We were hoping to hire a car in Kushiro for a day to visit the wetlands. This is where in winter you see the famous images of the large cranes performing their mating dance in the snow. While it wasn’t winter and there would be no performances we would have still loved to catch a glimpse of the parents and their chicks. But this was not to be, before we knew it, it was time to leave.
We were pretty busy though. After our arrival we had a look around Fisherman’s Wharf where we were tied up. During the day there are restaurants, souvenir shops, and seafood stalls open. Kushiro is known for its seafood, especially these giant hairy crabs that are for sale everywhere both alive and frozen.
The Japanese can be quirky, but this was by far the most bizarre thing I have seen. You know those game machines where children put in money then use a giant claw to try and pick up candy or soft toys? Well this was one for crabs! Yep, live crabs. There is a bag to put them in if you strike lucky, and if you like you can take it to the restaurant and they will boil it for you. I kept lurking around trying to catch someone having a go but I never spotted anyone, and there were four crabs when I arrived and four when I left.
The evening we arrived we had seen a tent up against the Fisherman’s Wharf building filled with people eating. The aromas blowing our way smelt delicious so we decided to eat there for our first dinner out in Kushiro. It was a lot of fun. It took us a while to understand what we had to do but what the system is, you are seated on a bench seat around a central BBQ. Upon entry you exchange your money for 100 yen tickets of different denominations. You then browse the stalls to buy food and drink, and take your food back to the BBQ to cook.
We were seated with a lovely man called Kazu, and like most Japanese we meet who have been to Australia, he had visited Cairns and the Gold Coast. He asked Dean to guess his age. It was hilarious when Dean said 85. Poor Kazu was incredulous and kept saying 85, me??! I smoothed the waters by saying no no more like 75. Dean tried to explain that he chose 85 because a lot of Japanese look a lot younger than they are, but Kazu was so busy focused on the number 85 I don’t think he understood. He just pointed at me and said she is closer! Haha, he was 77, doing some travel around Japan by himself.
Here is poor Kazu getting in trouble off one of the attendants for not cooking his meal properly. He poured his hotpot onto the grate instead of leaving it in the pan! It was so funny, I couldn’t understand a word she was saying but with the constant clucking and fussing and the chastised look on his face, I could certainly understand the sentiment! It was all in good humour. I think. And then we knew what to do with ours.
Kazu didn’t hold a grudge against Dean, and we had a nice evening together feasting on the fresh food that is so cheap. We just started small and kept adding until we were full. If you haven’t purchased enough tickets you can easily buy another book.
Afterwards we walked along the wharf looking at all of the fishing boats, packed with those damned flags we have grown to hate. Some dangle crab pots and others mark the positions of long lines. A lot of the flags here have radar reflectors on them that is really handy for us spotting them but there are still many that don’t. At least now we know we can safely sail amongst them. The first time we saw them we were terrified they marked a string of nets.
We walked back through the building to use the heated toilets before heading back to the boat. We took the opportunity to take some silly photos for the grandchildren while no one could see us! Mind you being the only Caucasians here, I feel we can get away with being a bit silly. I think I am a sardine and Dean is riding a giant squid.
Looking back you can see how close we are to the restaurant. Again we have a prime space, free of charge. Remarkable.
Here is RTP from Nusamai Bridge. You can get a better idea of the wharf layout, and then where most of the fishing boats are on the wharf on the other side of the river. In theory we could also tie up there but the fishing boats are nicely spaced apart so they can just pull in and out. And to be honest, where we are is fabulous.
Dean sought out an onsen while we were there. There was one on the 11th floor of a nearby hotel so he got a few visits in while we were in Kushiro. As well as the inside hot bath it also had a roof top one, and on his last visit he came home with blow dried hair. He said since it was his last visit he thought he would use everything there. He smelt as sweet as a flower!
We wanted to do a last laundry run before our big leg, so we started off with everything clean including all of our linen. While there were laundries closer Dean has taken a liking to ones with the 30kg washers so we tromped miles to go there and I left him with his manga books and went shopping for a couple of hours. Honestly there were hundreds of the books to read! This was just one bookshelf of many. All of the laundries seem to have them.
As usual, I love poking around the shops and Kushiro was no disappointment. You absolutely have to have your translator unless you are brave enough to buy something not knowing what it is. I am guessing those sardine type fish are what I had my photo as up above.
Later when Dean came with me for our last supermarket shop we were looking at all of the unusual seafood and there was one we didn’t recognise. It was whale!! We’d seen the whaling ships so it wasn’t completely unexpected, but the first time we’d noticed it. Hence my comment, always use google translate to check what you are buying.
You would not be too wrong if you think I am obsessed with food here in Japan. It is just so good. But believe it or not we have both lost weight. Which may seem unusual when you see the amazing pancake stack we shared, but actually most Japanese portions are small and the food is healthy. Perhaps just not the pancake stacks!
