Live camera
Swans at Kominato beach live camera — Hiranai, Aomori
A shallow shore on Mutsu Bay, long known as a swan arrival site. The numbers build as winter comes on.
Sample August 2026What you are looking at
A shallow shelving shore at the head of Mutsu Bay. Swan numbers build as winter comes on, and white dots line up along the waterline.
"Long known" is meant in the documented sense: the swans that come to this beach, together with the site itself, were designated a Special Natural Monument by the state in 1952. Swans come down on salt water here because the shallows keep waves from building and put the seaweed they feed on within reach. It sits deep inside the bay, so rough water from outside does not reach this far.
The designated name is Asado beach. It lies in the inner bay formed by the Natsudomari peninsula reaching out into the head of Mutsu Bay, so rough weather outside never gets this far. Scallops are farmed inside the bay. The birds that come are mostly whooper swans, sometimes with Bewick’s among them.
Mutsu Bay is all but closed, held between the Shimokita and Tsugaru peninsulas. Its only link to the open sea is the Tairadate Strait on the western side, so the inside of the bay behaves more like a lake than a sea: waves rarely build and the water warms easily. Scallop farming works here, and swans can settle on salt water here, for the same reason — the shape of the coast. The swans come from Siberia, more than 3,000 kilometres one way.
November to February is the main season, with numbers rising from late October and the birds heading north in March.
Open it morning or evening. During the day the birds are out in the area, and the water is fullest in the early morning before they leave and in the evening when they return. Updates come once an hour, so it suits checking whether the flock is there.
About this camera
| Place | Hiranai, Aomori |
| Format | Still, hourly |
| Time zone | Asia/Tokyo (UTC+9) |
| Category | Wildlife · Sea |
| Operator | Ministry of the Environment — Internet Nature Institute |
| Terms of use | PDL 1.0 |
The operator's own page
The footage belongs to each agency. This site is an unofficial guide, and each sample frame was copied once per camera under that agency's terms of use.
Cameras nearby
- Mount IwakiHirosaki, AomoriStill, every 2 min
- Jigokunuma, HakkodaAomoriStill, every 2 min
- TowadaAomori / Akita borderStill, every 2 min