I left the ship for a day touring the more rural regions of Hokkaido Island. We traveled for about an hour outside of Kushiro into the mountains. It was a beautiful autumn day with the sun in and out behind the clouds.
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| Our guide used a children's book to explain some basic facts about Japan (islands and political units) |
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| Note the red arrows. There's so much snow that this marks the edge of the road for snow plows. |
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| It was a beautiful autumn day, and many were having pictures taken with the Akan River as a backdrop. |
The first stop was in a village of the indigenous Ainu people. I learned about their gods (forces in nature), and we had traditional dances performed by six dancers in the Ikoro Theater. I was a participant in a dance by throwing a plate. No pictures were allowed in the theater of the dances, but I was able to take several photos of the village.
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| Here's the theater for Ainu dances. I was part of the "plate throwing" dance. |
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| Ainu village |
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| Traditional homes of the Ainu |
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| Doing a little repair work on the thatched roof |
The next stop was for lunch. It was a “hot pot” lunch. We cooked our own food over two flames (meat and seafood and a seasoned pot for noodles). I received a bowl of rice for the cooked meats, and they provided us various tempura items (fish, vegetables).
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| You prepared you own lunch of meat, seafood, and soup. |
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| I cooked my beef, salmon, oyster, scallop, and asparagus with a pat of butter |
After lunch it was free time to enjoy a walk around the paths of the Lake Akan. It was beautiful and this is part of the National Park System (Akan National Park).
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| Lots of speedboats were available for hire to view the lake |
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| I took a walk along the lake. Art of the Ainu is displayed in glass dome jars for viewing. |
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| Many mountains in Japan have the shape of Mount Fuji. This mountain has the name that translates to "Male" and there's another one that is the "Female." |
After spending time around the lake, the group was off to the Kushiro Marshland Observatory. This elevated building provided beautiful view of the marshland ecosystem. You could see Kushiro in the background on the river and the Pacific Ocean.
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| Cranes are extremely important in Japan. This pair was in a field eating some of the left over grain. |
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| Presenting 1000 cranes is a sign of good luck/best wishes. |
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| The view of the marshland region. That's Kushiro in the background along the Pacific Ocean. |
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| The observation deck provides a 360 degree view of the marshlands. |
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| Showing Japanes hospitality, the guide bave us a paper crane. If you pull on it, the wings move. The paper is designed for making paper cranes. |
It was a long day, and the tour ended as our ship was preparing to leave Kushiro. It’s been my experience that many of the smaller ports will either greet you or perform as you leave. We had a performance of a popular local singer (50s and 60s US music) and traditional Japanese drums.
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| The people of Kushiro provide us with a concert as we leave the port. |
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| This local drummer troup has recently performed in China and South Korea. |
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| The people of Koshiro as we pull away from the dock. |
It was a great day on the island of Hokkaido.
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| I got this shot as we left the port and moved back into the Pacific Ocean. The sun has set and darkness was setting in as the ship made its way toward our next port of call in two days. |
