- Sep 4th, 2025
Brown Bear and Autumn Wildlife Photography Tour in Hokkaido with Marco Ronconi - Hokkaido, Japan
- Small group photography tour & workshop
- Price
- from JPY 550,000
- Duration
- 8nights 9days
- Dates
- Sep 4th, 2025
Highlights
- Small group photography tour & workshop: Maximum 6 participants (minimum 3 participants)
- Accompanied by Marco Ronconi, wildlife & nature photographer
- Four consecutive nights in Rausu for the observation and photographing brown bears in Shiretoko Peninsula
- Photographing the Blakiston's fish owl
- We will stay two nights in Asahikawa, near the Mt. Daisetsuzan National Park, central part of vast Hokkaido
We will charter a local fishermen's small boat, which allows a better focus on encounters with brown bears compared to a regular big sightseeing boat. By using a small boat, you can approach closer to the shore and observe and photograph at a safe distance, which does not cause stress to the brown bears.
In Rausu, we can guide you to the "Fish Owl Observatory" which is known for regular appearance of Blakiston's fish owls at night.
Wildlife photography here is to capture cute small animal, Ezo Northern pika (Japanese Pika) while they stock on food before long Hokkaido winter. Also, we will have opportunity to visit famous Shirogane Blue Pond as well as autumn landscape of the National Park.
Photography Guide: Marco Ronconi
Marco Ronconi is an Italian professional nature photographer and publisher, passionate about wildlife and landscapes of the northern hemisphere. His fine art prints have been exhibited in galleries and his images have been featured in various magazines. His photographic vision focuses on capturing suggestions and emotions using light and elements such as snow, ice, and mist. He tries to celebrate the pristine beauty of a landscape or the fleeting encounter with wildlife, with simplicity, giving as much importance to the unseen and is left to the imagination. His approach to nature photography is more artistic and philosophical, than scientific. He created his own publishing house, Kamui publishing. Instagram page: @marcoronconi_
Itinerary
| City | Summary | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nemuro Rausu |
Meet your guide Marco Ronconi at Nemuro Nakashibetsu Airport at 14:30 PM Overnight at Shiretoko Serai in Rausu| Meals included : Dinner |
| 2 | Rausu | Aboard a chartered local fisherman's boat look for brown bears along Cape Shiretoko (maximum 5 hours). Overnight at Shiretoko Serai in Rausu | Meals included : Breakfast and Dinner |
| 3 | Rausu | We will again charter a local fisherman's boat and look for brown bears along the coast of Shiretoko (maximum 5 hours). In the late afternoon, we will go to Notsuke Peninsula to photograph Ezo red foxes and Ezo shika deer. Overnight at Shiretoko Serai in Rausu | Meals included : Breakfast and Dinner |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | Rausu Utoro |
We will head to Utoro, the other side of Shiretoko Peninsula by private vehicle. We will stop at Shiretoko pass en route. We will enjoy land scape photography at Shiretoko Goko Lake and around Utoro side of peninsula on this day. Overnight in Utoro | Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner |
| 6 | Utoro Asahikawa |
We will head to Asahikawa, located near Mt. Daisetsuzan National Park. This day will be long driving day to central part of Hokkaido, however, we will stop for any wildlife encounter like Ezo red foxes and Ezo shika deer en route. Overnight Asahikawa Toyo hotel or similar | Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner |
| 7 | Asahikawa | We will spend 2 full days around Mt. Daisetsuzan National Park for Northern Pika (Japanese Pika) photography as well as Autumn landscape of the Mt. Daisetsuzan, famous Shirogane Blue Pond. Overnight Asahikawa Toyo hotel or similar | Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner |
| 8 | ||
| 9 | Asahikawa | After breakfast. relax until check-out time. We head to Asahikawa Airport and the tour ends around 11:00am. Recommended flight: JL-554 Asahikawa 13:10 / Haneda 15:00. Meals included: Breakfast |
Price
| Price per person | |
|---|---|
| From Sep 4th to Sep 12th 2025 8nights 9days |
JPY 550,000 |
| Single room supplement | JPY 40,000 |
**Tour price listed is per person, based on sharing twin rooms. Single room can be arranged with single room supplement.
** This tour requires a minimum number of 3 participants (maximum 6 participants). Please do NOT purchase your airline tickets until you receive confirmation that the minimum number of tour participants has been reached.
** All lunches are not included in the tour. You will have a chance to eat lunch at local restaurant or purchase at convenience stores.
**The purpose of this tour is wildlife and landscape photography. Private boat for brown bear photography may be cancelled due to bad sea/weather condition. In that case, we will go out for the other places by private vehicle in stead. Also we may adjust tour schedule as needed according to weather reports and local information.
** Private boat for brown bear photography is small fisherman’s boat and does not have bathroom or any indoor space to protect wind or rain. We recommend to bring diapers for nursing care for 5 hours boat cruise as there is no bathroom during this tour.
** There is no guarantee of observation or photography wildlife listed in the itinerary.
** The detailed itinerary will be sent to all participants at the same time two weeks before the tour start.
Inclusions:
English speaking Guide Marco Ronconni though out the tour | Accommodation as per above | Private vehicle as per itinerary above | Meals as per above ( 8 breakfast and 8 dinners ) | All activities fees as per above itineraryExclusive of:
Transportation to/from Japan | Domestic flights |Travel & Medical Insurance | Daily lunches | Personal expenses (Souvenirs and Beverages, etc.)About Accommodation
All the Hotels are standard class and each room has western style beds and private bathroom.About Private Vehicle
We use 10 seater private van in each area.Climate
Rausu and Utoro : Minimum 10-12℃ Maximum 15-20℃Asahikawa : Minimum 15-20℃ Maximum 20-25℃
Mt. Daisetsuzan : Minimum 5-10℃ Maximum 15-20℃
You will feel much colder on the cruise boat (apparent temperature may go down to 5-10℃) .
Luggage
As we use private van, and luggage space is limited, we allow everyone to bring up to one suitcase and camera bag per person.Dietary Restriction
If you have any dietary restrictions, please advise at the time of application.
Contact us about this tour
3rd floor, Kyodo Bldg. Jimbocho, 2-2, Kanda-Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan ｜Travel Agency Registration No. 607
