Have you ever met a chipmunk that’ll climb right onto your hand for a snack? Every spring, during the annual JDS Hokkaido birding, wildlife, and cherry blossom private tour, our workshop leader and participants are greeted by the Ezo Chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus barberi) as they emerge from hibernation. It’s one of the highlights of every year.
These charming chipmunks, a subspecies of the Siberian Chipmunk, are native mainly to Hokkaido. When they wake up from their winter sleep, food is top priority. Before heading into the mountains, our workshop leader always stops at an organic shop to pick up local nuts and seeds. He loves offering treats to the chipmunks in a mountain area famous as a “power spot” and perfect for forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku).
Ezo Chipmunks measure about 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 inches) from nose to tail base, plus another 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 inches) for the tail, and weigh between 71–116 grams (2.5–4.1 ounces). Their fur is chestnut brown with five dark stripes running down their back.
They’re found not only on Hokkaido but also on nearby islands like Rebun, Rishiri, Teuri, Sakhalin, Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Yagashiri. Interestingly, there’s a small confirmed cluster in Karuizawa on Honshu, probably because chipmunks were kept as pets in the 1960s and ‘70s but later released when people realized wild chipmunks are quite a handful!
Ezo Chipmunks have a varied diet. In spring, they feed on sasa (broad bamboo leaves) and Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) leaves. Later, they switch to seeds, pine nuts, cones, and especially Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica) acorns. While largely vegetarian, chipmunks raising young sometimes eat spiders, cicadas, snails, larvae, and even eggs of birds like the Shima Enaga (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus), the Japanese subspecies of the Long-tailed Tit.
As summer arrives, they begin stockpiling food for winter. They don’t fully hibernate but wake every couple of days to eat from their hidden stores before snoozing again.
Of course, Hokkaido offers so much more than chipmunks. Along the Pacific coast, you might spot Steller’s Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) that stay behind in summer due to injuries or simply choose to remain year-round in places like UNESCO’s Shiretoko National Park. These magnificent raptors are relics of the Ice Age, having survived through three glacial eras.
From summer into autumn, Hokkaido becomes a paradise for wildlife photographers. You can see and photograph Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis), White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), Eastern Water Rails (Rallus indicus), Shima Enaga (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus), and many other bird species. At sea, you might glimpse whales (e.g. Balaenoptera acutorostrata – minke whales), seals like the Spotted Seal (Phoca largha), sea otters (Enhydra lutris), and vibrant marine life. On land, keep an eye out for Brown Bears (Ursus arctos yesoensis), Ezo Sika Deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis), the Hokkaido Fox (Vulpes vulpes schrencki), and countless other remarkable animals. Hokkaido truly is a nature photographer’s dream all year round.