Trip
to Kushiro!
- July 3-4 (2004), Hokkaido
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| Since my birthday is in July, Yuka and I managed to get ourselves a really cheap trip to Hokkaido using special birthday fares. Kushiro is a city of about 200,000 people in eastern Hokkaido, which again is the northernmost of Japan's major islands. The above picture is from the fish market, and Yuka is delighted as ever to eat sashimi. | Hokkaido is famous as a tourist attraction, and is perhaps most popular with elderly Japanese people that can afford the high cost of making domestic trips. Above is a view of Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. |
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| Here is a sign to prove that I was actually there. The Kushiro Shitsugen National Park is sometimes referred to as Kushiro Marshlands Park. It is known for its flora and numerous red-crested white cranes, a protected species and also a symbol of Japan. | A picture of yours truly looking as attractive as ever. |
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| Yuka wanted to show that I did not look quite as impressive from a different angle. If this were a movie, you could think of this picture as showing "the making" of the last picture, and that would make it really interesting. Then again, perhaps not. | Heading into Akan National Park, which is located about an hour's drive away from Kushiro, this is the view of the lakes Penketo and Panketo. Actually, I believe you can only see one of them, though I do not know which one. |
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| We stayed at Kusshoro-Genya Youth Guesthouse, which is highly recommended. Everything is clean and comfortable, and the food is excellent. However, the best about youth hostels is that you get to meet other people, which we took advantage of when we decided to go kayaking. The above is from a trip to a local hot spring situated by a lake. | Kayaking was Yuka's idea, and it was excellent as usual. We got some other youth hostel guests to come along, and we paddled down the Kushiro river for a couple of hours. Apparently, this is one of the last remaining free flowing rivers in Japan. |