|
The Akan bus from Kushiro Station connects Kushiro with Akan-ko, passing through the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park . Dedicated birdwatchers will want to spend more time in the Kushiro Marsh and the surrounding area and may want to take one of several tour buses which go from Kushiro Station or the MOO bus terminal through the various observation sites in the park, returning to Kushiro within four to five hours. Information on these is available at the Kushiro Station information centre. If you have your own transport and are headed north to Akan along Route 53, stop in at the Kushiro Marsh Observatory (daily 8.30am-6pm) and the Onnenai Visitor Centre (same hours). Both are within Kushiro Park and have promenade trails and observation points through the marsh, which is a waterfowl reserve on the Ramsar Convention list of Wetlands of International Importance: there should be a staff member in one or both places who can answer a few questions in English. People come from around the world to see the red-crested cranes with their to-metre wingspan do a courtship dance in February; this takes place in several places in the Kushiro and Kiritappu marshlands, but the best place to observe it is in the fields near TSURUI village, outside of Kushiro park in a reserve operated by the Wild Bird Association of Japan ( Nihon Yacho no Kai ). Tsurui lies an hour north of Kushiro, on the way to Akan. An excellent accommodation place here is the wilderness lodge Hickory Wind (tel 0154/64-2956; Y15,000-20,000). With just five comfortable Western-style rooms in a new rustic building overlooking the Japanese crane sanctuary, it quickly gets booked up when the cranes are dancing. But the meals are a work of art and the owner speaks English, has an amazing collection of music, and is a wealth of information on nature destinations in eastern Hokkaido. If you call ahead, he can pick you up at the airport or Tsurui bus station.
Your Tip for Kushiro Shitsugen National Park
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Kushiro Shitsugen National Park - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Kushiro Shitsugen National Park - visit the main Kushiro Shitsugen National Park forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
