Bird feeders (specifically in Hokkaido)?

I just moved to northern Hokkaido for a job and, as an avid birder, want to set up a bird feeder near my window to see what feathered friends come around. Is this a taboo thing, even in Hokkaido? I know that I will have to deal with snow and keeping the area clean to prevent pests, but if I figure that out is it okay culturally to put one in my yard? Thanks in advance for any help!

I have never thought that could be a taboo in anywhere in Japan! I hope you can make a lot of featherly friends there!

Legal, no worry.

Id like to watch 4K LiveCam(s) w/sound.

If they�fre sold, I would imagine they�fre culturally okay.

I understand why the poster (BigM) is asking this, as I also asked years ago on here when I came to Japan because I did not see bird feeders anywhere or see anyone having a bird feeder hanging in their yard or balcony/etc., so I think maybe it`s not very common in Japan. And I had to go on the internet to order a bird feeder and had a hard time finding proper bird seed. But I think it is ok to put one up, since I eventually put one up myself, but it does not seem very common in Japan and I do not know why it is not common to hang bird feeders.

Hi!

Based on where I live in the USA, some places in Japan (like Hokkaido) people might not use bird feeders because they also attract other wild animals. I know where I currently live there is always the risk of attracting bears and based on my drive in Tohoku, Japan seems more cautious of bears than here in the USA. (This comes from the fact it seemed like there were bear crossing signs every 5-10 kms on the expressway, while there are none along the expressway near where I live despite frequent bear sightings in yards and neighborhoods.) It is possible a lot of people in Hokkaido worry about attracting them, I know there are discussions here about how to keep bears from getting habituated to a house because of the bird feeders.

Good luck!

One thing you might want to consider is how close your window is to your neighbors. With people generally living in close proximity to one another in Japan, the sound of the birds you attract might be audible inside your neighbor's home, which they might not be happy about, especially if they have a job that requires them to work nights and thus sleep later in the mornings.

OP here. Thank you for your advice everyone! From what everyone has told me and the info I've been able to get here (the few people I've tried to talk about this with didn't even know what a bird feeder was, which is not a good start), having a feeder is rare enough to potentially be a problem. However, a group of my coworkers (who have apparently been having tiny meetings to talk about this? I guess it has been slow at work) said as long as I kept the area clean and took it down if it started to attract loud crows that disturb my neighbors, having one would be fine. I'm going to try to figure out if that's just Japanese politeness, but I thought I'd keep everyone appraised. Once again, thanks for helping me indulge my passion for birdwatching!