Japan in Summer: Birds & Culture
JAPAN IN SUMMER: BIRDS & CULTURE MAY 28-JUNE 10, 2021 ©2020 Mount Fuji © Kaz Shinoda VENT’S Japan in Summer tour boasts a singularly marvelous combination of birding and cultural experiences. Japan is a land steeped in rich cultural heritages, and with a long, complex history and intricate rituals that survive—and thrive—to this day. On this tour we will travel from the capital, Tokyo, to three of Japan’s staggering 22 UNESCO World Heritage sites. These will include Nikko, Mount Fuji, and Shiretoko Peninsula on the northern island of Hokkaido, where the local people still live in close relationship with nature. The main cultural attraction of Nikko is the Toshogu Shrine, whose founding preceded the establishment of the United States by more than a century-and-a-half. Toshogu includes no less than five “National Treasures of Japan” and a further three “Important Cultural Properties.” Toshogu is a sprawling shrine complex surrounded by ancient trees and set in a lush, beautiful mountain forest. Mount Fuji is Japan’s tallest and, by far, most famous mountain. An almost perfectly symmetrical stratovolcano, its recognizable silhouette is an ubiquitous image in Japan, denoting its long-standing reverence as a sacred mountain. Japan in Summer, Page 2 Around Nikko and Mount Fuji, the tour will cross the habitats of some of Japan’s endemics, such as the Japanese Green Pheasant, Japanese Woodpecker, Japanese Accentor, and Japanese Wagtail. In addition, we will look for several more Asian specialty birds including the Eastern Crowned, Sakhalin Leaf, and Japanese Leaf warblers; Narcissus and Blue-and-white flycatchers; Brown-headed and Japanese thrushes; and Masked, Meadow, Chestnut-eared, and Yellow buntings, to name but a few.
[Show full text]