Tsurui Village [鶴居村]
Tsurui Village is a small village about 30 km north of Kushiro city.
Agriculture and dairy farming are the main industries, but the village is famous for breeding ground for red-crowned crane.
("Tsurui" means "There are cranes".)
Only about 1,000 red-crowned cranes ("Tanchôzuru" in Japanese) live around Kushiro Marsh in eastern Hokkaido.
Therefore, red-crowned crane has been designated as a special natural treasure in Japan.
In the middle of the 20th century, red-crowned crane was on the verge of extinction.
In 1966, Ito Yoshitaka, a dairy farmer in Tsurui Village, began to feed the red-crowned cranes in his field.
After that, he made efforts to preserve the red-crowned cranes.
In Tsurui Village, there are a few feeding places to observe red-crowned cranes.
Basically, the cranes come these spots in winter because of lacking of food.
Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary (鶴居・伊藤タンチョウサンクチュアリ) is the main spot and is located just east of village center.
There is a building ("Nature Center") and the feeding field is in front of the building.
It opens from October to March.
You can observe the cranes for free.
Tsurumidai (鶴見台) is located about 6 km south of village center.
It is a feeding field without building.
The feeding time is in the morning and around 14:30 from late October to late March.
When you visit there, you must keep the following manners.
- Don't go out from the designated areas.
- Don't take a photo using a flash.
- Don't scatter any food and trash.
How to get here
By route bus for Tsurui, from Kushiro station, 52 minutes to Tsurumidai, 62 minutes to Tsurui-Shigai (Village center).
