While the Japan Dreamscapes workshop leaders take care of the annual Hokkaido photography tour, they can indulge in two of their favorite pastimes, being out in nature for shinrin yoku and photography; they mentioned that they love their job. And in Japan, if you consult any top ten lists for spotting and photographing wildlife and being in nature, Hokkaido always makes up over half of those lists with locations spanning the entire prefecture, especially during the winter. Winged wildlife such as the Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Shima Enaga (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus), and more than 600 bird species have been recorded to date, the majority are migratory, more than 60%. Approximately 60 of these species are endemic or sub-regional endemic. As well as an abundance of other wildlife such as the Ezo Sika Deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis), East Hokkaido which has the largest herd of Sika Deer on our planet. About a decade ago our main workshop leader was scouting landscape locations in East Hokkaido spanning Rausu, Nakashibetsu, and Nemuro. On this adventure, one of the JDS group support team members and our leader were four wheel driving, when they found themselves looking down what seemed to be a path with fresh tire tracks leading off the main road, but since they had never traveled on that pathway before, they decided it was time for a new adventure. At times, the path, and he used that term loosely, didn’t really seem like a road at all, and to push forward he had to drive on ice for more than 100 meters, but as a lifetime pioneer with years of experience in the Canadian bush and driving on ice, he knew he had the necessary driving skill and kept carefully pressing forward on the pathway.
After thirty minutes of driving, in the distance he began to distinguish antlers and other shapes, he would soon find out they belonged to the largest herd of Ezo sika deer on the planet over a thousand deer. He stopped about 200 yards (180 meters) away on a thin parcel of land about 40 yards (36 meters) wide surrounded by water and ice, quickly he got my camera gear setup. He knew the deer would have no choice but to stampede past him and our team member, as the Sika Deers' backs were to the Pacific Ocean. Our workshop leader and team member enjoyed 20 uninterrupted minutes of photography before the deer collectively decided our photo shoot was over, and they returned into the wild frontier of Hokkaido stampeding 3 – 5 abreast; they were a quick moving mass of hooves, antlers, and fur, and the sound was reminiscent of his times spent in Africa with the Black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) and in Alaska with the Porcupine caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) stampeding. Spotting and photographing them represents a once in a lifetime experience that everyone should have, and their beautiful ferocity is something to behold; he knew from that moment forward, he had to enjoy this experience again as well as share it with future clients, team members, family, and friends. Whenever he tells the story to friends, it has led to several people deciding to join a future Hokkaido wildlife photography tour of a lifetime in pursuit of a similar Sika deer photography experience. His thirst for exploration is always thriving, and he still spends about three months each year continuing to scout and photograph in the region, and when the situation is just right, he pays the largest herd of Sika deer on the planet a visit.
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