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#KUSHIRO

Foggy town full of rich nature
Enjoy a vast wetland, beautiful sunset, and fresh seafood

Kushiro is an area that has rich nature, including the largest wetland in Japan, Lake Akan inhabited by spherical alga “Marimo” that is very rare in the world, and two national parks. There are six flights daily between Tokyo and Kushiro Airport. If you take the express train “Ohzora” from Sapporo, you can enjoy a magnificent scenery of Hokkaido, including the Hidaka Mountains, the Tokachi Plain, and Shiranuka Hills from a train window. Especially in a winter time with little snow, you can see breathtaking scenery created by snow and ice.
Kushiro is also called “Foggy Town,” and town people experience fog about 100 days per year. The landscape of the town covered by thick fog that is seen from spring to summer is mysterious. In addition, Kushiro is very famous for its sunset, which is one of the three most beautiful sunsets in the world. In the fall when we can enjoy more sunny days, many people come here to take a picture of the beautiful sunset around the Kushiro River flowing in the center of the City and Nusamai Bridge. As Kushiro is a port town, you can eat delicious seafood. Sauries, mackerels, flatfishes, sardines, and cuttlefishes are landed at Kushiro Port and you can enjoy fresh fishes and seafood in this area.

WHERE IS KUSHIRO?

It is about 330 km from Sapporo to Kushiro. While direct flights are available from New-Chitose Airport or Okadama Airport to Kushiro Airport, you can also enjoy a longer journey by car or train: To come to Kushiro, it takes about six hours if you use general roads and drop in at many sightseeing spots by car, or about four hours if you use the JR Express Super Ohzora from Sapporo Station. You can use a rental car or a taxi for moving within the City, or a bicycle or a bus if you would like to feel like a townsperson.

1,363 km²
SAME AS HONG KONG
latitude:KUSHIRO 42.58 N
SAME AS Bishkek 42.87N Vladivostok 43.12N

Kushiro is located in the east side of Hokkaido and along the shore facing the Pacific Ocean. It is blessed with a magnificent natural environment, including two national parks “Kushiro Shitsugen Wetland” and “Akan-Mashu.” You can also see nationally protected animals such as “The Tancho crane," and plants called "Marimo at Lake Akan.” Kushiro also has a very attractive food culture that is backed by dairy farming and agriculture, forestry that has ample forest resources, and fisheries whose catch quantity is one of the largest in Japan. In addition, there are large food processing factories and paper factories in Kushiro. The only coal mining station in Japan also operates there. These facts indicate that Kushiro is also an industrial town. If you take the “Kushiro Shitsugen Norokko Train” that has enduring popularity, or the “Winter Wetland SL” that is operated only in the winter time, you can experience both the magnificent nature and the streetscape of Kushiro.

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KEYWORDS OF KUSHIRO

#FISHING HARBOR

#MIST

#MILK

#SUNSET

#WILDLIFE

#SOBA

#WETLAND

#COALMINE

#MARIMO

#FISHING HARBOR

In Kushiro that has an atmosphere of a port town, you can find many delicious choices of seafood. In the “Washo Market” that is called the kitchen of Kushiro, you can make your “Own Rice Bowl” by putting any raw fishes or other types of seafood you like on rice. Robata barbecue of seafood and other Hokkaido local foods are provided at Fisherman’s Wharf MOO that is located at the mouth of the Kushiro River.

#MIST

It is also recommended to walk in Kushiro City covered by thick fog. Nusamai Bridge, which is located in the center of the City, is decorated with beautiful carvings. The bridge is the second one and its main pole is the one used in the previous bridge. The bridge covered by fog is very fantastic and romantic and many people take a picture of it. This foggy scene also appears on many postcards.

#MILK

Kushiro and the Nemuro Area are cool in the summer, with an average temperature of about 20 degrees C in the mid-summer. Due to this low temperature, it is the best place for milk cows that hate hot weather. That is the reason why the dairy business grows there. As there are larger pasturelands in Kushiro and the Nemuro Area compared with other areas, milk cows can eat many grasses. That enables the cows to produce a “Rich Taste” milk whose fat ratio is higher than the national average.

#SUNSET

The reason why Kushiro’s sunset is listed as one of the “Three most beautiful sunsets in the world” is that sailors who traveled around the world dropped in at the Kushiro Port and were surprised at the beauty of the sunset there. As Kushiro is located at relatively high latitude , the incident angle of the sunset is higher, which brings brighter orange color in sunset and evening glow. The recommended season for beautiful sunset is fall to winter when the air is clear and crisp. Particularly, Nusamai Bridge is one of the best photo spots where you can see the sunset in the mouth of the river.

SUPER FANTASTIC KUSHIRO

#WILDLIFE

If you drive a car in the suburbs of Kushiro, you may meet wild animals such as the Tancho crane, a Yeddo deer, and a northern red fox. Particularly, you must be careful, as a group of Yeddo deer often crosses a road.

#SOBA

Do you know that Kushiro is a city of Soba? There are so many soba restaurants in Kushiro, and local people really love soba. Soba noodles in Kushiro are green, as chlorella is mixed with white Sarashina soba buckwheat. “Chikuroen Azumayasohonten” is the first soba restaurant to offer green soba noodles, where you can enjoy traditional Kushiro soba made by a skilled soba cook.

SUPER FANTASTIC KUSHIRO

#WETLAND

The Kushiro Shitsugen Wetland is so large that its area is equivalent to that enclosed by the Yamanote Line. Near the Kushiro Shitsugen Wetland Observatory and the Onnenai Visitor Center at Tsurui Village, you can enjoy walking on boardwalks. If you listen carefully, you can hear a sound of leaves swaying in the wind and birds chirping. View from the Satellite Observatory at Kushiro Shitsugen Wetland Observatory is a recommended spot to get a sense of how large the wetland is.

SUPER FANTASTIC KUSHIRO

#COALMINE

In Kushiro, “Kushiro Cole Mining Co, Ltd.” which is the only coal mining company in Japan has mined coal from the bottom of the sea. At Taiheiyo Collier Exhibition, you can really understand that mining is done under the Pacific Ocean. In the Exhibition, you can find Japan's largest (about 6 tons) piece of lump coal and a faithfully re-created working environment, complete with a model mine tunnel and extraction machinery--truly impressive sights of a mining town. This lesser-known spot is essential for a complete understanding of Kushiro's history.

#MARIMO

“Marimo” is a species of filamentous green algae that grows into a spherical shape; this form of algae is found only in Lake Akan. To protect this precious Marimo, research is still being conducted. Currently, many protective measures are taken such as water quality preservation, entry restrictions, and rescue of Marimo that is washed ashore. Marimo is loved by local people.　 In summer, you can observe Marimo from the Marimo Exhibition and Observation Center at Churui Island that is only accessible by sightseeing cruises or express ferries. You can also find local souvenirs such as Marimo Yokan (sweet jelly of adzuki beans), Marimo Tofu (bean curd), and Marimo Mojito.

阿寒湖のマリモ

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HOKKAIDO TO GO PROJECT is managed (lead) by Loftwork Inc. and is commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (FY2018 "Project to Boost Consumption by Spreading the Charms of Hokkaido"). Please contact the following for any inquiries you may have such as reproduction or uses of the articles/photos.

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