Tsurui Village, a village with cranes
In winter, when Kushiro-shitsugen turns into a snowfield after it freezes over, red-crowned cranes gather in Tsurui Village, where they are fed.
In the morning, the red-crowned crane roasts in the Kushiro River system’s Settsuri River heads for feeding grounds in the surrounding area, but it is not only the cranes that move. Photographers from all over the world also move.

Sunrise of the Settsuri River seen from the Otowa Bridge at minus 15 degrees celsius.

Herds of red-crowned cranes and Hokkaido sika deers

Red-crowned cranes relax in the Settsuri River in the morning

Tsurui-Ito tancho Sanctuary where red-crowned cranes are fed

Red-crowned cranes’ call turns to white breath in the cold

Photographer and feeding red-crowned cranes

Red-crowned crane returning to the Settsuri River in the evening