Today is a day we are really looking forward to. We want to explore the Crane overwintering site, a bit out of town on the Izumi plain and whatever else we can fit in. The day did not begin as planned. Barry read about a good service that provided shuttle service from the train station which he confirmed at the Tourist Office there. Barry was given an updated schedule which showed we needed to wait for an hour…no problem. However, it never arrived. We finally returned to our hotel, only to discover that the Shuttle service was cancelled some years ago, so on to plan B…taxi. Usually, we would have taken our trikes at this point, but things got very confusing and snowballed. We had to go with the flow at this point.
We have been travelling in Japan for some time and have never really explored the culture of taking taxis since we rely, almost exclusively, on ourselves and our trikes. So, we were a bit out of our depth. The taxi arrived promptly and he explained the process that would happen today…much of which we didn’t understand. All we knew, was that he would return to pick us up at an appointed time. Yeah. What we didn’t understand was that the taxi service has a special deal for visitors…Throughout the day, you take a series of taxis and the cost is spread over the day with a reasonable set amount for each taxi ride. Basically we have taxi service/ unofficial tour guide at our disposal for whatever we want to do.
Firstly, we are going to visit the Izumi Crane Observation Area where this year, over 11,800 cranes have been in residence here. This number goes up and down depending on climate changes, but this year, the number of cranes is the highest ever…and that’s good news. The migration to the Izumi plain represents Japan’s largest crane migration location and it dates back to 1694. Their journey begins in Siberia at Lake Baikal, which is their nesting area and they begin their migration in mid Oct and stay until mid March. The cranes’ pilgrimage from Lake Baikal is via N East China and the Korean Peninsula. They pass the winter eating rice plants, weeds, potatoes, frogs, snails, grasshoppers and so on. People also feed them about 70 tons of wheat, chaff, brown rice, soy beans… The cranes in Izumi are carefully protected. The roosting grounds are in marshy areas to protect them from attacks by Japanese raccoons and mink. Before they leave the area to return to Siberia they are given about 8 tons of sardines. As you can imagine, the infrastructure to support this migration is huge, both in business terms but most noticeably with a vast network of dedicated volunteers. Their passion for supporting this natural phenomenon is impressive. Their enthusiasm is infectious.
What an incredible spot…today the count is 11,410. One of the volunteers showed us the one Siberian White Crane (endangered) who made it to Izumi this year feeding alongside the other birds. What a sight to see this huge majestic bird.
The photo shows a much more subdued scene of Eastern Rooks than what we saw last night when we arrived. We have read that it is not uncommon to see hundreds, even thousands of them in one area. Wherever there are cranes, there will be Rooks…smart birds.
When we rode into Izumi yesterday, we were startled by the massive number of Eastern Rooks, a migratory member of the crow family. It was like a scene out of the movie, The Birds. The power lines were covered by a black mass and when they took off, they created a darkness in the sky which was quite striking. Later, we put 2+2 together and realized…of course, they are here due to the cranes and the availability of food.
Cranes, such as the White Nape Crane, are over 4 feet tall and their wing span is immense. Every continent, except Antarctica and South America have White Nape cranes. Super power and grace when airborne and while on land, it is hard to describe just how awesome their stature and presence are, especially in such vast numbers.
The massive, elegant White Nape Crane. We were having trouble capturing a close up of one of these..this is from a display at the Observatory.
There are 5 species of cranes that migrate here, but it consists almost entirely of two species, the Hooded Crane and the White Nape Crane. A few Sandhill cranes and the occasional Siberian crane come as well.
The Crane Observatory is a great facility with incredible perks available to the visitor. We were unaware that you can use, free of charge, incredible cameras with massive zooms (provide your own SIM card), binoculars and mini e-cars to get to areas out of view of the Observatory. We needed our International Driver’s License in order to do this….and frustratingly they are safely tucked away in our hotel room. At this moment, we sure wished that we had ridden here. Oh well, go with the flow, right?
As promised, a taxi arrived at the arranged time. On the trip to the Crane Observatory, we were a bit perplexed that the driver charged us significantly less than the amount on the screen. We now understand that the amount we paid was the set amount per taxi ride.
When we got in the second taxi, the discussion about our next destination was a bit confusing. Barry said our hotel name, and the driver said…no, the Samurai Residences. We realized that this was a day where we would have to just let go and go with the flow. So off we went to explore something new.
The Samurai Residences is an area of Izumi which at a time contained about 150 Samurai Residences. It is called The Izumi-Fumoto Samurai Residences. Some of these homes have been preserved and it is like a living museum. First we visited the museum and then we went on a walking tour of the homes.
A Samurai warrior met us at the entrance. Note the falcon feather arrows.
A sitting room. We find these traditional homes so beautiful with natural, warm materials and the outside revealed by the screens and being an extension of the interior.
Leading out to the garden which housed a horse barn, bathhouse, outhouse, a store house, a space for sword washing and a variety of appliances for teaching future Samurai fighting skills
The large living room, 18 tatami mat size, with a hearth. It was where the samurai ate, met visitors. Next to the hearth is a secret passage under the house.
Samurai, as well as being warriors and holding a position of authority in their community, were engaged in agriculture. The kitchen was for cooking also an agricultural workshop.
Our visit here has been greatly enriched by the volunteer guide who worked at the Saisho Residence. We shared many laughs with her and she taught us a great deal about the function, history and meaning of this special residence.
Today has been an incredible day. We are back in our hotel room and looking at our view..the train station where it all began, hours ago. It just shows, that the best laid plans aren’t always the only way to go. We adapted to the Japanese way of touring via taxi and it reaped unexpected rewards. The cranes, the Samurai Residences, meeting lovely people…we are now very hungry and will now go in search of dinner. Sayonara.
