Hokkaido | Winter Time Spent at a Bird Watching Cafe

In winter, even if you walk around here and there, you may find it difficult to encounter birds. Last time, I introduced the snowy forests around Lake Shikotsu. If you keep your ears open in the winter forest for a long time, you will find that you are chilled to the bone before you know it.

At such times, you will long for a warm drink at a cafe. If you could watch the birds coming to the feeder with a cup of coffee in your hand, wouldn't you consider that a little luxury? This time, I will introduce a bird watching cafe in Tomakomai.

Head west from Chitose I.C. on Hokkaido Prefectural Road 16, the Shikotsu-ko Koen Line. As you drive a little toward Lake Shikotsu, which I introduced last time, you will see a sign on your left with white letters on a blue background that says "THE BIRD WATCHING CAFE."

Behind a parking lot for several cars stands a lodge-style building with a triangular roof. This is the "Tadashi Shimada Nature Photo Gallery and The Bird Watching Cafe." Tadashi Shimada is a renowned wild bird photographer who has won numerous awards for his photo books on kingfishers and has appeared on NHK wildlife programs.

When you enter, wild bird photographs are on display, and there is a cafe space in the back. You can enjoy coffee or a meal while watching the birds come to the feeder through a large glass window. While cafes are usually associated with chatting, here you wait while eating quietly so as not to startle the birds.

From afar, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a type of woodpecker, flew in. Great Spotted Woodpeckers live in broad-leaved forests and in winter eat longhorn beetle larvae hidden under tree bark or in dead trees. They love the fat on the feeder, and on this day, too, it was pecking intently at the fat inside the net.

A small Marsh Tit also came to the feeder containing seeds. It is a friendly bird that sometimes comes right up to the window while you are eating. Its appearance, like a black beret, is adorable, but it is difficult to distinguish from the very similar Willow Tit; the Marsh Tit lives in lower elevations and has a slightly hoarser call.

Next, a Eurasian Nuthatch came to eat sunflower seeds. While it stands horizontally at the feeder, in the forest it sometimes clings to tree trunks upside down with its brown bottom facing up, earning it the unflattering nickname of "butt-rot." The individuals in Hokkaido are the subspecies Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica), which has a slightly whiter belly.

While I was watching the birds, my meal was brought to me. The plate had a cheeseburger and french fries. In addition to hamburgers, you can also choose tortilla sandwiches and the like.

There is also a wide variety of warm drinks, including coffee, matcha latte, royal tea latte, and chocolate latte. Among them, the cafe latte features latte art of a Long-tailed Tit.

In the cold season, you might want to avoid cold things, but something you should definitely taste here is the "Long-tailed Tit Soft Serve." Soft-serve ice cream made from pasteurized milk produced in Hokkaido is shaped into a ball, and cocoa cookie wings and biscotti tail feathers are added to create an adorable Long-tailed Tit.

According to the wild bird magazine "BIRDER" found in the cafe, this is one of the best spots in Hokkaido to observe long-tailed tits. I waited in anticipation while having my meal.

However, even after staying until the very end of my allotted time, they did not show themselves. According to the staff, they had been there in the morning, but a sparrowhawk appeared and scared them away. I was really looking forward to seeing their white, fluffy forms, so it was a shame, but I would like to try again another time.

The Bird Watching Cafe also has a wild bird photography space at the back of the cafe area, making it popular with photographers as well. Since there are few seats, it seems that if you visit directly, it is often full. I highly recommend making a reservation so you can enjoy watching the small birds at your leisure from the warmth of the indoors.

Business hours and reservations can be found below.