Birding in the Interregnum

Birds have consumed my daytime hours as the slush flows down the mountains and no footwear matches. Snow spikes, crampons, snowshoes, studded strap-ons, duck boots… all are ineffectual in this climate. Sure you can walk around town just fine these days. The snow is almost completely melted on the city streets. But get into any […]

Lake Utonai Bird Sanctuary

Several times this past week I ventured outside my normal Sapporo city birding hot-spots and headed south by southeast to one of the better Ramsar wetlands maintained by the Wild Bird Society of Japan. For my fellow non-car possessing Hokkaido-ites, here’s a walk through of my trip(s) to the Lake Utonai Sanctuary: After a 5:00 […]

Unemployed Japan > Employed Japan?

Caveat… Obviously if you are unemployed and left destitute by your situation then you may not agree with title of this post. But if you find yourself with the opportunity (a working spouse whose given you leeway to decompress), quit that abyssal dead-end job and don’t look back. That is where I currently stand and […]