Sado Island: Toki no Mori and the Japanese Crested Ibis

Besides the tub boats (taraibune) and the Sado Gold Mine, what comes to mind when I think of Sado Island is that it’s a breeding ground for a bird called the toki, the Japanese crested ibis. The toki is Japan’s national bird. Overhunting once drove it to extinction within Japan, but birds that had survived in China were brought over, and lately the breeding on Sado Island seems to be a success.

I head for Toki no Mori Park (the Toki Forest Park), which supports the breeding program.

Crested ibis mascot costume standing in a shaded parking area on Sado Island in summer, an ibis-themed mailbox behind

There’s even a toki mailbox. The beak looks like a little tongue. Cute. Apparently it’ll send your letters by carrier ibis.

White cylindrical postbox painted as a crested ibis, with a red face, black beak and orange feet, by trees at Toki-no-Mori Park, Sado Island

The toki are said to be more active in the morning. A toki actually moving around is something you rarely get to see, even in Japan. As midday approaches they tend to rest in the shade, so if you want to meet a lively one, morning is your best bet.

A crested ibis with a red face and long black bill walks beside a white water tray on a grassy enclosure floor

For it to be the national bird, it must once have been a common sight in Japan. And yet human selfishness wiped it out here. Given that past, I hope these birds, protected by people as they are, will do their best and make it.

A crested ibis wading in a shallow pool beside a mossy log, foraging at the Toki no Mori Park on Sado Island

A crested ibis dipping its head into a shallow pool beside a mossy log at the Toki Forest Park on Sado Island

A hundred years from now, there may be a Japan with toki flying all over it. Though even that may just be human selfishness.

A white crested ibis walking through green grass and clover at the Toki Forest Park on Sado Island

To be continued on the next trip