Through Birdwatching, Tokyo's Black and Brown Residents Are Finding Community

Getty

The image of Tokyo has always been one of ultra-modernity—it’s a dense, bustling city at the intersection of fashion, culture, and technology. Yet another life, a quieter one, brews in the city’s parks and green spaces.

Those coming to Japan’s capital city will find an array of flora and fauna. You might see the Japanese woodpecker and its daintier pygmy counterpart in its hilly spots for hiking, like Hamura Kusabana Hills Natural Park. There are warblers, finches, and rose-ringed parakeets not actually native to Japan; the latter has notoriously taken over the Institute of Science campus of Meguro Ward. And if you’re lucky, a day in Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park could include a spotting of the common kingfisher, which are otherwise notoriously hard to see in the wild due to their tiny size and general shyness. But an eagle-eyed watcher might pick out its vivid teal back and vibrant orange belly amongst the cherry blossom trees of sakura season.

One of Orion Johnson’s most standout bird sightings was on a group birding walk last summer. “I want to say it was either a heron or egret,” he recalls. The bird was in the middle of devouring a pond snake or an eel, as Johnson and his birding group watched. “It was like a National Geographic sighting, the sort of unique birds that you feel almost blessed to have witnessed.”

Johnson is by no means a typical birdwatcher. He’s in his early 30s, and came to the city of Tokyo from New York in 2016 with dreams of working in fashion (he currently freelances as a creative producer). But Johnson sees an under-appreciated side of the city in Tokyo’s diverse avifauna; he loves to explore the city's serene green spaces, particularly those earmarked for their bird species. “It's this futuristic, technological, crazy city, so I don't think [its fauna] gets the love that it deserves,” he says. “But the birds are there.”

Johnson runs Flock Together Japan (or as members like to call it, Flock), a birdwatching group meant to encourage people of color to spend time outdoors. It’s the third installment of the London-founded community, which was launched in 2020 by Ollie Olanipekun and Nadeem Perera (there is also a New York City branch). Flock aims to bring groups of city-dwellers into often overlooked green spaces, which are commonly seen as the domain of white residents. In Japan, Flock has become a safe space for minority groups in the near ethnically homogenous country.

“When I first moved here, I would often get looks,” Johnson says. “Because I didn't look Japanese, I guess.” He was raised in New York by a Black father and Japanese mother, and he’d been to Japan on visits as a child; he finally relocated to the country eight years ago in an effort to connect with the culture, terrain, and language. Upon moving, though, he found that people were often surprised at his fluency with the Japanese language, confused about his heritage, and he was often stared at. “You stare at something for long enough, and it can be a bit of an issue in any city, right?" says Johnson. "I just felt like I was constantly being looked at. That was a culture shock I couldn't get over. “

Japan's Black and mixed-race population have long expressed their experiences of cultural isolation in the country as a tiny percentage of the population. Though the country is considered safe for foreigners, Black and brown residents can often face a feeling of othering. It can range from the invasive—staring, hair-touching, pictures taken without consent—to dealing with loneliness. Residents say they can often go months without seeing other Black or brown people given the demographics of the city.

Early Flock member Marica Horino is of Black and Japanese heritage (in Japan, mixed race residents are called hafu, meaning half, or daburu, double). She was born in Tokyo, raised in Okinawa, spent years in Texas, and returned to Tokyo in 2022. “It was very difficult, especially when I was in elementary school,” Horino says. “I was subject to bullying which was traumatic. People weren't really understanding; I'm Japanese, but I look Black. I think that's what made them question what I am.”

Flock Together Japan technically isn’t just for Black and brown locals, Johnson says, but the group’s evolution is perhaps a natural feedback to a lack of connectivity felt amongst its Black and brown members in Tokyo, doubly inspired by conversations between Johnson and Flock’s London founders following the death of George Floyd. (The groups in New York and London are meant for those who identify as non-white.) “I think the majority of us being Black, brown, and mixed [is related to] the already limited number of foreigners around Japan,” he explains. “After the death of George Floyd, it was a really important moment for Black and brown people to have a safe space to congregate and communicate with one another. Creating that is really important in a pretty homogenous society.”

