insights from frontier Japan

Autumn Hokkai shrimp fishing began on October 25 in Notsuke Bay in the town of Betsukai in the Nemuro region, with 23 ‘Utasebune’ boats belonging to the Notsuke Fisheries Cooperative leaving the port to fish for the first time. The traditional method of fishing that has been carried out since the Meiji era (approximately 150 years ago), in which the nets are pulled by manipulating the triangular sails of the boats according to the wind, will continue until November 6.

It’s mid-winter, and Notsuke Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido is covered with snow and ice. There is no sense of color; just a world of monochrome. No food can be found; just branches covered in thorns. A Hokkaido sika deer starts to nibble on the branch of a hamanasu Japanese rose.

A winter bird, the short-eared owl often rests in dried grass during the day and comes alive in the evening hours. It flies low above snowfields, searching for Japanese red-backed voles to feed on.

To make it through the winter, Steller's sea eagles fly from the Russian Far East to the Notsuke Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido's Betsukai Town. The Sea of Okhotsk is covered in drift ice, making it impossible to catch fish to eat. This drives them to places along the southern limit of drift ice, like the Nemuro Strait.

As the sun rises lazily from the horizon, the silhouette of white-tailed eagles and a sea wind-blown pine tree strike a sharp contrast against the sky.

Brent geese, a ‘natural monument of Japan’ are gathering in Notsuke Bay in the town of Betsukai in Eastern Hokkaido, which is known as a stopover point for migrating birds. At an observation meetup jointly held by Notsuke Peninsula Nature Club and Betsukai Town Folk Museum on the evening of November 29, families gathered to watch the actions of Brent geese as they entered their places of sleep.

In this series, the transformation of four seasons will be introduced through articles on wild animals that are active in the deep forests, marshes, and ocean as if they were being cradled by “Kamui,” which means deity in the Ainu language. The first installment in the series is the Yezo sika deer of Notsuke Peninsula. (Text and photographs by Tadanobu Shigeru from the Kushiro Branch News Section.)

A resident in eastern Hokkaido's Betsukai Town dug up potatoes growing in the vegetable household garden, only to discover a potato that looked like a cow face.