Lake Akan

After my visit to the Shiretoko Peninsula, my itinerary included a one-night stay in the Lake Akan resort area, a vacation spot popular among domestic as well as international tourists.

I did not expect that I would have much opportunity to see any wildlife, but as it turned out, the area is part of the Akan–Mashu National Park, and the hotel where I stayed was located right next to a forested area.  After checking in, I went for a late-afternoon walk through the forest.  Just as I was entering the trail, I noticed a young deer at the edge of the hotel property.  (See photo at top of this article.)  Like the deer I saw at Shiretoko, this deer did not appear to fear humans.

The below photographs show what the forest and trail looked like.  It was very peaceful and very beautiful.

I saw a few Ezo squirrels, but because of the late afternoon’s low light conditions and the squirrels’ extremely quick movements, it was very difficult to take a photograph.  Although I saw a number of squirrels, the below photograph was the best that I could capture.

After walking around for the better part of an hour, I came across a male deer that quietly crossed the path in front of me.  After shooting a few frames, I noticed that nearby there was also a female deer and a younger deer that appeared to be the one that I had photographed near the hotel.  Perhaps this was a family of three.

I was surprised by the number of animals I observed in the short amount of time that I was in the Akan area.  I was also told by a local shopkeeper that Red foxes also make frequent, but unpredictable, appearances around the town.  For those reasons, I’d like to visit this area again someday.  Only next time, I’ll make sure I am here at least for a couple of nights.

(Note: All photos in this post were taken during a visit in September 2017.  The comments in this post are based on observations made at that time.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)

Shiretoko National Park

I had wanted to visit the Shiretoko Peninsula ever since it was designated as a UNICEF Natural World Heritage site in 2005.  Home to animals such as Ezo deer, Red foxes, Ezo squirrels, Brown bears, seals, and whales, it is sometimes promoted as Japan’s last natural frontier.  I had hoped that I would be able to photograph a few of Japan’s native mammals in their natural habitat.  At least in part, I was not disappointed.   

Close Encounters With Wild Animals

In order to leisurely explore the area, I thought that a sensible visit to Shiretoko would involve staying at least one or two nights at a hotel in Utoro, a small community of about 1300 people.  Surprisingly, there were a number of large hotels in Utoro, and I suspect that during the peak tourist season the number of visitors exceeds the local population of the community. The hotel room prices were a little on the high side, and I think this may be a result of the brand value the area has acquired since becoming a world heritage site. 

On route to our hotel, we spotted a young Red fox searching for food amid the grasses on the side of the road.  After the fox noticed that our car had stopped, it looked at us and then quickly scurried across the road. This spotting occurred at last light just after the sunset around 6:00p.m., so perhaps the fox had just started its nocturnal scavenging.  Meeting this fox was apparently a stroke of luck.  When I asked a hotel employee if it were possible to photograph foxes around Utoro town, he told me that sightings of foxes were rare, and only a single young fox was known to wander around the town.  True to the hotelman’s words, this was the only fox I met during my two days in Shiretoko.

The next morning, we set out to visit the Shiretoko National Park Nature Center.  Within 5 minutes of leaving Utoro Town, we spotted a car stopped in front of us and its occupants photographing two female deer quietly grazing along the side of the highway. 

I had expected deer in the wild to quickly run away from humans, but despite approaching within a few meters to take this photo, the two deer did not move away.  In fact, when we moved on after about 5 minutes, the two deer were still basically in the same place they were when we had arrived.  Apparently, the deer in this National Park area sense that they are protected, and they do not fear humans.

A few kilometers up the road, we came upon another deer on the side of the road just in front of the Shiretoko National Park Nature Center. (See photo at the top of this article.)  About twenty minutes later, when we came out of the Nature Center, we saw the same deer and a friend walking through the center’s parking lot.

By the end of this day, we saw a total of 11 deer.

Beware of Bears

Along the roads, and at each of the facilities we visited in Shiretoko, there were numerous warnings about the presence of Brown bears.

Visitors are warned to not approach the bears and to not feed the bears.

 
At the entrance to the Field House at the Shiretoko Goko Lakes (Five Lakes), visitors are greeted by this preserved brown bear and a signboard reminding them that “A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear”.  When well-intentioned tourists feed bears, the bears lose their fear of humans and approach human houses looking for food.  When a specific bear is identified as one that repeatedly enters the human areas despite being chased away, it is unfortunately killed to prevent fatal attacks on humans.

Visitors to Shiretoko who insist they need to see a bear to make their trip complete would be well-advised to participate in one of the boat charters which operate out of Utoro Harbor.  These boat tours travel along the peninsula up to the area where bears often come down to the beach to look for food.  Visitors view the bears from the boat, keeping themselves, and the bears, safe.

The below photo is a view of Lake Number One of the Shiretoko Five Lakes.  Surprisingly, I did not see any animals in the vicinity of this lake – not even a songbird.

In the Forest

After we left the Five Lakes, we travelled on to Kamuiwakka Falls.  Depending on the season and other conditions, the gravel road to Kamuiwakka Falls is sometimes closed to ordinary traffic.  The road to the falls is quite narrow in a number of places, and since it winds around some rather steep drop-offs, this drive requires a certain amount of cool nerves. We did not see any animals on the way to the falls, but on the return trip we came across this large male partially blocking the road.

Like the females we saw earlier, this male showed no apparent fear of humans.

