Those who are uninitiated in a wildlife safari or who have yet to lace up their boots and set those boots to ground with me on my Annual Hokkaido Wildlife Birding Photography expedition adventure may think that only one type of safari exists. Even reading the word ‘safari,’ your first instinct is probably Africa, elephants, lions, cheetahs, wildebeests, and other wildlife roaming the African savannah. As a world adventurer, I have explored and lived in these regions of Africa with all types of wildlife, and Africa is an amazing photographic experience. I’ve witnessed my share of stampeding wildebeests and elephants on African safaris, and I’ve seen large herds of Porcupine Caribou who migrate in the Canadian Yukon and Alaska that have a similar migratory pattern to the Ezo sika deer that travel a much shorter migration.

A few years back, I decided I needed a break from the on-the-beaten-path location in Hokkaido, namely the Sapporo Ice Festival. A mentor and my co-leader Jim Zuckerman and the participants were happy with their itinerary. Still, I wanted to inject more adventure into my part of the Hokkaido Wildlife Photo Tour and do a little exploring. The participants were well taken care of with my team and Jim in Sapporo at the ice festival, and there was no imminent danger linked to the frozen subjects being photographed, so I exclaimed, “I’m going to the wild frontier,” and I boarded a plane while a colleague, Koji Endo, boarded his in Tokyo. Our adventure took us to seek out new locations on the eastern end of Hokkaido, spanning Rausu, Nakashibetsu, and Nemuro. I had spent about 15 years in Hokkaido, and there were a few roads I had yet to explore, so I was excited about the chance to find more off-the-beaten-path locations. As we passed one trail in particular, I began to run through the catalog of roads, paths, trails, and Hokkaido highways in my mind and Garmin GPS, but I couldn’t place this path I had just seen. I brought our SUV to a stop, and I thought to myself, “This is just a walking trail, isn’t it?” At that moment, as if to answer my question, Koji and I simultaneously set our eyes on fresh tire tracks leading up to and on to this trail, which looked just like a pathway to the ocean for fishing. Another thought raced through my head, “I’ve traveled almost every pathway resembling a road in this region, but have I been on this one?” I knew Koji, and I had to take a closer look, so off we went, and the going was rough. We had to drive on pack-ice for about 100 meters, but being born in Canada and driving winter roads there, I was prepared for this challenge.

Thirty minutes later, doing some hard 4x4ing, we inched forward, I began to distinguish antlers and other shapes belonging to the largest herd of Ezo sika deer on the planet, 1000+ deer. We ultimately stopped only 200 yards (180 meters) away on a thin parcel of land with water everywhere except behind us, about 40 yards (36 meters) wide, and I could see a pathway to the left, and I knew that would be the deers’ stampede route once they caught wind of us. We enjoyed 20 uninterrupted minutes of photography before the deer collectively decided to take the pathway out, and they returned into the wild frontier of Hokkaido, 3 – 5 abreast, a flood of hooves, antlers, and fur. They represent a once in a lifetime experience that everyone should have, and their wild and beautiful ferocity is something to behold; it brought tears tao my eyes and Koji’s, and I knew from that moment forward, I had to have this experience again to share with my clients, team, family, and friends. Rejoining the Hokkaido Winter Photography Tour, Jim and the participants asked me about my foray into Wild Hokkaido. Once I showed them photos of the largest herd of Ezo sika deer on the planet, I had won over several clients to the value of Hokkaido’s wildlife and some repeat participants who immediately wanted to join me the following year.