Explore Authentic Japan and Unearth Untold Stories with Blain & His Team in Japan!

Shima Enaga - Long Tailed Bushtit

Mar 31, 2020

Shima - Enaga is one of my favorite birds on our planet, and they are a sweetheart looking “Bonnie of a Bird,” and they have a uniquely all-white face and is a sub-species of the long-tailed bushtit. The Shima - Enaga occur mostly in Hokkaido, Japan. But they inhabit the entire Paleatrictic realm. The long-tailed tit is sometimes referred to as the silver-throated tit or silver-throated dasher. The long-tailed tit was first classified as a tit of the Parus group. The Parus has been ...

Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker

Mar 16, 2020

The Japanese Pygmy woodpecker or (Yungipicus kizuki) is a species of woodpecker, which is found in coniferous and deciduous forests in Japan and neighboring nations. This species has also been placed in the genus Dendrocopos or Picoides.The Japanese pygmy woodpecker is 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) long. The crown is grey-brown. A white supercilium starts above the eye and continues to the neck and breast. The ear coverts are brown, and they have a white moustachial stripe and a grey-brown ...

Kyushu Private Photography Workshop - Island Hoping Tour!

Mar 09, 2020

I am currently in Kyushu for a few weeks on a private photography workshop/tour with a client who joined my Hokkaido Winter Wonderland Wildlife Landscape Photo Adventure, and he has extended his tour experience to include Kyushu. This is his second time in less than a year to visit Japan, and each time, he visits he spends nearly a month photographing as much of the country as he can. He’s a brilliant landscape photographer, and Hokkaido represents his first wildlife ...

Hokkaido Photo Workshop - Steller’s Sea Eagle Aerial Warfare

Feb 27, 2020

I am currently on the Pacific Coast in Raptor Country, leading my annual Hokkaido, Mt. Fuji, Snow Monkey, Landscape, Wildlife Extravaganza. The highlight on this tour is the Battle Royale that breaks out every year between the local wildlife, the White-tailed Eagle and seasonal interlopers the “crass and imposing” - The Steller's Sea Eagle! The battles between the two factions rage so violently that it could be the subject of an Epic Spartan Poem of adventure and hard ...

The Red-Crowned Cranes - Wow! Get ready! Luck Up!

Feb 25, 2020

I am currently in the Kushiro Wetlands, in Hokkaido photographing The Red-Crowned Cranes, for the next few days, a segment of my annual Mt. Fuji, Snow Monkey, World of Samurai, Steller’s Sea Eagle along with many other wildlife species, such as the red-tail fox, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, and the largest herd of Sika Deer on our planet, on Japan’s most northern island. The Red-Crowned Cranes are also known as snow ballerinas because of their courtship ...

Snow Monkeys Up Close and Personal

Feb 18, 2020

I am currently photographing the snow monkeys with participants on my annual winter wonderland Hokkaido Wildlife Birding Adventure. The snow monkeys are a must-visit for any photographer in Japan. This morning I waited on my favorite rock because of my years of experience with the snow monkeys, I know to sit there because the snow monkeys will come to say hello. Others before me were just standing there, and the monkeys are intimidated by the people standing and will stay away ...

Dragons and the World of the Samurai

Feb 17, 2020

I am currently leading my annual Hokkaido, Mt. Fuji, Snow Monkey, World of Samurai, and birding in Hokkaido featuring several of Hokkaido’s bountiful wildlife. During our photo workshop we are planning on seeing The Steller’s Sea Eagles and other raptors next week plus the Red-Crowned Cranes, and the largest herd of Sika Deer on the planet. Now we are walking the same ancient Shinto pilgrimage route that infamous samurai sought out such as the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, Oda ...

Mt. Fuji Golden Hour

Feb 15, 2020

I am currently in Mt. Fuji leading my annual Mt. Fuji, Snow Monkey, World of Samurai, and Hokkaido Wildlife Birding Landscape Photography Workshop with a full complement of participants and 10 in our group. One of the more spectacular landscapes I have photographed is this remarkable view of Mt. Fuji at first light especially breathtaking in mid winter during the golden hour. Camera I used was the Nikon d850 my settings were were 3sec F/11, and 100 ISO. I used a tripod ...

Fertility Festival Japan Winter Wonderland 2020 - 2021

Jan 31, 2020

The Conch Shell will blow commencing the festival of fertility and a good harvest this Winter February 2020. It has been celebrated for hundreds of years in the snow and ice; 2019-2020, the weather has been mild this winter with little to no snow on the Honshu Japans main Island, and there were many fears there would be no snow and ice, for the fertility festival this year! But now it looks like it will go on off without a hitch since there is a cold snap with snow and Ice about to plummet the ...

The Essence of Cherry Blossoms Photo Workshop/Tour

Jan 17, 2020

Chasing the Essence of Cherry Blossoms, you first have to understand that Cherry Blossom Photo Tours are different every year. You have to watch the weather charts closely the Japanese sakura or cherry blossoms flourish at different times depending on which region of Japan you are visiting because Japan is latitudinally long at over 3,000 kilometers and has 6,852 islands, and each island and specific location has individual characteristics that occur only in that region, so photo tours become a ...