- July 7th, 2025
Hokkaido Summer Wildlife and Landscape Photography Tour & Workshop
with Marco Ronconi - Hokkaido , Japan
- Small group photography tour & workshop
- Price
- from JPY 380,000
- Duration
- 5nights 6days
- Dates
- July 7th, 2025
Highlights
- Small group photography tour & workshop: maximum 6 participants (minimum 4 participants)
- Accompanied by Marco Ronconi, professional wildlife & nature photographer
- Three kinds of wildlife boat cruises to observe or photograph sea birds, Orcas and Brown bears are included.
Summer sea birds watching/photography cruise in Nemuro.
Killer whale (Orca) watching/photography cruise in Rausu (three times.)
Brown bear watching/photography cruise in Rausu.
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_
Eastern Hokkaido in early July
Eastern Hokkaido in early July is the month of summer and a beautiful season of colorful wild flowers. Killer whales (Orcas) gather in the Nemuro Strait, off the coast of Rausu town and brown bears in the Shiretoko Peninsula become more active.
At the beginning of the tour, we will visit Nemuro and Lake Furen area mainly for birding. A boat cruise from Ochiishi bay will provide you an opportunity to observe or photograph sea birds such as Tufted Puffins, Horned Puffins, Japanese Cormorants, Japanese Murres, Common Murres, Spectacled Guillemot, Rhinoceros Auklet, Pomarine Skua, Laysan Albatross, Black-footed Albatross and Black-tailed Gulls. You may also be able to see Sea Otters if we are lucky. During the morning walk around Lake Furen, you may encounter a pair of Red-crowned cranes living in the marshland from spring to autumn.
The next destination is Shiretoko National Park and we will stay for 3nights in Rausu, east side of national park. Here you can expect to photograph Killer whales (Orcas) and Brown bears from a cruise boat. Also we will visit Notsuke Peninsula in the late afternoon, where various kinds of wild flowers bloom during summer. You can expect here to photograph Ezo sika deer and red foxes in the beautiful scenery background of Shiretoko Mountain Ranges and Kunashiri Island. At night, you will have two opportunities to photograph Blakiston’s fish owl from observation hut. In years when breeding is successful, owl parents will frequently appear to bring food to their chicks.
Last part of the tour will be spent in the west side of Shiretoko national park mainly for landscape photography. Stanning view of Shiretoko pass, Shiretoko Goko lakes and Frepe water falls will be the highlights here.
Killer whales and Seabirds in Nemuro Strait
The Nemuro Strait, located between Rausu and Kunashiri Island, is well known as the place to observe killer whales. Multiple pods, approximately 200 killer whales, come every year from May to July and this area has the highest killer whale encounter chance in the waters around Japan today. The research also suggests that the Nemuro Strait may be a meeting place for the different groups so they can look for future partners. In 2023 and 2024 season, a pod of killer whales, including white individual, came to the Nemuro Strait and they were observed from cruise boats several times during the season. Although it is not easy to meet this unique white killer whale, let’s hope they will come again in 2025. May to early July is the best season to observe and photograph killer whales and you will have three boat cruise chances as it may be canceled due to bad sea conditions.
