Seeking a life surrounded by birds and flowers

Located in a corner of Nemuro, Fūro-Sō is a guesthouse where bird enthusiasts gather. The walls of the living room are packed with books including field guides and photo books about wild birds. The guesthouse is located near Lake Furen and Shunkunitai, which are both known for being bird paradises. Even on the day I visited, bird enthusiast regulars of the guesthouse were staying there and discussing new information about wild birds with Hisako.

Born in Tokyo, Hisako and her late husband Masaru finally came upon this area in the far east reaches of Japan as they were looking for “a place where there are many birds and lots of flowers blooming”.

“Everything up to now is pretty much covered in this book,” said Hisako, passing me a copy of “From a Corner of the Nimuoro Wilderness”. Written by her late husband, who was both a nature lover and an author, the book covers their move to Nemuro, their life after that, and the nature they encountered here. Although Hisako is not much of a talker, her eyes light up as she speaks about birds and flowers. This article borrows some parts of Masaru’s book to follow the couple’s story and that of Fūro-Sō. Unless stated otherwise, the quotes in this article are taken from Masaru’s book.

▶ “From a Corner of the Nimuoro Wilderness” (1979, Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers, Inc.) The book includes “My Wilderness Diary,” in which Masaru Takada records his encounters with birds and other animals in Nemuro, and “In Tetsu’s Land,” which chronicles his life working on a pasture.

“As I continued to walk in the wilderness of the eastern part of the country, a dream took root: I wanted to build a bird sanctuary of my own someday.”

From a young age, Masaru loved nature. When he was in university, he would go on a yearly birdwatching tour to Eastern Hokkaido. That was when he started dreaming about building a bird sanctuary. More specifically, Masaru’s dream was to create a place that protected the habitats of birds, animals and plants and offered a space where people could enjoy observing this wildlife.

Masaru and Hisako used to work in Tokyo for a company that published forestry-related magazines and produced films and photographic slides. Masaru traveled around the country capturing footage of mountains and forests for work. In all his travels, he couldn’t find a place more blessed with birds and flowers than Eastern Hokkaido. This attracted the couple and they got married on the promise that they would move to Eastern Hokkaido at some point in the future.

The pasture they discovered on a trip

The move to Eastern Hokkaido came much earlier than Hisako had originally imagined. The year after their wedding, Masaru, Hisako and her two younger sisters decided to travel to Nemuro. Of course, Masaru also had an important goal in mind—to find a place they could settle down in. It was on this trip that Masaru and Hisako found what they were looking for. Just past a forest where conifers intermingled with hardwoods, the couple came upon a beautiful sight from the edge of a small hill. It was a pasture with woods, meadows and a river running through it. “There were many birds and beautiful flowers.” Needless to say, Masaru fell in love with it.

▶The living room chock is full of materials on wild birds.

▶Hisako’s hand-knitted vests on display. Some of her creations are for sale.

Masaru wrote many letters to the owner of the pasture, asking for permission to work there, and was finally accepted in 1972. He was able to work at a pasture surrounded by birds and flowers—his wish had come true. Little did he know that what awaited him was much harder than he could have imagined. Hisako said that at that time, “Masaru was so busy with work that he didn’t have any time to appreciate the birds and flowers.” One year after starting work at the pasture, Masaru quit and started living with Hisako in Nishihama Town, Nemuro City.

Hisako recalled that bird-loving friends were often visiting their house in Nishihama. “During long holidays, it seemed like someone was staying every day. I think there were about 200 people a year. Many people brought me gifts as a token of their appreciation, but it was more than I could handle. I began to think that I should make something of it, like opening a guesthouse.”

Creating a base for nature lovers

“In the fall of 1975, with the help of many friends and acquaintances, we rented land in the wilderness near Lake Furen and built a cabin-like house. After moving from Tokyo three and a half years ago, we finally had our true base. Actually, no, it’s not just our base. We also hoped that it would become a spiritual center for nature lovers.”

▶Breakfast includes bread and salad. The jam for your bread is hand-made by Hisako, using fruit that she has harvested. There are about 15 flavors to try.

Hisako told me about what it was like starting a guesthouse. “As many people we knew came to visit, naturally it became a place where bird enthusiasts gathered. When we started the guesthouse, there was a boom in birdwatching, especially among university students, and we were run off our feet every day. I would ask students who came to stay to help me out. After dinner, we would all have a drink and talk about the birds we saw that day, and I would tell them where they might find the birds they were looking for. It was lively and fun. After my husband passed away in 2013, I’ve been able to continue our guesthouse thanks to the connections we’ve made over the years. I’m really grateful for that.”

▶In winter, wild birds come to eat beef tallow hanging by the window.

As we were talking, I could hear wild birds chirping merrily outside the window. Noticing me looking out the window, Hisako was quick to offer some birdwatching advice, “First, you should try to learn the name of five species. After that, you’ll start noticing little differences between them and soon you’ll be able to remember the names of six, seven and more.”

Experts believe that you can see roughly half of Japan’s wild bird species in Nemuro. Nestled in a corner of this land, about 138 bird species have been spotted at Fūro-Sō so far. Fūro-Sō is a great place for people to stop by on their birdwatching trip and share what’s sure to be a lively conversation with Hisako about wild birds. Even birdwatching first-timers will feel inspired by looking at all the field guides and hearing Hisako speak.