Vanessa and Tristan are on a mission to capture on film the spectacular mating dances of the Japanese Crane in the remote and freezing Tancho National Park, Hokkaido island. For a few weeks a year in the dead of winter these spectacular birds perform a mesmerising ritual dance in preparation for the breeding season. But the Japanese winter is very harsh - day time temperatures of -15 and regular blizzards make for extreme filming conditions! So Tristan and Vanessa are going to have to be well prepared if they are to capture on film these dramatic displays. Tristan and Vanessa will journey from the super-modern metropolis of Tokyo where they go looking for the infamous Tokyo crows that terrorise citizens, to the outer reaches of the snow covered north where the enigmatic cranes will be preparing to dance. Along the way they will encounter the extraordinary Snow Monkeys - the most northerly living primates in the world who thrive at temperatures regularly reaching -15C. Vanessa and Tristan will watch them rolling snow balls and even share a hot spring bath with them! They'll hitch a ride to the island with Mr Ishii, on his icebreaking boat. On the way they pass giant slabs of floating pack-ice where hundreds of Steller Sea Eagles gather, waiting to be thrown scraps by the passing boats. Arriving on Hokkaido Vanessa gets involved in a traditional festival where a Japanese dance troop is performing a show inspired by the dance of the Japanese cranes. Tristan in the meantime goes ahead to the feeding grounds where the cranes are preparing to dance. Tristan and Vanessa spend weeks trudging through the wilderness waste deep in snow, in order to capture on film this most intricate and spectacular of birds displays, the beauty and grace of which has inspired artists and dancers for centuries.
—Tigress Productions