Avatar-like moments await in this part of Japan

The jay must carry our message to the gods and ask for their help. A phone app explains the story in English but I'm so captivated by the magical vision of glowing animals and ethereal light trails streaking between the trees like fireflies that I'm reluctant to turn my eyes away.

This is Kamuy Lumina, a night walk on the edge of eastern Hokkaido's Lake Akan, inspired by the culture of the indigenous Ainu people. To them, all living things are kamuy (gods) who have descended temporarily to earth, later to return to their own world.

The trail links eight zones where instalments of the story are revealed. Our way is lit only by our glowing "rhythm staffs" and the ambient light of creatures and features: colourful fish leaping in arcs across the trees, deer, birds and the spherical green marimo balls (balls of moss that famously roll along Lake Akan's floor) which emanate the twittering voices of other-worldly creatures. I feel like I'm in Avatar.

By the end of the hour-long walk we've beckoned the animals back with the thumps of our staffs, but it's a reminder of the planet's fragility and the need to protect it.

Hokkaido and the northern parts of Honshu belonged to the Ainu until colonisation and forced assimilation by the Japanese during the Meiji Restoration (from 1868). Traditional ways and language were all but lost, however, Lake Akan is one area where their culture is at the fore and celebrated.

To the Ainu, everything from animals to trees and rivers are gods. Owls and bears are particularly revered and there must be a thousand of them in Akanko Ainu Kotan, an Ainu village a short walk from the lake shore. I enter it beneath a wooden arch presided over by a giant owl with wings outstretched, and wander its one street lined with workshops where craftspeople practise wood carving and embroidery techniques passed down for generations.

Friendly artists beckon me indoors to watch them on the tools or to peruse collections dominated by bears and owls. A smattering of Ainu restaurants includes Marukiune where I pause for a hearty and delicious lunch of deer curry.

At the village's far end is Ainu Art Gallery Kotan-Ya, containing a rich collection of indigenous art, clothing and other belongings. It's where I meet 80-year old Miyako Sasaki, an Ainu woman born at Lake Akan who bore witness to Lake Akan's transformation from sleepy village to popular onsen town.

When she was a child, only four Ainu families lived here but her parents strove to keep their customs alive and were pivotal in the community's growth, also opening a dance theatre where Miyako performed for decades. Ainu dance has since been recognised as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Miyako walks us around the gallery, pointing out salmon-skin shoes (the fins prevented slipping), a hanging baby cradle made from reed straw and wood, and a book containing photos of a young Miya wearing a traditional Ainu embroidered kimono.

A black and white photo on the wall depicts a bear festival - a tradition that continued until 1955 - where a bear, having been raised by villagers as a cub, would be sacrificed, returning its spirit to the kamuy. It's a confronting vision, but other traditions I'm happy to participate in.

Embroidery plays an important part of Ainu culture and Kayoko Nishida is a master of it. In the gallery, she gives me a lesson in sewing a design purported to keep away evil spirits onto a small navy square. I thread loops of white with my needle while Kayoko offers assistance and encouragement, and somehow the act of "doing" opens up another level of understanding of her culture.

I feel the connection deepen again, later at the Akanko Ainu Theater where I watch captivating ceremonial dances, followed by another lesson. With hands on hips, the women flick their long black hair from side to side in a full 180-arc, mimicking treetops bending in the wind. In another, they flap embroidered kimono "wings" and crow softly like the red-crowned crane. When it's my turn, I flap my wings too, then "sow seeds" and "make dumplings" - everyday life conveyed in dance. Smiling encouragingly, one woman teaches me how to play the Ainu mouth harp, my breath amplifying the twang of string across split bamboo, and for an afternoon I am welcomed into the fold.

Getting there: Fly to Kushiro in Hokkaido from where it's a one-hour drive to Lake Akan. Rent a car or catch the Akan Airport Liner bus. See nipponrentacar.co.jp; uu-hokkaido.com/airplanebus

Staying there: A string of hotels sit between the lakeshore and main street. Mid-range Hanayuuka is very cosy and has in-house onsen, rooms from $160. See hanayuuka.com/en

While there: The Kamuy Lumina night walk operates May-November and costs about $47 per adult, $21 for kids. Watch an Ainu dance performance at Akanko Ainu Theater, $15 per adult, $7 for kids. Embroidery and dance lessons can be organised on request through local operator Hibi Japan. See kamuylumina.jp/en; hibi-japan-travel.com

Explore more: visit-hokkaido.jp/en

The writer was a guest of Kushiro Tourism and Convention Association.

Pictures: Shutterstock; Laura Waters