Hokkaido Official Tourism Site HOKKAIDO LOVE!

The Tsurui Ito Red-crowned Crane Sanctuary is a vast 10-hectare grassland where up to 300 red-crowned cranes can be seen. The late Yoshitaka Ito, who spent many years feeding red-crowned cranes while working as a dairy farmer, provided this place. Currently, feeding activities are held twice a day (from 9:00 and 14:00) from November to March, when food is scarce in the marshland. There is also a nature center operated by the Wild Bird Society of Japan within the sanctuary, where you can listen to explanations of red-crowned crane ecology from rangers and volunteers.

Located about 50 minutes by car from Kushiro Tancho Airport and 1 hour by bus from Kushiro, the nearest city, the Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary is a must-visit for birdwatchers. While a number of different bird species call this area home, the most spectacular of them all is the red-crowned crane. From November to March, about 300 red-crowned cranes stop in the sanctuary for food. These majestic creatures can be seen standing tall in the distant snowy plains, seemingly chatting amongst themselves before taking flight gracefully through the skies again. In mid-February to early March, the cranes perform their mating dances. This is often considered an ideal time for birdwatchers to snap rare shots of these culturally significant birds.