Blog- White Orca (Shiretoko Hokkaido)
Itinerary
| City | Summary | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kushiro Lake Furen |
Welcome to Hokkaido Japan, gather at Kushiro Airport at 12:45pm. Overnight at Lake Sunset Cottage or similar | Meals included: dinner |
| 2 | Lake Furen Ochiishi bay Rausu |
In the early morning, walking around our cottage to look for Red-crowned cranes. After breakfast, we will take a 2.5hours boat cruise from Ochiishi bay and look for sea birds such as Tufted Puffins, Horned Puffins, Japanese Cormorants, Japanese Murres, Common Murres, Spectacled Guillemot, Rhinoceros Auklet, Pomarine Skua, Laysan Albatross, Black-footed Albatross and Black-tailed Gulls etc. After that, we will drive north to Rausu, one of the major town of Shiretoko peninsula, stopping by at the unforgettable Notsuke Peninsula. Here you will be thrilled by large herds of wild Ezo Sika deer, perching birds of prey and hopefully Red foxes. Overnight at Shiretoko Serai or similar | Meals included: breakfast and dinner |
| 3 | Rausu | We will cruise the waters of the Nemuro Strait by shared boat (approx 2.5 hours) both in the morning and afternoon. Nemuro Strait, located between the mainland of Hokkaido and Kunashiri Island, is only 17km wide at the narrowest section and we will have chance to photograph Killer whales (Orcas), the flocks of sea birds such as Short-tailed Shearwater, Northern Fulmar, Pomarine Skua etc as well as the dynamic coastlines of Kunashiri Island and the Shiretoko peninsula. Then dinner in Rausu, after which, we will observe and photograph endangered Blakiston's fish owls, (the largest and rarest owl on earth) from an observation hut. Overnight at Shiretoko Serai or similar | Meals included: breakfast and dinner |
| 4 | Rausu | In the morning, we’ll board a chartered small fisherman's boat and cruise along pristine & glorious coastline to the Cape Shiretoko for the brown bears photography (approx 2.5 hours). In the afternoon, enjoy another boat cruise to photograph Killer whales and sea birds. At night, you will have 2nd opportunity to visit Blakiston's fish owls observation hut. Overnight at Shiretoko Serai or similar | Meals included: breakfast and dinner |
| 5 | Rausu Utoro |
After breakfast, we will head to the west side of Shiretoko Peninsula and enjoy landscape photography in the national park. At Shiretoko Pass that connects east side and west side of peninsula, we will enjoy spectacular views of nearby Mount Rausu (1,661 meters), Shiretoko's highest mountain. We will visit photography spots such as Shiretoko Goko Lakes, a set of five small lakes formed long ago by the eruption of nearby Mount Io and fed by underground springs and Frepe waterfalls drops down a steep cliff into the Sea of Okhotsk on the spectacular western coast of the Peninsula. Overnight at Shiretoko Noble Hotel or Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel or similar | Meals included: breakfast and dinner |
| 6 | Utoro Memambetsu |
After breakfast, we will drive to Memambetsu airport enroute we visit a small water fall where Cherry Salmons jump over the waterfall to swim upstream. Tour will end at Memambetsu airport around 12:00pm. Meals included: breakfast |
Price
| Price per person | |
|---|---|
| July 7th - July 12th, 2025 5nights 6days |
JPY 380,000 *For 4 to 5 participants |
| Single room supplement | JPY 35,000 |
**Tour price listed is per person, based on sharing twin rooms.
** This tour requires a minimum number of 4 participants. Please do NOT purchase your airline tickets until you receive confirmation that the minimum number of tour participants has been reached.
** Lunch during the tour is not included. You will have a chance to eat at local restaurant or to buy food from the local convenience stores. Each person should prepare to pay for these individually.
**The purpose of this tour is wildlife and landscape photography. According to weather reports and local information, tour schedule may be adjusted by our photography guide on spot.
**There is no guarantee of being able to observe or photograph wild animals listed in the itinerary.
**Boat cruise may be cancelled due to bad sea or weather condition. In that case, we will refund boat tour fee and may go out for land photography by private vehicle instead.
** The detailed itinerary will be sent to all participants at the same time three weeks before the tour starts.
Inclusions:
English-speaking guide | Accommodation as per above | Private vehicle with driver as per itinerary above | Meals as per above | All activities participation fees as per aboveExclusive of:
Transportation to/from Japan | Domestic flight in Japan | Travel & Medical Insurance | Daily Lunches & Additional Snacks | Personal expenses (Souvenirs and Beverages, etc.)Climate
In this season, the warmest temperatures you can expect is 15-20℃ (59-68°F), and it can go to as low as 10°C (50°F) . However, you may feel much colder than 10°C (50°F) on the boat. Especially the boat used for brown bear photography is small fisherman boat and there is no wind shield and bathroom. Please make sure you have layers of extra warm clothes for upper and lower body, groves, warm hats and rain gears.About Accommodation
All of the hotels have western style room with beds and private bathroom.Vehicle and Luggage
We use private van, and luggage space is limited, we allow everyone to bring up to one suitcase + photo equipment bag. If there is not enough space in the trunk for the backpack with photo equipment, you may need to keep it beside your seats.Dietary Restriction
Hotels in remote area such as Eastern Hokkaido only accept requests for special meals to medical (such as allergy) and religious needs.
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
