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Spaceaero2 / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Akan International Crane Center (GRUS)
阿寒国際ツルセンターHokkaido
This research and viewing center on the Akan plain is a feeding station for Japan's non-migratory red-crowned cranes (tancho), the country's rarest and most iconic crane. In winter the birds gather at the adjacent feeding grounds -- the center scatters corn each morning at 9:00 -- and can be watched from close range dancing and calling in the snow, most reliably from November through March; the main hall stays open year-round but the concentrated crane spectacle is a winter event. It sits inland from Lake Akan on the road toward Kushiro.
- Best season
- Winter
- Winter (Nov-Mar)
- Crowd level
- Moderate
- Rating
- 4.2· 804 reviews
- Opening hours
- Daily 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Admission
- Adults (high school and above) 480 yen; children (elementary/junior-high) 250 yen.
- Nearest station
- No nearby rail station; approx. 20 min by car from Kushiro Airport
Usual hours — confirm with the official site for holidays + seasonal closures.
Today
9:00–17:00Stored weekly hours
Daily 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
How to get there
From Sapporo Station · ~3h 56m by car
Tags
skiwildlifebirdwatchingred-crowned cranenature
Location
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