Rausu Town

Since it was only a little after midday, we decided to drive over Shiretoko Pass to Rausu Town which is on the opposite side of the Peninsula from Utoro.  Rausu is a small fishing village, but they also run whale watching excursions that operate from the small boat harbor.

We did not have enough time to go whale watching, but we encountered a few seagulls outside of the restaurant where we had lunch.

At the entrance to the restaurant, visitors are greeted by this preserved brown bear.  Perhaps he died from the embarrassment of being forced to wear that ridiculous pink outfit.

(Note: All photos in this post were taken during a visit in September 2017.  The comments in this post are based on observations made at that time.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)

Aquatotto Gifu

The official name of this facility is “World Freshwater Aquarium Aquatotto Gifu”, and true to its name, it showcases freshwater fishes from Japan, Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America.  According to a friend who is originally from the Gifu area, the word “totto” is a children’s word for “fish” in the local dialect.  Opened in 2004, Aquatotto Gifu still has the clean look of a new aquarium, and its exhibits incorporate many interesting modern design elements.

Upon entering the facility, visitors are instructed to ride an elevator to the 4^th floor.  This upper floor is designed to represent the mountain areas which are the source and upstream areas of the local Nagara River which flows through Gifu Prefecture.  From here, as visitors walk downstairs in this building, they will encounter exhibits appropriate to their travelling downstream along the Nagara River.

Source and Upstream area of the Nagara River

Artificial trees suggest a mountain forest.

This exhibit depicts a mountain stream filled with Japanese char.

The photo below shows a feeding demonstration with Oriental short-clawed otters.  Ironically, these otters are native to Southeast Asia - Japan’s species of otters have already gone extinct.  I suspect these animals were included in this “Japanese river” area mostly as a marketing decision.  Whether at a zoo or an aquarium, Japanese visitors go nuts for cute and furry animals.  Aquarium gift shops are almost certain to have plush toy critters, and plush toy otters are particularly popular.

Ramp walkway leading from the 4^th floor to the 3^rd floor.

Exhibit depicting mountain stream stocked with Japanese “Oikawa”.

Another view of an Oriental short-clawed otter.

Complete with cascading water, these exhibits look and feel like a real stream.

Upper Nagara River to Middle Nagara River

This section skillfully depicted the changing environment of the Nagara River as it flowed through the areas populated by humans.  The below 2 photographs show mice that inhabit the rice fields cultivated along the Nagara River. 

Small exhibit tanks showcased small fish, reptiles, and insects found along the banks of the Nagara River.

Exhibits like the one depicted below successfully recreated the small environments and their small residents.

A larger tank was populated by catfish and carp.

Middle Nagara River to the River Mouth

This section showed the river environments of the middle river, lower river, and river mouth.  Most of the tanks were small, and most of the displayed specimens were also small.  In the larger tanks depicting the river mouth, there were not only freshwater fish, but also fish like sea bream and Japanese sea perch that live in that zone where fresh and salt water mix. 

Naked threespine stickleback

Shuttles hoppfish

This exhibit showed fish that inhabit the Kushiro Marsh in Hokkaido.

Japanese huchen

Mekong River Area

This area featured fish from the Mekong River in Southeast Asia.  The tanks in this area were larger, and some of the fish were notably large.

 Bighead carp

Many colorful fish

Spotted archerfish

Giant river prawn

Congo River

This area featured fish from the Congo River in Africa.  Like the Mekong area, this area was notable for its large tanks and large fish. 

Jewel fish

Nile perch

Amazon River

Like the Amazon River for which this area was named, there was a lot of water in this area.  The tanks were quite large.  And the fish were also quite large.  It almost seems like Japanese aquariums use these large fish from Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America to make up for the fact that there are few large fish found in Japanese rivers and lakes.

Red-tail catfish

Red piranha

Area very nicely decorated with soft lighting.

Educational Efforts
There were many educational signs and displays.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t much English.

The “Toto Lab”, a reading room for visitors.  I did not have time to examine what types of books they had on their shelves.

Opportunities for Animal Encounters

According to a sign posted in this area, on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays, visitors can feed the Aldabra Tortoises for 200 yen.

Just before the exit, there was an area where visitors could feed fish for 100 yen.

In this same area, there were 3 Capybara.  Capybara are very popular in Japanese zoos and aquariums because they are cute, docile, and relatively tolerant of humans.

At specified times, visitors could feed the Capybara for 100 yen.  This activity was limited to 30 visitors on a first-come, first-served basis.

Food and Souvenirs

The Aquatotto Gifu facility included a restaurant called “Arrowana Garden”. 

A variety of dishes were available.

There were also many food trucks parked in the walkways immediately outside of the Aquatotto building.

The gift shop was fully stocked with plush toys, pens, accessories, toys, and many other trinkets.  And of course there were plush toy otters.

Getting There

  

Aquatotto Gifu is located in a relatively rural area, and it is not that easy to access without a car. On this occasion, a friend drove a group of us to Aquatotto Gifu from Inuyama, so I am not able to describe how difficult it is to access the facility using only public transportation.  According to the facility pamphlet, visitors can catch a bus from Gifu train station and get off at the Kawashima-Kasada bus stop.  From there, it is reportedly a 15 minute walk. (In my experience, Japanese estimates for walking times are notoriously overly optimistic.)  Please refer to the Aquatotto web site for details.

(Note: The photos used in this post were taken during a visit on July 9, 2017.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on that day.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)