Day2 Chapter2 : Kushiro

Date : 12th May 2006
Location : Hokkaido, Kushiro
Weather : Cloudy, 16°C

When we touched down in Kushiro airport, it was very kumori (cloudy) and even drizzled a little. Kushiro airport is very very small, much smaller than Penang International airport. Apparently our plane was the last from Haneda, and after everyone cleared the customs, the whole airport became deserted. I mean like, so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

After emerging from the customs, we made our way to the #1 tourist survival stop: the Tourist Information center. I had searched online information regarding transportation from Kushiro airport to Akan-ko (Lake Akan), but had not found anything conclusive or helpful. Most of the useful information were scribbled in Japanese, of which I can't comprehend with my tiny vocabulary. So, naturally, I approached this information counter with high hopes of getting a friendly oneesan who can relay all the necessary info to me in English. Fat chance.

Me : Ano, sumimasen. Eigo wo hanasemasu ka?
Oneesan : (regretful look masked her pretty face) Sumimasen, eigo wo hanasemasen...
Me : (nervous laughter, thinking 'oh no, here comes broken Japanese..') Ano, koko kara Akan-ko made takushi de ikura desuka?
Oneesan : (eyes became big as saucers) Takushi desu ne... Takai desu yo. (discussed with her colleague, all the while punching the calculator) 13, 000 yen desu yo.
Me : *mutters to Mum: omigod... so freaking expensive*
Oneesan : (says something about the taxi being expensive, which I understood only like 75%)
Me : Ja, basu wa? Koko kara Akan-ko made ikura desu ka? Dono gurai kakarimasu ka?
Oneesan : (shows the calculator) 1810 yen. Ichi jikan gurai desu yo.
Me : (points calculator) Hitori?
Oneesan : Hai, hitori.
Me : Ano, tsugi no basu wa, itsu desu ka?
Oneesan : Tsugi no basu ne... 1815 desu.
Me : Doko de chiketto wo utte imasu ka?
Oneesan : Aa, asoko desu yo (points to a ticket vending machine 10 steps away)

So, we took bus to Akan-ko instead. 13 000 yen for taxi!! That is most mind-blowing. When I peered at the ticket vending machine, I discovered that I've bumped into yet another problem: ALL the directions were in Japanese. But that was still okay, as I've memorized the Kanji for Akan-ko. The problem was, how the heck do I buy the tix from this machine? I must've looked very lost staring at the machine that the oneesan at the info counter came over to my asisstance. I just held out the Yen notes and coins for her to help me purchase the tickets :P

Since the bus service to Akan-ko is pretty infrequent, we had almost 1.5 hour wait for the 1815 bus. The whole airport became silent by 1700. No flights arriving, shops pulled their shutters down, and the airport personnels basically were all off work. So, my family and a few lonesome souls waiting for the 1815 bus lounged around the deserted airport. Bored, we walked up and down, inside out the tiny airport. Because Kushiro is a popular spot for Tanchou-tsuru (Japanese crane) viewing, there's a huge display of the crane replica exhibited in the waiting area of the airport. So *because* we were sien, we took pictures with the Tanchou-tsuru :P


The famed Tanchou-tsuru (replica) on display in Kushiro kuuko.


Just in case we won't see the real thing... take a pic with the fake! :P

The weather outside the airport was cool, at ~16°C, but when the gust of wind blew... it was pretty cold. So we huddled in the airport interior while waiting for the late bus. In a glance, the scenery outside the airport was of winter. I was pretty surprised: I had expected flowers to bloom, heralding the coming of spring. Maybe Spring comes much later in East Hokkaido? Saa....

The bus was 5 mins later than scheduled. I had expected a tour bus, but it was more like a public bus. We boarded from the rear door, and took a white ticket on the way in. Taking public bus in Japan is quite different from M'sia or Sg, and this was my first time experiencing it.

As the bus pulled out of the airport, I reclined into the seat and turned to the window to enjoy the scenery. The sun was setting and throughout the whole journey, the view was breathtaking. In Kushiro, you can see nature untouched. It is all about shizen (nature). It started off with hillsides, where paddy/wheat/some-vegetation fields carpeted the entire place except for the tar road the bus was travelling. Winter hasn't quite yet left Kushiro, the trees are still bare, the hardened snow still lined the roads. There are barely houses along the way, only some farmhouses scattered a far distance away from one another. Only when the bus reached the small Akan town do we see 'civilization' such as schools, supermarket, shoplots etc. But the town is very small - you can walk around it in maybe 30 mins?

As night fell, we couldn't quite see the scenery outside well... but when we looked hard enough, we saw deers at the side of the road on our way uphill. And I thought I saw a kitsune (fox) too!... or was it a dog? The higher we went, the more the scenery resembled a pine forest on a snow-covered ground. It was lovely indeed, and brought back memories of winter in Nevada, USA many years ago.

The wind outside was chilly, but could barely be felt from the bus because there was a heater right under my seat! hehehe. When we finally did reach Akan-ko bus terminal, it was already 1940 and the sky was as dark as it would be at 2200. The weather was freaking cold... I think it must've been at least 5°C. And we have to walk to our hotel from the bus terminal. Brrr.

I was starting to worry if we could find the hotel in the darkness, when a very kind obasan offered to walk with us to find our hotel. By now, I'm expecting the locals do not speak English, so I engaged in a conversation with her in the best Nihongo I could muster.

Obasan : Akan-ko itta koto ga arimasu ka?
Me : Iie, hajimete desu. Obasan wa?
Obasan : Arimasu yo. Ja, ikimashou ka?
Me : Hai, arigatou gozaimasu.

Obasan then turned to Mum, who was walking beside her, and conversed. Mum, who doesn't understand Japanese, looked at her blankly and told me to walk in front and talk to the obasan instead -_-'''

Me : (racks mind for something within my vocab range) Sumimasen, okaasan wa nihongo wo wakarimasen kara...
Obasan : Sou desu ka. Doushite koko ni kite?
Me : Aa, ryouko desu. Obasan wa? Hitori de koko he kimasu ka?
Obasan : Sou you.
Me : (in awe) Sugoi!!

My grammar was thrown out of the window, but we managed to carry a decent conversation. And the obasan is really sugoi (great). She told me she usually come here on her own for a holiday. When we reached our hotel, New Akan Hotel, she actually brought us in and helped us to check whether we were in the right hotel or not. We were very thankful for her generous help, and Mum was asking me to walk her to her hotel, but I didn't know how to ask -_-'''

Me : (paused) Obasan to isshou ni hoteru he ikimashou ka?
Obasan : (thinks I thought my hotel is further away) Iie, iie. (points to reception and told me to stay)
Me : (racked brains and finally gave up) Ja, obasan wa kiotsukete kudasai ne. Hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita. (bows to her)
Obasan : Iie, doitashimashite. Ja, ne.
Me : Hai, arigatou gozaimasu.

It warmed my heart to have met such a generously helpful Japanese stranger on my first day in Kushiro. And I believe, there are many more such helpful locals in the days of our Hokkaido stay to come.

(onwards to Chapter3 of Day2...)

～みはる～