We found ourselves perched in complete silence underneath a Japanese carriageway bridge covered in graffiti searching for wild black bears. With bustling freighter trucks passing overhead, this was the last place we thought we’d find ourselves on the Edges of Earth expedition. In between passing traffic, we listened for the faintest of sounds that might give away our elusive target—anything from a snapped branch to dropped acorns would feed our anticipation, elevating our levels of excitement.
As we consciously explore, one revelation continues to stand out: a vast number of individuals deeply care about the natural world. While our social feeds typically highlight the dire state of the planet, leaving many feeling like their individual efforts are futile, this perspective couldn't be further from the truth.
Countless people across the globe are actively making a difference and it all starts with a single, small action. A positive step in the right direction can then lead to something bigger, such as complete value re-alignment or even a full-fledged career shift. Regardless of the size or scale of the action, broadening the mind ever so slightly could be pivotal in provoking much needed change.
Some people we’ve encountered choose to protect their local environment, while others have relocated entirely, dedicating themselves to conservation in developing nations. There's a palpable, cross-generational movement towards planetary conservation, restoration and protection from those looking to contribute in immediate, meaningful ways. Rather than remaining passive, these individuals harness their skills, experiences and resources in various ways.
When learning about conservation efforts in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, our research led us to the town of Karuizawa, which surprisingly was only an hour from one of the biggest cities in the world by bullet train. Why here? Because the town has a population of Asiatic black bears that can be observed in the wild.
Operating in the near shadows of the Japanese Alps, the small but dedicated team from Picchio Wildlife Research Centre works day and night to protect this species, and Amelia Hiorns was our gateway to understanding their efforts. Despite meeting her serendipitously, we formed an immediate connection with Amelia, who offered us a unique perspective on how communities rally to safeguard essential terrestrial species.
We were drawn not only to the allure of the black bears but also to Picchio’s broader business model. Unfortunately, greenwashing runs rampant worldwide, particularly when exploiting tourism. In the diving scene, we've frequently encountered operators who profess dedication to ocean conservation, but upon arrival, their practices tell a different story. It's both alarming and disheartening.
A core objective of our expedition is to discover ways to explore more consciously. In this pursuit, we consistently seek authentic sustainability efforts, spotlighting genuine commitments over superficial greenwashing. Picchio positively stood out because of its decades of wildlife research and its volunteer program in a country not often highly regarded as a conservation hot spot.
Picchio is an agile organization, known to shift focus based on happenings in their surrounding environment. With its inception in the 1980’s, Picchio started as a small bird watching organization and has fostered a passion for providing unique and sustainable ecotourism opportunities ever since.
Given Karuizawa’s close proximity to Tokyo, the area slowly became a favorite for city dwellers looking for a holiday or weekend getaway. Today, the town sees around 8 million visitors per year! Recognising the growth in human activity, Picchio made a clever play towards creating a variety of tourism offerings to meet the increasing visitor demands. They achieve this in a sustainable manner which at the same time allows their underlying conservation objectives to continue in an economically viable way.
Picchio’s most popular offering is educating visitors on the lively nocturnal giant flying squirrels in the nearby forest tree tops. However, it was years earlier in the late 90’s that they started hearing reports of more frequent community encounters with black bears.
One year was particularly bad as a result of a poor season for acorns and tree leave quality which forced the black bears to look for alternative food sources—inevitably causing more run-ins with community residents. It was at that time that Picchio’s core research and conservation efforts pivoted towards bear management, and most notably running education programs regarding successful co-existence of humans with this vulnerable species.
Upon arrival at the train station, Amelia quickly enchanted us with the fascinating realm of the Karuizawa black bears. By the time we reached the research base, the volunteer teams all had finished their day shifts. However, the night squad was only just getting started at 11pm. This dedicated team was tasked with patrolling, tracking and observing the nocturnal movements of black bears within the community and its surrounds.
One of the core programs is geared towards luring bears into safe barrel traps, and fitting each with tracking collars before releasing them back into their natural habitat. This allows the team to study and monitor bear movements, providing crucial insights into both protecting these vital animals and managing potential human-bear interactions. While we were onsite, there were 36 collared bears in the program.
