I Just Ryu-can't!

Okay, I know I've been derelict in posting to the blog, but I have my excuses. And now I have even more! Turns out that internet on the ship is a little more sketchy, and a lot more expensive than originally divulged. I'll deal with it by preparing uploads offline and then using the minimal amount of time needed to send a post. Photos may be few, but will be augmented after I return to civilization.

My room. 

Continuing on with Karuizawa, my stay was at a ryukan, or traditional Japanese Inn. This meant sleeping on futons on the floor, and several shoe changes throughout the day. Before even entering the ryukan, you had to take off your shoes and step into communal slippers. I will say that one size doesn't fit all, and I nearly fell down the stairs several times when one would live up to its name and slip right off my foot.

House slippers

Despite having put on clean indoor slippers, you were still not allowed to wear them into your room, which was carpetted in tatami mats. They are quite beautiful, but even clean slippers can't be worn on them. Don't tell the folks at the inn that I accidentally broke that rule several times! I took them off as soon as I realized my faux pas, but forgetting the rule made me feel quite stupid.

Bathroom slippers

 I didn't, however, break the rule that you had to change out of the house slippers into toilet slippers when you used the restroom. (Not bathroom, as that is an entirely different thing.) That one was easy to remember, because as soon as you opened the door to the shared facilities, two pairs of red slippers were right there, not to be missed.

Once inside the facilities, it was still difficult to cope. These toilets also had bidets, but I couldn't even figure out where the controls were. Low/High flush lever, but in Japanese characters, so I had no idea which direction to go.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

You be the judge. Which way is low and which is high?

Only cold water in the faucet, that came out with a vengence when you managed to pull the handle just right. I'm just glad there were no tatami mats! The bath was a communal event that I managed to avoid. In many ways, I guess it's no different that sharing a hot tub at the local recreation centre, but I felt no need to participate in this event. I also opted to not get meals at the ryukan, not because of any fear of what might be served, but because I read that if you were on the meal plan, it would be incredibly rude not to show up, which would mean missing a couple of hours of prime birding time. Some people might find this style of hotel the best thing in the world, but I felt like I was camping in the home of a judgmental stranger. I would not do it again.

I was leaving too early on Friday for the inn to offer me a shuttle, so my 85 lbs of gear and I opted for a taxi rather than me dragging (all of us) to the train station about half an hour away.

Ah, yes, the trains! Remember when I tried to get a reservation to Karauizawa, and the agent said he couldn't book me? Well, in addition to actually giving me a ticket from the wrong terminal, he also never mentioned that I would need a reservation to get back to Tokyo from Karauizawa. Once I found that out, I tried to reserve online, but it was too close to the departure date. And even if I had been able to, I would have had to go to the station the day before departure to pick up my tickets. I hopped on the bus, rode to the station, got my reservation and looked up the bus details for the trip back. Heh. Holiday week. They stopped at 6. No problem though, as there waw a train--and then a fifteen-minute walk, but at least I wasn't carrying 85 pounds of gear. But I did have to walk up several small roads and laneways in the dark to get back to the inn.


The ryukan was situated in an excellent location, though, for access to the wild bird forest, and was an interesting place to bird, in its own right. Between a walk Tracy and I did on Thursday, and a very early morning stroll on Friday, I saw a pair of Bullheaded Shrike, a Gray Wagtail, a Dusky Thrush, a Green Ring-necked Pheasant, and many more.

Bullheaded Shrike pair. He was singing to her!

The area is beautiful,  and I definitely would have been happy to explore the area more, but it was time for the next stage of the trip.

Tracy and I met at the train to Tokyo on Friday morning, and enjoyed the mostly empty train until it was time for us to part ways and head to our separate hotels in the big city. By this time, most of the cruise participants were already there, or on their way. I was heading to the same hotel as Michael and Christian, not far from the Port of Tokyo Wild Bird Park.

Next up: Tokyo!

Now here's  where I get to leave you in suspense. The internet situation is going to be sketchy (as in, I may not have any) or the next week.  I promise I will work on the blogs and the photos so that I'm ready to go the next time I can upload.

Let's just say that there have been some disappointments, but also some birding experiences of a lifetime. The group is doing well, and everyone seems happy  Tonight, we are leaving Japan, heading towards Petropavlovsk, Russia. More adventures ahead!

