Once upon a time, there was a chilly little town by the sea. It had ice and snow to spare, but not a single winter resort facility. Its fading downtown managed to be both antiquated and charmless. Fishing, once the lifeblood of the town, had seen its best days, and for every new inhabitant, more than one hit the one road out and never looked back. Last stop for a train with only two cars, the town was the end of the line in every sense of the word.
But despite a conspicuous lack of ski slopes, golf courses or Starbucks, the town did boast a singular asset: The sparsely developed peninsula on which it stood, little valued by humans, was prime real estate for wildlife.
"When I first set eyes on Nemuro," says local naturalist Masaru Takada, "I was stunned by its natural beauty." Hokkaido's volcanoes and calderas may supply more drama, but when it comes to easy access, Takada says, few destinations can compete. "In Nemuro, you can go birdwatching on your way to or from work."