New book
My new book Finding Mammals in Japan will be available as PDF starting Feb 1. The format is similar to my Peterson’s Guide to Finding Mammals in North America, but with more
A few more Japanese islands
Here’s the last part of my “farewell Japan” trip report. Tsushima Island: A gorgeous island (or, rather, two islands connected by a bridge), almost entirely forested, with en
Japan farewell tour, part 2
A few records from my ongoing farewell tour of Japan 🙂 Sado Island: I was there for only a few hours. The ferry crossing to the island was a bit rough and I didn’t see anythin
Hokkaido trip report
Just spent a few days on Hokkaido. Small mammal and fox numbers are very high; hares are totally missing. 1. Sendai-Tomakomai ferry worked out great: a mixed group of Pacific white
Central Honshu, Japan
I just spent a week in central Honshu, mostly in the mountains (Nikko, Oze and Chibusangaki National Parks, Tateshina area, and Mt. Fuji). A cold front passed over during that time
Southern Japan
I spent a few days exploring Kagoshima Prefecture of Japan. Started from Yakushima, the most scenic of the Ryukyu Islands, reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest in the US. It took m
Japan February/March 2019
February-15 till March-10, 2019 we visited Japan for 3 weeks, starting at East-Hokkaido (between Kushiro, Nemuro and Rausu) for app. 8 days, did the ferry from Tomakomai to Niigata
Pygmy killer whales
There is a herd of pygmy killer whales in Sonai Harbor (24.474501N 122.996141E). They can be seen up close both above and underwater. Locals say they’ve been present since ye
Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
Last week I spent two nights driving in the area around Mt. Koyasan (34.186176N 135.604409E) and saw lots of smallish, dark sika deer, a charming juvenile serow, over 20 martens (a
Central Honshu
I just spent a week in Central Honshu. Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park (the place where you can see Japanese macaques in hot springs) was virtually unknown when I first visited in 2005