Kushiro
We arrived Kushiro at 08:00am on cooler, partly cloudy morning with temperature around 11C and reaching 14C later in the afternoon. Kushiro is a city in Kushiro subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido. Located along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean , it serves as the subprefecture’s capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. Kushiro is the major fishing port for Hokkaido. the city has an estimated population of 150,000. Off on tour with 24 others at 08:30 bus #3. Our guide today was Jose. An hour bus ride out of town brought us to Tanchoc Crane Reserve. Fortunately we were the 2nd bus to arrive so it was still fairly quiet. Here we were able to see the red-crowned cranes of which they have 11. The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), also called the Japanese crane is a large Northeast Asian crane among the rarest cranes in the world. In some parts of its range, it is known as a symbol of luck, longevity, and fidelity. The birds were in large fenced areas and we were able to get a good view of them. They are very impressive birds standing up to 5ft tall. Returned to the bus by 10:00am and returned to Kushiro. Once back in the city we stopped at the fish market. Our guide escorted us round and then we were able to wander on our own. This was an interesting market with a variety of fresh fish from Salmon to crabs to flat fish. Back to the bus by 11;15 for return to the nearby dock. Of interest here was the really small Japanese cars that are everywhere. left Kushiro at 5:00pm to a farewell dance.