Johnson soon began inviting friends, creative colleagues, and others in the city to join nature walks, hikes, and excursions centered around the city's wildlife. Still, birdwatching is a not-so-common activity among young people. The practice is a part of Japan's culture but far more popular with older generations, typically on less urban islands like Okinawa, Ogasawara, and Nansei. “When I told my Japanese friends about the bird watching group, they were really surprised,” Horino says with a laugh. "I think it's just a rare activity to do [in] Tokyo. When you go further out of the city, there's a lot of nature and mountains. But bird watching itself doesn't really resonate.”

Johnson began placing callouts on Instagram and started a WhatsApp group, soon spreading news by word of mouth. The group swiftly saw growth to numbers over one hundred, beckoning some of the most unlikely nature fans into the outdoors. Flock attendees tend to be newbies, Johnson says, ranging from local creatives and musicians, to business professionals working in tech and those in the philanthropy sector. “This isn't to throw any shade, but the majority scoff at first,” he says. The main perception with many first-timers, he finds, is that birdwatching is boring. “But then they'll come and be like, ‘This is actually really nice.’”

On the bimonthly Sunday morning walks hosted by the group, hours spent watching birds are bookended with hangouts. Members start off with a group picnic, tucking into Bento boxes while introducing new faces. There's also a brief period for sitting in silence to meditate, performing breathing exercises, and listening to the ambience of their surroundings. Led by Johnson, each walk is set in a designated park, and attendees are armed with binoculars and notebooks so they can record and identify sights as a group, before finally unwinding in a sharing circle and detailing things they’re proud of, life developments, and whatever else is on their minds.

“It’s just preserving the old pastime of enjoying the outdoors in Japan," Johnson says. “We're in an age where everyone loves to be glued to their phones. I think it's so important to go offline from time to time.”

What keeps members coming to the weekend nature walks is its community. “It definitely was a real lifeline,” says 26-year-old Amara Ochefu, a Nigerian-British member who joined Flock in 2022 while working as an English teacher in the city. (Editor’s note: Ochefu is the author's cousin.) She had never gone birding in her hometown of London, but was urged to join the Japan chapter by friends back home. She joined soon after her move, quickly met some of her closest friends via Flock, and has since toured other parts of the country in search of nature and wildlife.

“I felt like it was a safe space. You could definitely speak your mind and talk about what you're going through, or ask for advice,” Ochefu says. “If it weren't for them, I don't know what I would have taken from Tokyo, what my hair would have looked like, what friends I would have made, or what my experience finding Black community would have been like.”

Overall, Flock is highlighting that there’s more to be found in Tokyo—both in terms of its natural world, and community among the often overlooked minorities who call it home. The group's charm, perhaps, is in allowing its members to observe other beings for a brief moment, instead of feeling like the observed.

“When I’m on the walks, I feel very at peace. I see the reactions people have. Maybe they’re first timers, or people who aren't usually in these spaces," says Johnson. "Seeing a bird, scrambling over to grab binoculars, I get a huge buzz off of that.”

Where to go birdwatching in Tokyo, according to Orion Johnson

Bring your binoculars, notepad, and download the Merlin app—then hit those green spaces.

Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park 3 Chome-1 Tokai, Ota City, Tokyo 143-0001, Japan

“It's a really nice park devoted to bird sanctuaries overlooking the Pacific. While you see birds fly, you can also see airplanes departing Haneda Airport. It's really picturesque to see two things flying at different scales and speeds. It's not a park that anyone would go to other than for bird watching, so you don't have all these other noises you get around the city.”

Zenpukuji Park 3 Chome-9-10 Zenpukuji, Suginami City, Tokyo 167-0041, Japan

“We saw so many great birds we typically don't get to see [here], like the common Kingfisher. That bird is one of my favorites. When birdwatching, it’s good to be mindful on a sound level and as conscious of the environment as possible. You still are the guests."

Inokashira Park 1 Chome-18-31 Gotenyama, Musashino, Tokyo 180-0005, Japan

“Inokashira Park is nice because it's a beautiful park in general. They have foot pedal swan boats in the middle of the pond, cherry blossoms in the spring, the Studio Ghibli Museum. But on top of that, there are some really great birds you're able to spot, especially in the tall parts of the trees."

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler

The Latest Stories from Condé Nast Traveler

• Want to be the first to know? Sign up to our newsletters for travel inspiration and tips

• Thanksgiving in Paris Is One of the Most American Things You Can Do

• 15 Unwritten Rules to Know Before Visiting New York City

• Welcome to Park Ranger Instagram—the Most Wholesome Corner of the Internet