Tourist information for
Tottori, Japan

The Nakaumi inland sea which encompasses the waterbirds sanctuary was registered in the 2005 Ramsar Convention as an important international wetlands. Known as San’in’s leading wild bird habitat, it has become a popular tourist destination. Every year from the mid-October to the end of March, approximately one thousand tundra swans gather here to spend the winter. Early morning and dusk are the recommended times to watch these beautiful birds—early morning sees them flocking to their eating grounds one after another, and just around sunset they swoop into formation flight from Nakaumi’s opposite shore. Approximately 130 varieties—as many as 10,000 birds—can be seen at the Waterbirds Sanctuary, including members of the duck and heron families, the nationally protected species the greater white-fronted goose, the bean goose, and the white-tailed eagle. In summer, witness the rearing of baby spot-billed ducks, grebes, and moorhens, as well as Japanese rice fish and damselflies.