Wildlife and conservation in Hokkaido, Japan | Jack Wolfskin

Discover the wintery landscapes and rich wildlife of Hokkaido, the most northern main island of Japan, with DerHauge and Delfina. This region of Japan is widely unknown among tourists but is home to many endemic species.

In contrast to other regions of Japan, Hokkaido is less populated, but you can find very diverse wildlife in different habitats. Vast marshlands, cold oceans, hot volcanoes and dense forests form a unique ecosystem that helps many endangered species to thrive. Creative director and content creator @DerHauge and videographer Delfina first visit the village of Tsurui on Hokkaido in Japan to observe Japanese cranes. These red-crowned cranes are not solely symbolic animals of Japan, but the national bird of the land of the rising sun. Unfortunately, there are only 1,500 of them left in the world.

The Kushiro Marsh Wildlife Conservation Center is also located in Hokkaido. Here, injured birds of prey are taken in and cared for. The main focus of the Kushiro Marsh Wildlife Conservation Center, Hokkaido, is on sea eagles. The person in charge is Keisuke Saito, head veterinarian and founder of the Institute for Raptor Biomedicine Japan, who offers DerHauge and Dlefina a glimpse into his work with the birds of prey.

To explore more of the island of Hokkaido, the team heads North to the Shiretoko Peninsula. Here, DerHauge and Delfina see eagles in the wild for the first time. These eagles, which are under national protection in Japan, overwinter in Shiretoko.

Finally, DerHauge and Delfina have the opportunity to speak with Masaya Kusube, the CEO of Picchio. Picchio is a wildlife research center in Japan, that wants to combine tourism with conservation to be sustainable. In this area of Hokkaido in Japan, there is a great variety of wildlife to see, such as eagles, bears and whales. For Masaya Kusube, it’s clear that “we can’t find a better place in any other part of the world to see the mixture of those kinds of animals.“

For DerHauge and Delfina, the experience in Hokkaido was breathtaking. Especially, experiencing the wild side of Japan for away from their home Tokyo was an incredible experience.

For this trip, we partnered up with the German oversea’s office of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO): https://www.youtube.com/jnto
When you can’t wait to plan your next trip to Japan, visit JNTO at https://www.japan.travel/de/de/

DerHauge on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/derhauge
(Post) Production: Delfina Gerling

Kushiro Marsh Wildlife Conservation Center: https://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/kushiro/index.html
Picchio Wildlife Research Center: https://www.wildlife-picchio.com/
JACK WOLFSKIN: https://www.jack-wolfskin.com

#hokkaido #japan #derhauge #jackwolfskin