As the community is provided comprehensive education around what to do in the event of encountering a bear, or how best to avoid any negative interactions, the bears themselves also receive their own level of education from Picchio. Fondly known as “bear dogs,” these well-trained Karelian species audibly ward off bears from nearby residential areas. Using their strong sense of smell to detect and track bears in ways humans cannot, the bear dogs play a crucial role in creating distance between the community’s living spaces and where bears are accustomed to roam and forage for food.
After a night's sleep on traditional Japanese style beds (also known as “futons” or a thin mattress that’s placed on the floor) in our dorm that was next to the research base, we swapped our dive fins and masks for hiking boots and binoculars. With Amelia as our guide, we trekked through the forests of Karuizawa bright and early, hoping to spot some bears doing their thing in the wild.
Navigating through the dense vegetation in stealth mode was second nature for Amelia and her colleague Hiroo. But for us, it felt like a race to the bottom for who could snap the most twigs or who could accumulate the most mud on their boots from slipping over. Every so often there would be a pause at the front to ascertain whether the slightest noise in the distance was the rustling of trees from the wind or in fact a black bear enjoying a treetop acorn breakfast.
Not a single bear was in sight after almost two hours of trekking. The closest bear action was coming face-to-face with some freshly deposited excrement. To Amelia and Hiroo, this was not only a sign that we were heading in the right direction, but also a chance to educate us on the importance of poo particularly when it comes to bears.
Bears aren’t very effective digesters, and the various seeds they eat remain largely in-tact after journeying through the bear’s internal den. As such, the bears effectively act as nature’s seed spreaders, with their eating and movement patterns promoting growth of plant life and keeping the surrounding ecosystem in check. Although we knew bears were nearby, it was time to change up our tracking approach if we wanted to find these sneaky poopers.
Picchio utilizes radio telemetry to effectively locate collared bears. They have both handheld units to pick up the signal, as well as mobile devices that are strapped to the top of a moving vehicle to allow a broader range of coverage.
Using the latter for this particular search, we detoured just off a main highway intersection and onto an abandoned, dirt covered side road. From there, we ventured back into the roadside vegetation on foot, traversing through gullies and bridge underpasses in search for a particular collared bear well known to the conservation team.
Temporarily halted under a bridge by Amelia, the legendary bear spotter, Hiroo, slipped out of sight up ahead. After about 15 minutes of silent waiting, our anticipation was boiling over when we saw Hiroo’s head pop above the ridgeline. He was gesturing aggressively for us to come meet him.
Obeying orders with enthusiasm after our half day crash course on expert bear spotting, we finally cast eyes upon a very prominent black and unmistakable bear shape high up in a tree. To our delight, we were witnessing not only the collared mother named Konoka in all her glory, but also her two much smaller bear cubs all clambering over each other in a gentle and cautious manner.
There’s something about seeing bears in their natural, undisturbed habitat, that can only be described as raw and unscripted beauty. To examine life of a different kind to your own, in its most wild form, sparks an immediate curiosity and deep connection.
For Amelia, it's these moments that she first experienced as an expatriate intern that has led her to where she is today—long relocated from her home in the United Kingdom. She now acts as a passionate mentor for new Picchio recruits arriving every year, and feels compelled to continue to promote human coexistence and appreciation of nature in order to conserve wildlife for the long term.
Another headline species in Karuizawa are the Japanese macaques, and as part of the fully fledged Picchio experience, this was next on the viewing list. Yet another chance to create a connection with nature.
Also known as “snow monkeys” in this particular area, the macaques’ profile has grown substantially in recent times. During the winter months, they are known to partake in the Japanese tradition of hot spring bathing. It’s not just humans exiting hot baths with bright red flushed faces around here!
Similar to the bear program, the act of animal collaring has also been effectively implemented when it comes to the macaques. However, it's a little different when it comes to monkeys due to their very social personalities. Generally, they travel as a troop, so if you catch one you catch them all.
Picchio has only needed to collar one to keep track of the local troop at any given time. There are other community-based teams who work with Picchio to share information, helping to monitor the monkey troop to ensure that human-monkey encounters are infrequent.
For Amelia and the dedicated team at Picchio, monkeying around in this very different sense is all part of the day-to-day operations of promoting positive wildlife and community intersections. In their eyes, true conservation means illustrating passion for progress in all that they do. After our time spent with Picchio, it was undoubtedly clear that both they and the larger community have their compass pointed very much in the right direction.
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