

Our evening brings a special opportunity at our hotel, where the world's largest owl - the Blakiston's Fish Owl - sometimes visits to feed in the nearby river. These remarkable birds, worshipped by the Ainu people as kotan-kor-kamuy (the protector of the village), can be viewed and photographed from the comfort of our hotel's viewing lounge.

After our late-night owl watching, we start the day with a refreshing soak in the onsen hot springs. We then head to Lake Mashu for a peaceful snowshoe trek to Kaminoko Pond, following a tranquil unfrozen stream through pristine Sakhalin Fir forest while looking for animal tracks in the snow.

At Lake Mashu observatory, we marvel at one of Akan-Mashu National Park's three major lakes. This caldera lake's pristine waters are protected by steep cliffs, and if we're fortunate, we'll witness its famous "Mashu-blue" surface through the mist.

After lunch in Teshikaga, we head to Lake Akan. Following dinner at our lodging, we experience the rich cultural heritage of the Ainu people through their traditional songs and dances—an oral tradition preserved across generations.

We spend the morning exploring picturesque Lake Akan in Akan-Mashu National Park, where volcanoes and old-growth forests surround the caldera lake. Guided by a local Ainu community member, we discover their rich history and traditional way of life in harmony with nature. After enjoying Ainu cuisine for lunch at a family-run restaurant, we travel to Tsurui village.

At the Ito Tancho Sanctuary, we observe the remarkable Red-crowned Cranes - a conservation success story with over 1,900 birds now thriving in the area. We spend the night in central Tsurui, where we relax in the onsen before celebrating our final evening with a Western-style dinner featuring local Eastern Hokkaido ingredients.

For our final morning, early risers can join us before dawn to watch the magnificent Red-crowned Cranes take flight from their riverside nesting spot. These graceful birds spend the night together in a flock before taking to the skies en masse to feed.

After breakfast at our lodging, we travel to Kushiro City where we say our goodbyes. Drop-offs are available at Kushiro JR Station or Kushiro Airport between 10 am and 11 am.