While leading my annual Hokkaido photography tour I can indulge in two of my favorite pastimes, being out in nature for shinrin yoku and photography, I do love my job.  And in Japan, if you consult any top ten lists for spotting and photographing wildlife and being in nature, Hokkaido always makes up over half of those lists with locations spanning the entire prefecture, especially during the winter.  Winged wildlife such as the Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Shima Enaga (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus), and more than 600 bird species have been recorded to date, the majority are migratory, more than 60%. Approximately 60 of these species are endemic or sub-regional endemic. As well as an abundance of other wildlife such as the Ezo Sika Deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis), East Hokkaido which has the largest herd of Sika Deer on our planet.  About a decade ago I was scouting landscape locations in East Hokkaido spanning Rausu, Nakashibetsu, and Nemuro.  On this adventure Koji one of my group support team members and I were four wheel driving, when we found ourselves looking down what seemed to be a path with fresh tire tracks leading off the main road, but since I had never traveled on that pathway before, I decided it was time for a new adventure.  At times, the path, and I use that term loosely, didn’t really seem like a road at all, and to push forward I had to drive on ice for more than 100 meters, but as a lifetime pioneer with years of experience in the Canadian bush and driving on ice, I knew I has the necessary driving skill and kept carefully pressing forward on the pathway.
After thirty minutes of driving, in the distance I began to distinguish antlers and other shapes, I would soon find out they belonged to the largest herd of Ezo sika deer on the planet over a thousand deer.  I stopped about 200 yards (180 meters) away on a thin parcel of land about 40 yards (36 meters) wide surrounded by water and ice, quickly I got my camera gear setup. I knew the deer would have no choice but to stampede past us, as their backs were to the Pacific Ocean.  Koji and I enjoyed 20 uninterrupted minutes of photography before the deer collectively decided our photo shoot was over, and they returned into the wild frontier of Hokkaido stampeding 3 – 5 abreast, they were a quick moving mass of hooves, antlers, and fur, and the sound was reminiscent of my times spent in Africa with the Black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) and in Alaska with the Porcupine caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) stampeding, WOW!  Spotting and photographing them represents a once in a lifetime experience that everyone should have, and their beautiful ferocity is something to behold; I knew from that moment forward, I had to enjoy this experience again as well as share it with future clients, team members, family, and friends.  Whenever I tell the story to friends, it has led to several people deciding to join me on the Hokkaido wildlife photography tour of a lifetime in pursuit of a similar Sika deer photography experience.  My thirst for exploration is always thriving, and I still spend about three months each year continuing to scout and photograph in the region, and when the situation is just right, I pay the largest herd of Sika deer on the planet a visit.