Oh, That's Gonna Leave a Bruise! - Karuizawa

Whoever coined the word "luggage" must have had my stuff in mind. After hearing the dire warnings about the crowds on the trains to Kariuzawa, and concerned that I might have to stand, I decided to try to compress my three bags into two.  My small carryon with camera and optics gear would go inside my rolling duffle, and my backpack would be packed to the hilt with everything I might need for the day. Yeah, right.  In any case, by the time I was done repacking, I think my rolling bag probably weighed upwards of 65 lbs and my backpack about 20. I was about to try to navigate the Japanese rail system with more than half my bodyweight in tow. Before you judge me, remember that I was packed for three weeks, including enough gear to keep me warm and dry in the north Pacific.

I caught the hotel shuttle to the airport and made my way to the train station, only to find that the reservation clerk from last night had scheduled me from the wrong location.  The good news was that it was an easy fix. I had a seat on the Narita Express to Tokyo Station where the adventure would really begin.  The Narita Express was a wonderfully comfortable and empty train.

The Narita Express was almost empty.

Scenes from the train

The Narita airport is a very busy place, as you might imagine, but it doesn't hold a candle to the Tokyo train station.  I don't think I've ever been anywhere with so many people and so many directions to go. Getting a seat on the train to Kariuzawa depended on getting in line early.  There are three unreserved cars on the train, and according to what I'd read, they were 1, 2, and 3.  Even though I was there 40 minutes ahead of departure, the lines were already long. I'd have to pick a car and gamble that there would be enough open seats.  I went with car 2 and ---WON!  I got a seat for the trip.  Whooo hoo! I'll admit to feeling a bit like an elephant with all that gear, but didn't kill anyone as I tried to manipulate it all into place. There were only a few people standing at the start, but by the time we made a few stops, the aisle was full. (I found out that Tracy had managed to find a seat in an unreserved car the day before, so hadn't had to stand all the way to Karuizawa, after all.)

Arriving in Kariuzawa, I managed to strongarm the gear down a very steep and dangerous ramp to get to the bus stop, and even thought I had found the right bus.  Getting confirmation of that was extremely difficult, but yes, that was the one!  Sadly, though, although my body might have squeezed onto this very crowded bus, there was no way my gear was going to.  I waved goodbye as yet another bus drove away without me. And then the drizzle started. After considering waiting an hour for the next bus, I decided that time was wasting, and decided to take a cab.The traffic was atrocious, but we got there.  I dropped my gear at the ryokan where I would be staying, and with bins and camera in hand, headed to the Tokyo Wild Bird Forest, to meet up with Tracy and Rob.

Platform marker at Karuizawa

Karuizawa is a resort town, and with Golden Week in full force, there were people everywhere. There were birds, too, but I didn't stop to look at them on my way to the park. I found Rob and Tracy at the nature centre, sheltering from the drizzle.  They had already amassed a pretty impressive list for the day and mine got underway from the covered viewing area. Blue and White Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit -- not a bad way to start a list! The drizzle finally let up, and we headed to the trails. As I stepped over the chain across the driveway, my trailing foot managed to catch it, and down I went, face-first, into the mud.  Well, my face didn't get any mud, but I sure did, as did my camera and binoculars. Fortunately, not was on the lenses, so we just continued on as planned.

No one is walking off with this donation box!

View from the nature centre

Despite the people and the weather, the birding was good, with excellent views of many of them.  A Blue and White Flycatcher almost seemed to be following us along the trail.  We only managed a couple of hours before the skies really opened up and we had to call it a day.  Here are some of the birds we saw at the Wild Bird Park over the two days that I was there.

Asian Stubtail

Black-faced \Bunting

Blue and White Flycatcher

Blue and White Flycatcher

Brown Dippers

Eurasian Nuthatch

Eurasian Wren

Eurasian Wren

Gray Wagtail

Japanese Bush Warbler

Japanese Thrush

Japanese White-eye

Long-tailed Tit

Meadow Bunting

Narcissus Flycatcher

Pygmy Woodpecker

Siberian Blue Robin

Siberian Blue Robin

There are a few photos birds yet to be identified, and some eBird Checklists to update.  All in good time!

Abiko and Lake Teganuma

Tuesday morning started with breakfast, which of course, includes a green salad. The Radisson hotel has been great in terms of shuttles and a good variety of food. It's also very quiet, surprisingly since the place is packed.  Did I mention the heated bidet? 

Breakfast for one at the Radisson

Phil and Marilyn were headed to their next destination right after breakfast, so Tracy and I just walked around the neighborhood checking out the local birds in the morning. We found a lot of the same birds that we had that Marilyn, Phil, and I had found the previous day, and got some very nice looks at them.  The tits are still causing a bit of a conundrum.  Coal Tits and Japanese Tits are very similar, except for an obvious stripe down the belly on the Japanese. None of my photos show a dark line, so I thought I was looking at a Coal Tit. I've since found out that that is less likely than the more common Japanese Tit, but I'm still not sure. Tracy and I came across a pair feeding young in a nest in a power pole.

