insights from frontier Japan

An accommodation facility that was closed in the Kawayu Onsen hot-spring resort (in the town of Teshikaga, eastern Hokkaido) reopened as ‘Kinkiyu Hotel Bettei SUIKAZURA’ on April 20. The luxury hotel features guestrooms with their own hot-spring baths. Meanwhile, a woman in her 20s opened ‘NOMY’, a low-cost guesthouse in the Kawayu area on the 16th, and the town hopes the newly opened facilities will help revitalize the hot-spring resort, which has suffered badly during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The pure white Hokkaido long-tailed tit is about 14 centimeters long. Because its fluffy round body has a snowman feel, it is also called "Snow Fairy".

Lake Mashu in the Akan-Mashu National Park (the town of Teshikaga in eastern Hokkaido) continues to freeze, as the ice spreads over approximately 80% of the lake’s surface.

Suigo Park in eastern Hokkaido's Teshikaga Town has a pond that is fed by a fresh spring flow, keeping the pond from icing over even in the coldest part of winter. Though it is located in the town's urban district, the area is quiet and even serves as a sleeping place for swans and ducks, where they can rest their wings at night. As the area began to brighten with the light of day, I witnessed swans spread their wings and become active.

A sea of clouds blanketed Japan's largest caldera lake, Lake Kussharo (Teshikaga Town, east Hokkaido), and shone with light from the morning sun. The image was captured on October 10 from Bihoro Town's Michi-no-Eki (Roadside Rest Area) "Gurutto Panorama Bihoro Pass", which overlooks the lake.

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 second installment in the series is the crested kingfisher of Lake Kussharo. (Text and photographs by Tadanobu Shigeru from Kushiro Branch News Section.)