Eating out is as cheap as buying at the supermarket and there were lots of restaurants to choose from. Some restaurants, particularly ramen that have a high turnover may only have 8 seats. So eating out here is not always a social thing and an evening out as it is for us. A lot of people are eating alone and it is because it is affordable and because many Japanese residences are small, this is just incorporated into their daily life. While you may need to translate to understand what kind of restaurants they are, for some it is obvious.
One thing to understand when selecting a restaurant is, that some will specialise in only one thing. For instance just chicken on skewers- but all parts of the the chicken; you can get chicken skin, chicken gristle, chicken livers, chicken thighs etc Dean went to a ramen restaurant that was obviously just ramen, but you only got what was being served that night, no options. An Izakaya is a Japanese pub and you order small dishes over a period of time.
That night we decided to try and get into an Izakaya we saw. Apparently it is difficult to get a seat if you haven’t made a booking at this one. It did have one bad review from a foreigner that said “foreigners aren’t welcome here”. But we have come to realise when you are somewhere that doesn’t really cater for international tourists what may come across as rude could just be the inability to communicate or they simply don’t know what to do with you.
We were very happy we went. We arrived right on opening time, so if there was a spare seat it would probably be then. We got a bench seat looking into the kitchen. I love these seats where you are able to watch what is going on. The plastic COVID dividers were up so we were cosied in and didn’t have to share aerosols with our neighbours, slurping away on their various dishes.
You just order a couple of dishes, then keep adding until you are full. Despite people being turned away we weren’t rushed at all. There were about five tables that could hold four people comfortably and had all been booked. All of these tables bar one had only two people sitting there and there was no trying to squeeze more people in. The bar where we sat had about 14 stools and were filled with couples and single people. It was a really lovely dining atmosphere and we had a great time. I ordered a glass of sake. And I embarrassed myself by asking for a picture with the bottle!
And these were Deans chicken livers and chicken gristle skewers. I didn’t share.
Continuing on our days of wandering around we honestly had about an hour of blue sky the whole time. And we experienced a lot of fog. So to see the beautiful flowers around town brightened up the place so much.
And they are in pots, garden beds, cracks in the pavement, dirt under bridges. It must be such a small window they can grow in, they are cherished. Now I have been in Japan a while I realise unless it is a formal garden where there isn’t a leaf out of place, the grasses and flowers are allowed to go through a growth cycle, and the insects can also thrive, then it is cut back.
Here is us in our small window of sun. I didn’t go as far as going short sleeve like Dean but I did need a hat and sunnies.
Around town it is obvious the cranes are an attraction and they are symbolised everywhere. At bus stops, on lamp posts. It is really pretty. If we are ever back in winter, we will definitely make the effort to come and see them dancing.
There were also nice statues along the streets, and the pavements were inlaid with these large sliver salmon, reflecting one of the specialities of the town.
The Japanese seem to have a thing for globes. They are everywhere. You get talking to someone in a shop and they whip out the globe to get you to show them your journey. Even Ayametta have one on board. And here is one in the street, with Dean showing how far we’ve come.
Back at Fisherman’s wharf there is a giant dome like a big greenhouse. It has trees and plants growing inside and there is a food van where you can buy hot drinks and toasties. We appreciated it so I can imagine in winter it would almost be a must, it would be so cold outside.
I loved the cute seats scattered around looking out to the dock. They are supplied from the camping store inside.
We ended up moving the boat to face the opposite way from how we first tied up to the wharf. While there weren’t visible waves there were really strong currents on the river and we were getting these surges that rocked the boat about making it quite uncomfortable, and we snapped another of our planks. Once we turned the boat around with the bow was facing the surges it was much more pleasant.
Located behind us, was Nusamai Bridge. This bridge is supposed to be one of the prettiest in Hokkaido. At night it is lit up mainly green colour but every now and then cycles to red for a few moments. On the bridge are four bronze statues of women, named Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. At first I guessed that spring was the youngest, making its way to winter, the oldest, representing women over the age cycle. However autumn and winter were out of order, autumn was the oldest woman and winter was a woman probably in the prime of her life.
Deans guess was autumn represented the oldest, while winter was actually eternal life. Sounds like a good theory.
We were delighted when Ayametta, our friends from Hakodate were due to arrive. We had been worried we would leave for Alaska before they joined us here, so were thrilled we could spend some more time together. We thought we had thick fog. The night of their arrival was horrendous, thick all of the way into the wharf.
It was excruciating watching their progress on satellite and Marine Traffic. Finally they popped up on our AIS but they didn’t arrive until after 10pm. Mr Seto came down also and had spoken to them on the phone saying just come in behind Run to Paradise. It is a huge wharf so it was funny watching them on AIS. You could see they were zeroed in on us and making a beeline, with otherwise no visibility. Finally they emerged out of the fog.
And they were in, tucked in behind us. I had cooked them dinner so they could have something hot, then crash, as I knew they would be exhausted.
The weather window Dean had selected was imminent for us. Ayametta were still receiving stores and also using a weather routing service and will be a few days behind probably taking a slightly different route.
Here is a lovely view from the bridge looking towartds where we were tied up.
And the ridge all lit up.
Run to Paradise 