About midday I Tracy and I parted ways, with Tracy heading to Karuizawa, and me heading towards Abiko for the afternoon. Neither of us are experienced train riders, and I suspect it really showed. Transportation is definitely a hurdle for the uninitiated here, which made me appreciate the hotel shuttles even more.

Tracy was headed to the resort town, where I will head tomorrow. She did not have a reservation and ended up having to stand the whole way for the  trip. Ugh. Fortunately, I have a Japan Rail Pass which gives free reservations. Unfortunately, I have been unable to actually book a reservation through their online system which seems to be under constant maintenance. More on that later.

There are many different rail companies in Japan and although I was headed in the right direction by going to the Narita station, it turns out there is more than one. Fortunately, the |JR station is only a couple of blocks away from the drop off site, so after a bit of a false start, I ended up in the right place and on the right train. It was empty which didn't seem quite right. The ride to Abiko was uneventful, which is a good thing.

Scenes from the train

Once there, I had to find a bus to get to my destination which was the lake near the Museum of birds. The museum was my plan B in case the weather was too bad for birding. I had hoped more people would speak English here, but it does not seem to be that common. A lot of people are using the translator apps on their phones, which are certainly helpful, but still have a long way to go.

I got on the correct bus and with some gesturing and holding out of change and passes discovered that my Japan Rail Pass was not good on this particular bus line and that I had to pay. Fortunately for me, the bus drivers here still make change, and I was on my way.

Once off the bus near my destination, I headed towards Lake Teganuma. My original plan had been to go there early and circumnavigate the lake. In the sunshine, of course.  A late start and drizzle cut those plans short. I wasn't going to have much time so I had to make the most of it.

There were some really nice birds there including Little Grebe, Bull-headed Shrike, and Oriental Reed Warbler. There were also some familiar faces like Green-winged Teal, and the ubiquitous Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Feral Rock Pigeon and  White Wagtail.

Rock Pigeons

Great Cormorant

Dusky Thrush

Eurasian Green-winged Teal

Definitely a Japanese Tit!

 There were two of these plovers in one of the fields, but with decidedly different neck collars.  This one was more like a bow-tie than the standard band.  It made me think I must have two species, but this was the only one I could find with the bold yellow eyering.

Little Ringed-plover

Little Grebe

Mute Swan

Wisteria arbor

 A definite highlight was this Bull-headed Shrike.  It was very vocal and active, and didn't seem to mind having its picture taken.

Bull-headed Shrike

Interpretive sign needing interpretation

 One bird I was particularly happy to see was the Common Kingfisher. I heard it first, and recalled the call from my studying for the trip, but I couldn't remember what bird made it.  Eventually, I figured it out and found this beauty.

Common Kingfisher

 Another highlight was seeing a battle between a crow and a hawk. Obviously, these happen everywhere, but in this case it was a Carrion Crow and a Gray-faced Buzzard.

Carrion Crow and Gray-faced Buzzard

A farmer was working one of the fields.  Made me think that there is some potential here for Maber Flats!

Before long I had to turn around and find my way back to the train station via the bus. There was no time to visit the bird museum, but I suspect that you'd need at least a couple of hours to do it justice, in any case.

Using Google Maps with awesome, except that it didn't tell me which side of the road I needed to be on, and I watched my bus leave without me. (This started a trend.) It was only about 20 minutes until the next bus, but it would also mean that I would miss my connection in Narita. Oh well. I caught the next bus and got to the train station and onto the train back towards Narita. I felt like a bit of a pro on the return trip because I even knew what change I needed for the bus!

I arrived with what I believe was about 50 minutes to spare, based on the schedule that I had in hand. The small problem was that I had picked up the Japanese version so I couldn't read it but having made this run the previous day, I thought I had it figured out. Wrong. Once again as I approached the bus stop I saw my bus leaving without me. This time, I had something I could do while I waited for the next bus. I headed back to the J R train station to make a reservation for my trip to Karuizawa. Again, no English available, except for these wonderful translation apps on our phone. The staff at the train station use them, too. The gist of it though, was that given that it is Golden Week, the trains are very busy and the earliest reservation that he could give me was after 3 p.m. I had planned on heading out in the morning. There are some unreserved seats on board, but they are apparently very hard to get and I will be carrying a LOT of luggage. Looks like I could be following Tracy's path and standing for a long train ride. Yay! I was able to get a reservation for the first leg of the trip, though, so that was something.

I feel like I am spending as much time (or more) travelling around as I am birding.  Hopefully, that will change in Karuizawa!