Japan 4.4: The search for cranes and playtime with a hawk

For my last day in Tsurui, I decided to continue my search for cranes.  The other crane sanctuary that I had bookmarked was the Akan International Crane Centre.  These cranes had almost gone extinct, so a few facilities were created to breed to remaining cranes.  The one right next to my hotel is responsible for feeding them during the winter, when food sources are scarce.  This is why they don't function in the summer.  The Crane Centre looked poorly taken care of from the outside, with weeds overgrowing everywhere. 

The front desk informed me of yet another crane breeding facility just fifteen minutes away, but they had 4 cranes in 3 pens.  The first pen was fairly small, with just one crane.  My hopes went down.  Then, there were two much bigger areas.  One fully enclosed on all sides with two cranes inside and another in an open air enclosement.  The sun had come out for the first time and the heat was fierce.  I stayed as long as I could.



I drove to the nearby facility.  This one was much better maintained.  There were many more pens, though a bit smaller.  They all had two cranes inside.   They had designated holes that you could open to take photos.  They were pretty cumbersome, with some of the hatches swinging randomly closed on you.

What grabbed my attention more than the cranes was a hawk that was perched nearby.  I'd go closer, take some pictures, and it would fly away, sometimes to a remote spot.  It would always end up flying back around though.  I spent well over an hour here between watching the crane, the hawk, or the other small birds.  At one point, four of the cranes looked skywards and started almost howling.  I shuffled over as quickly as I could, but I think all the change in my pockets clanging spooked them and they stopped.  I was unable to get there in time to take a picture.



Next I drove about forty minutes north of the crane areas, to Lake Akan.  I did a very short hike to the small sulfur bubbling pits that were right next to the lake.  You could even see smoke coming from the sand next to the lake.  The lake itself was unremarkable though.



About five minutes away was the Lake Akan Ainu Kotan, a street dedicated to the Ainu people.  The Ainu were the aboriginals on Hokkaido island.  After conquering them, the Japanese assimilated them mostly by breeding them out.  The shops here were owned by some of the remaining Ainu.  Half contained handicrafts and half contained mass produced tourist goods.  I love the patterns of the traditional Ainu outfits, but could not find any for sale.



On the way home I saw interesting construction barriers.



For dinner, there was a new family and it was an outdoor barbecue.  The food was absolutely phenomenal.  This family was also very nice and friendly.  The man knew a surprising amount of English and both of the adults were Sony camera users.