The Toki Fureai Plaza opened in March last year (2013).

The catchphrase here is 'Two centimetres to the crested ibis!' This is a new facility where you can observe the crested ibis up close.

Three chicks were born here this spring and the facility has attracted a great deal of attention.

*Visited last September.

First, we go to the Toki no Mori Park...

The Toki Fureai Plaza is located in the Toki no Mori Park in the Shinbo area. There is a 'crested ibis conservation centre' here, where it has long been possible to observe the ibis in artificial breeding.

However, conventional observation routes only allow the ibis to be seen from tens of metres away. The ibis is by nature a very delicate, or rather timid, bird.

This is a truly ground-breaking facility, where you can observe such "ibis" from a distance of just two centimetres.

Let's get right into it!

First, enter the traditional 'Toki Shiryokan' (Japanese crested ibis reference exhibition centre). Here, you pay an 'environmental cooperation fee' of 200 yen.

Inside the museum, visitors can see a display of the last Japanese crested ibis in the wild, the 'Kin', as well as a variety of other documents related to the ibis.

Passing through the exhibition space, we finally come to the ibis observation corridor. This is a traditional observation pathway.

Behind this fence is the 'crested ibis conservation centre', which can be observed from a distance of 50 metres.

There are many crested ibis. Selected individuals from those artificially bred at the Ibis Protection Centre are transferred to the Ibis Wildness Reintroduction Station at Shinpo Shomyoji, where they are trained and released.

But 50 metres is certainly a long way.

I tried my best to take pictures with a telephoto lens.

Now, finally, we are heading to the "2 cm to the ibis". If you follow the route in order, you will find yourself outside the building. From here onwards, you will walk through the park for a few minutes.

Finally, the '2 cm to the crest' section.

A building with a large brown cage comes into view. This is the 'Toki Fureai Plaza'.

The 'Environmental Cooperation Fee' paid earlier also allows entry to the 'Toki Fureai Plaza'.

When you enter the museum, go upstairs first. You can see the entire cage.

Ibis, there they are!　Closer than the earlier observation route! It's perched on a tree.

However! I feel far from "two centimetres."

Follow the sequence of steps to the floor below.

Yes, this is where the "2 cm to the crested ibis" section finally comes in.

Just opposite the glass window is the ibis's feeding ground. When they are hungry, they come very close to this glass window. The glass window is a magic mirror, so the ibis can't see us. This makes it easy for the wary ibis to come close to us.

However, the ibis still remains lodged in the tree.

Instead of crested ibis, loaches (ibis food) came close by.

According to the volunteer guide, meal times were already over for the day.

Hmmm, too bad. Just as I was about to give up, an ibis in a tree came down.

Something is hanging around.

And they came closer and closer.

Oh! So close!

They didn't get as far as "two centimetres", but they did get close to ten centimetres.

An ibis preys on a loach in front of you. Gradually, cries of "Loach, get away!" are heard from the surroundings.

The Ibis Fureai Plaza reproduces an environment close to the ecology of the crested ibis in the wild in a large, flight-capable cage. In other words, it is a facility where visitors can not only see the crested ibis up close, but also observe their ecology.

As an aside, the 'Edamame Soft' sold at the Toki no Mori Park shop is also recommended!

The number of released 'crested ibis' is currently increasing steadily on Sado Island.

If you are lucky, you may be able to see a released ibis.

(A released ibis was seen in January 2014)

*If you encounter a free-ranging ibis, do not chase it around or make loud noises.

At the 'Toki Hureai Plaza', where chicks were born this season, you can also observe the rearing of crested ibis.

Why don't you come and observe the crested ibis up close at the Ibis Fureai Plaza?

Spotlight.

Toki no Mori Park

• Address 383-2, Niibo Nagaune, Sado, Niigata 952-0101, Japan.
• Tel：0259-22-4123 FAX：0259-22-4123
• Opening hours: 8:30 - 17:00 (closing date for admission 16:30).
• Website: http://tokinotayori.com/