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

The Magnificent Raptors of Shiretoko National Park Japan

Aug 09, 2020

The Steller's Sea Eagle is one of the largest and fiercest diurnal raptors in our wildlife kingdom. These eagles are huge; on average, they are the heaviest raptor on our planet, weighing up to 10 kg (22 pounds). They are also tall, measuring up to 94cm (3 ft), with a giant wingspan of up to 250 cm (8.2ft). Their unique plumage is blackish brown-black all over except on the shoulders, rump, tail thighs, and forehead, which are white. Their big bill is yellowish orange and is wickedly, ...

Japan's Ecological Lines and Wildlife Photography on a Hokkaido Photo Tour

Jul 28, 2020

As an experienced visual artist, I have been fortunate to travel to the corners of our beautiful planet several times, and these fantastic experiences have granted me an abundance of experience over my 30 plus year career. As an accomplished photography instructor, I teach the beginner or advanced-Pro photographer on most photography themes, and two of my favorite themes are wildlife photography and landscape photography. Japan Snow Monkey Park photo workshop group February 2020, we were ...

Matting Ritual of The Red-Crowned Cranes Hokkaido Japan

Jul 25, 2020

I can think of no other bird gentler or more romantic than the Red-Crowned Cranes, which are one of the main species that I introduce to visiting international photographers on my annual Hokkaido Photo Tour. These gentle giants, also known as the snow ballerinas, show so much grace while performing their courtship dance. Once they have created their union as partners, they bond with those mates throughout their entire lifetime thereafter. Because this bird is monogamous, they represent loyalty ...

The Largest Herd of Ezo Sika Deer Ever Photographed

Jul 12, 2020

I am humbled to have photographed the largest herd of Ezo Sika Deer on our planet in the Nemuro region while leading my annual Hokkaido Photo Tour, Japan. Hokkaido reminds me of Yukon territory in northwest Canada or Alaska, as it is wild mountain wilderness and sparsely populated. Similar to the large herds of Porcupine Caribou who migrate in the Canadian Yukon and Alaska, the Ezo Sika Deer of Japan are also migratory. Anyone who has ever photographed a herd of wild animals can ...

Shima Enaga Birding in Hokkaido and Camera Setting in Snow

Jul 10, 2020

One of the more stunning birds to photograph in the snow is the Shima Enaga, “Parus caudatus” that I adore photographing on my annual winter Hokkaido Photo tour. Hokkaido is known worldwide for its amazing wildlife/birding photo opportunities, and the Red-Crowned Cranes, The Steller's Sea Eagles, White-Tailed Eagles, Ezo Sika Deer, and the Ezo Red Fox are the wildlife we focus on during my annual winter Hokkaido photo tours. But when I have serious birders in my group, I always seek ...

Mating Season - Snow Monkey Japan Photo Tour

Jul 05, 2020

I love photographing snow monkeys, and I love leading my annual winter wonderland Hokkaido photo tour. But February is not my favorite time to film or photograph the snow monkeys. It's cold, and the monkeys have less food and are naturally less active. But in the winter, you can catch the possing zen monkeys; also, in recent years, we have had fewer cold days due to climate change, so the monkeys have been more active, but it's not mating season. Mating season is in the autumn October into ...

Anyone can Photograph a Bird on a Stick - Or can You?

Jul 02, 2020

One the hardest photo’s to capture in nature photography successfully is a bird in flight, but anyone can capture a bird on a stick, or can they? If you are an experienced pro birding photographer, you know the answer to this question, and if you are not a birder or a novice birder and don’t know our planet's bird species, this can be a difficult question to answer. To answer this question, I will be using three bird species, for example. Two of the species I photography annually on ...

Bird Banding - Supposing Bird Conservation

Jun 28, 2020

Bird banding is one of the our most successful tools in our abilities to study wild birds, and support bird conservation worldwide, as birds cross borders to migrate, naturally of course without a passport. Wild birds are captured and marked with a numbered leg band. Where do swallows that breed in Japan and remain all summer migrate to in the winter? The Greek philosopher Aristotle thought that swallows hibernated inside hollow trees or underneath the ground. Even to this day each spring as ...

Lake Mashu in Akan National Park Hokkaido Japan

Jun 27, 2020

Lake Mashu is located in Akan National park on Japanse, most northern island Hokkaido. I have a summer cottage in the area, and I usually would be there this time of year leading a Hokkaido photo tour for early summer visitors. This summer, I am spending at my traditional Japanese home office studio in Niigata prefecture a kilometer from a beautiful beach on the sea of Japan. I am currently in Niigata, leading a private Japan photo tour and scouting the highlands bordering Niigata and Nagano ...

Japanese Macaque - their Battles

Jun 23, 2020

The Japanese macaque is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. They have become known as the snow monkey due to them being the most northern living nonhuman primate on Earth, well possibly except for the Abonibal snowman (haha), I have yet to photography this species, and I am not trying. But the snowman has even been reported in Hokkaido Japan, and if they pop their heads out during my annual Hokkaido Photo Tour, I will definitely take a snapshot or two. The Japanese ...