EPIC JAPAN! Including Taiwan, Honshu, Miyake-Jima, Ishigaki, Iriomote, Amami, Okinawa & Hokkaido

This unique tour visits Japan in the springtime when hordes of migrants are passing through the various islands and headlands and summer breeding species are arriving and setting up territories. In fact, this is a tour like no other! The first part of our epic tour will see us birding in the highlands of Taiwan where we hope to catch up with a good selection of endemics such as Mikado & Swinhoe's Pheasants, Taiwan Barbet, Collared Bush-Robin, Taiwan Fulvetta, Taiwan Yuhina, Taiwan Barwing and White-eared Sibia amongst others. A short flight will take us to Ishigaki-Jima in search of Ryukyu Green-Pigeon, Ryukyu Serpent-Eagle, Ryukyu Scops-Owl, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher, Ryukyu Minivet, Ryukyu Flycatcher and Iriomote & Ishigaki Tit. Another short flight over to Okinawa and a 2 hour drive will get us to Yanbaru National Park where we have a very good chance to see Okinawa Rail, Okinawa Woodpecker and Okinawa Robin and there's an evening excursion for Japanese Scops-Owl. Then we will fly to Amami for the strange Amami Woodcock, the tricky Amami Thrush, Amami Woodpecker & Lidth’s Jay. And there's chances of Northern Boobook, Ruddy Kingfisher, Ryukyu Robin, Ryukyu Green-Pigeon, Japanese Woodpigeon, Ryukyu Minivet & Japanese Paradise-flycatcher! 

Moving on to the main Japanese island of Honshu we will explore the slopes of Mount Fuji for Japanese Leaf Warbler and Japanese Accentor. The forests lower down are home to breeding species such as Red-flanked Bluetail, Northern Hawk-Cuckoo, Japanese, Brown-headed & Siberian Thrushes, Blue-and-white & Narcissus Flycatchers, Siberian Blue Robin and Eastern-crowned Warbler amongst many others. Many of the same species can also be found amodst the splendid forested hills of Karuizawa, but of significance to us will be the shy Yellow Bunting, along with Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Japanese Woodpecker and Japanese Grosbeak. A fine supporting cast includes Lesser Cuckoo, Pacific Swift, Ashy Minivet, Varied Tit, Meadow Bunting and much more. If our luck is in, we could catch a glimpse of the very shy Copper Pheasant. Moving on to the coast, we will visit a series of reedbeds, marshes and lagoons for Green Pheasant, Japanese Marsh Warbler (Marsh Grassbird) and Japanese Reed Bunting. From here we take the overnight ferry to Miyake-Jima for species such as Japanese Woodpigeon, Owston's Tit, Ijima's Leaf Warbler, Styan's Grasshopper Warbler, Izu Thrush and Izu Robin before taking the return ferry to Tokyo. This will give us an opportunity to see some seabirds, with Short-tailed, Sooty and Streaked Shearwaters most likely, although there's a chance of Wedge-tailed Shearwater as well. We'd hope to see something rarer such as a Short-tailed Albatross, Japanese Murrelet, or Bonin Petrel - so let's keep our fingers crossed. 

We will end up on Hokkaido, where we can take 2 boat trips in search of Rhinoceros Auklet, Tufted Puffin, Japanese & Red-faced Cormorant, Spectacled Guillemot, Ancient Murrelet,  and hopefully Laysan & Black-footed Albatrosses. Oh and possibly Killer Whale too. The marshes and wetlands of Kiritappu are home to breeding Red-crowned Cranes, Latham's Snipe, Lanceolated Warbler, Middendorff's & Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler and others. We also hope to find Hazel Grouse, Brunnich's Guillemot, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Japanese Robin, White's Thrush and Grey Bunting amongst others. Oh and as a grand finale, how about Blakiston's Fish-Owl? What a tour!!