Blog
Blog 2025年9月
-
Crested serpent eagle
The Crested Serpent Eagle, representative bird of Ishigaki Island. While this eagle is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia, the Crested Serpent Eagle inhabiting the Yaeyama Islands, including Ishigaki Island, is an endemic subspecies to Japan and designated as endangered. Its ecology remained largely unknown until its breeding was confirmed by a wildlife photographer in 1981. In recent years, traffic accidents involving young individuals appear to be increasing. During this trip, I observed them perched in roadside trees, hunting frogs and insects. On Ishigaki Island, golf course construction by resort companies is progressing, and resident groups have filed lawsuits…
- Birds
- Ishigaki Island
-
Javan pond heron
September on Ishigaki Island is the peak season for bird numbers; numerous long-toed stints and western yellow wagtails can be seen in rice fields everywhere, creating a lively scene. Among those rice fields we found a Javan pond heron. They seem to be migrating here more often in recent years, and apparently there are four this year. Their winter plumage is rather plain, but in summer their upperparts turn orange, making them quite beautiful herons. While common in Bali, where I used to live, if they arrive on Honshū causes quite a stir.
- Birds
- Ishigaki Island
-
Metasequoia trees line
Makino Town boasts a 2.4km avenue lined with 500 Metasequoia (dawn redwood) trees. At this time of year, the area is blanketed in beautiful fresh green foliage. Compared to autumn colours, the foliage here isn't a vivid crimson, which sometimes leads to it being listed as a disappointing tourist spot. However, the contrast between the green and the blue sky is truly splendid. You can go horse riding or take a carriage ride along the tree-lined avenue. Please note that you cannot park on the roadside and use the car park at the entrance to the avenue.
- Shiga
- Spot introduction
-
Pacific golden plover
Ōse Beach is a prime observation point in Amami. Located just a five-minute drive from the airport, it's an excellent spot to visit immediately upon arrival to see birds. During the spring and autumn migration periods, numerous sandpipers and plovers can be observed. Perhaps because people were gathering shellfish that day, when I hid behind the rocks, the Pacific golden plover came quite close to me. In Amami, several dozen individuals overwinter, but on Honshū they are most commonly seen in spring rice fields. While flocks exceeding several hundred birds were once observed, flocks of several dozen seem more common recently.
- Amami Ōshima
- Birds
-
Ryukyu scops owl
Driving along the roads of Amami Ōshima at night, you can hear the calls of the Ryukyu Scops Owl, “Kohok, Kohok”, coming from the roadside. It is a small owl, about 20cm long, rather plain in appearance, but with striking yellow irises and a rather endearing face. The mainland Scops Owl, which calls “Boo, Poo, So”, is a migratory bird staying from spring to autumn, whereas the Ryukyu Scops Owl, distributed south of Amami Ōshima, is a resident bird present year-round. Once considered a regional subspecies of the Eurasian Scops Owl, it is now treated as a separate species. Furthermore, recent…
- Amami Ōshima
- Birds
-
Lidth’s jay
The Lidth's jay, once hunted for its feathers used in women's hats, has seen its numbers decline in recent years due to habitat destruction and predation by feral cats and mongooses. It is an endemic species to Japan, found only on Amami Ōshima and the neighbouring islands of Kakeroma and Uke. However, its population now appears to be recovering, and it can be spotted along roadsides and in residential gardens. Their distinctive, guttural “ja-ja” call often alerts one to their presence. At night, they are frequently seen roosting on power lines along forest roads. As a bird emblematic of Amami, products bearing…
- Amami Ōshima
- Birds
-
Black wood pigeon
The Black wood Pigeon, named “Karasubato (Crow Pigeon)” in Japanese for its entirely raven-black plumage, is a large forest-dwelling pigeon inhabiting remote islands including Amami Ōshima. Though its call is often heard, it is a highly wary bird, making sightings rare. However, sightings become more frequent around September; at Nagumo Pass, home to Amami Wild Bird Forest, three individuals were observed simultaneously along power lines. Though uniformly black in appearance due to the light, its body displays a striking glossy green from the neck to the chest. True to its French name “Pigeon violet” (purple pigeon), it bears a reddish-purple…
- Amami Ōshima
- Birds
-
Amami thrush
The Amami Thrush, which together with the Amami Rabbit and others was a plaintiff against the construction of the golf course in Amami Ōshima and for the right to nature. A phantom bird thatI cannot watch since my first visit to Amami Ōshima 20 years ago. It differs from White's thrush of the mainland in the number of tail feathers and its call, and is now considered to be a separate species because of progress in amino acid and nucleotide sequence analysis. When I was walking through the Amami Wild Bird Forest square, I heard a loud noise of something…
- Amami Ōshima
- Birds
-
Amami rabbit
I'm visiting Amami Ōshima, designated a World Heritage site in 2021, to research new tours.Before its World Heritage designation, I observed the endemic Amami rabbit along the forest roads of Sumiyo. However, with the increase in tourists came more incidents, so this time I joined a night tour led by an Amami-certified guide. I enlisted the services of Mr. Akatsuki from Amami Original Service. Though he has only lived in Amami for five years, he knows the observation spots well. During the roughly two-hour tour, we spotted nearly 20 Amami rabbits, along with wild birds like the Ryūkyū ruddy kingfisher…
- Amami Ōshima
-
What is the hage fish that represents Kyoto?
Kyoto still has traditional greengrocers. About a 10-minute walk south from our guesthouse is Toba Ume Shoten, a greengrocer that also sells takoyaki. Known as Kyoto's cheapest takoyaki shop, it's also a greengrocer offering delicious sashimi and vegetables delivered straight from the market. Today's sashimi is hage fish. When I first came to Kyoto, I was surprised to hear it called hage. Because in Japan, the term “hage (bald)” can also be a derogatory term referring to someone who has completely lost all their hair. In the Kansai region, “Hage” refers to Kawahagi (thread-sail filefish). The name comes from how its…
- Culture
-
Nakō: One of the best family-run neighborhood Chinese restaurants in Kyoto
Kyoto is home to the flagship stores of renowned Japanese Chinese restaurant chains such as Gyoza no Ohsho and Tenka Ippin, but it also boasts numerous locally rooted, family-run Chinese eateries known as machi-chuka.Nakō, located near the Eiden railway line just under a fifteen-minute walk from our guesthouse, is my favourite local Chinese restaurant.The daily lunch special is generously portioned, but the real favourite is the champon.Chanpon is a word meaning “to mix various things, or the mixture itself”, and also the name of such a dish. While the version from Nagasaki is particularly famous, in Kyoto, chanpon refers to…
- restaurant