Shorebirder

February 8: Haneda Inn offers buffet-style breakfast from 4am.   They swiftly transferred us to HND for our direct flight to Kagoshima (KOJ). ANA’s domestic flights leave from Terminal 2. Check-in was a breeze, not a surprise for a domestic flight. We arrived to a seasonably cold day by local standards. We again rented our vehicle from Nippon via Tocoo; they have a shuttle van to their office, which is literally just across the street from the airport parking lot. Again, there were no issues with the rental. We drove northwest towards Arasaki/Izumi, but we would stop en route along the Sendai River in Satsuma. We ended up spending three hours here; it was very birdy. We managed 43 species, highlights being 5 LONG-BILLED PLOVER, a cooperative CRESTED KINGFISHER at the northern bridge, many ASIAN HOUSE-MARTINS overhead, 3 JAPANESE WAGTAILS on the river, and 6 OLIVE-BACKED PIPITS in rice fields northeast of the north bridge. Actually, there were many more highlights, and most bir...

February 3: We departed JFK (New York) mid-afternoon on ANA Flight NH109. There were many empty seats in coach, so we were able to spread out. A long flight, but not unbearable. Included beer and wine didn’t hurt. February 4: We arrived on-time or early to HND in Tokyo and went to the courtesy desk for our shuttle to the off-site Nippon Rent-A-Car. The shuttle was held up, and the agent told us that we would be taken there via taxi instead. A 5-minute drive later and we were at the rental agency, where our car was being prepared for pickup. The rental agency paid for the taxi. Moments later we were in our rental car. We had booked lodging about 45 minutes to the northwest, en route to Karuizawa, at the Flexstay Inn Ekoda. The first drive of the trip was uneventful. After some major confusion with parking instructions due to language barrier, we eventually found our way to our room. We crashed for a few hours before it was time to rise and find some birds. February 5: Up and out ...