Enjoy fine cuisine and retro townscapes. A two-day, one-night trip around Kushiro city

Ai Nishimura

Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.

Kushiro Trip: 2-day, 1-night itinerary

[Temperature and Climate in Kushiro] Be aware of the differences between the coastal and inland areas

Before your trip, check out the temperature and climate of Kushiro. We explain how the climate differs greatly between the coastal and inland areas.
Coastal areas such as the downtown area around Kushiro Station are cool all year round, and even in midsummer August the daytime high temperature is usually between 20 and 25 degrees. It is rare for it to reach over 30 degrees on a midsummer day.

In winter, the hours of daylight are long and strong seasonal winds blow. Although it is bitterly cold, there are relatively few days in mid-winter when the maximum temperature drops below 0°C, even in Hokkaido. Even when it does snow, the amount of accumulation is not large, so roads are rarely covered in snow for long periods of time.

In the inland areas, where Lake Akan is located, temperatures can reach over 30 degrees Celsius in the summer. However, the humidity is low and there is a refreshing breeze, so compared to Honshu, it is dry and comfortable to live there.
In winter, the temperature can drop to as low as -20°C, and snow piles up in great piles. Advance preparation and caution are required when traveling by car.

[Transportation for traveling in Kushiro] If you're sightseeing around Kushiro Station, we recommend using buses and rental bicycles.

bus

If you are planning to sightsee mainly in the former Kushiro city and Kushiro town, you will want to use the Kushiro Bus or Akan Bus.
A passport that allows unlimited travel on both lines is available only on weekends and holidays and costs just 600 yen (no discounts for children or people with disabilities). Passports can be purchased on the bus or at the Kushiro Station Bus Terminal.
If you are sightseeing around Lake Akan Onsen, the free "Marimo Family Bus" is also convenient.

Bicycle rental

There are several bicycle rental services around Kushiro Station. There are few hills and it is easy to get around by bicycle, so please try them out. (Please note that rentals may not be available depending on the season.)

■ Kushiro Civic Activity Center Watto
Bicycles: 200 yen for up to 3 hours (100 yen for each additional hour)
Mountain bike: 300 yen for up to 3 hours (200 yen for each additional hour)
・Electric bicycles: 500 yen for up to 3 hours (300 yen for each additional hour)

■Kushiro City Tourism and International Exchange Center
Electrically assisted bicycles, mini velo, mountain bikes: 1,600 yen for 3 hours, 2,800 yen for 8 hours

train

If you are traveling by train around Hokkaido, including Kushiro city, we recommend the Hokkaido Free Pass, which allows unlimited rides on JR Hokkaido trains and buses (excluding some routes).
The Hokkaido Free Pass is priced at 26,230 yen for adults for 7 days, and includes regular reserved seats up to 6 times. If you want to enjoy your train trip with plenty of time to spare, this is a great deal.

9:40 Arrive at Tancho Kushiro Airport. Move to Kushiro Station.

I arrived at Kushiro Airport on the first flight in the morning. It was still chilly in Tokyo, even though I was still wearing short sleeves. There was a monument to the red-crowned cranes at the airport. Yes, Kushiro and other parts of eastern Hokkaido are home to red-crowned cranes. They don't hibernate there in the winter, but live there all year round.

As you travel from the airport to Kushiro Station, you will see crane monuments everywhere.
I occasionally looked up at the sky hoping to see some real cranes, but I couldn't find any in the city center. If you want to see cranes, you can go to the Kushiro Marsh, Akan Town, or Tsurui Village.

Approximately 45 minutes by shuttle bus (Tanchō Kushiro Airport → Kushiro Station)

11:00 Rent a bicycle and stroll along the Kushiro River

I climbed up to the free observation deck at Manabot Nusamai (Kushiro City Lifelong Learning Center), which offers a bird's-eye view of the Kushiro River, with its many bridges crossing it. It's a spectacular view that stretches all the way to the Kushiro Marshlands. When traveling, if you get a bird's-eye view of the city early on, you'll get a rough idea of the geography, which will make your trip that much easier.
Rent a bicycle at Watto (Kushiro Civic Activity Center) in Suehirocho and take a stroll along the river! If you don't want to pedal too much, there are also bicycles with power assist (just be careful of the charge).

There are many relatively flat roads in the city, making it easy to cycle, and there are wide sidewalks along the river, so the breeze passing by is very pleasant.
In the lower reaches of the Kushiro River near the port, the brick-built Hokkaido Prefectural Kushiro Art Museum will soon celebrate its 20th anniversary. Nearby is an atmospheric area lined with warehouses, named Naniwa-cho, to echo the prosperity of business in Osaka.

*For information after April 2020, please check the website.

13:00 Lunchtime: Taste Kushiro's local delicacy, soba noodles

It is said that there are very few udon restaurants in Kushiro, which shows just how deeply soba culture has spread there.
Rent a bicycle and head towards the north exit of the station, then head towards Kawakita-dori.
While cycling, the scenery was completely different from the center of Kushiro. The roads were wide and the atmosphere was more suburban. There were large chain stores and factories. The leaves had turned red and stood out against the blue sky, but the weather in Hokkaido changes so quickly... Clouds appeared and cleared up in an instant. Maybe it was because it was the change of seasons.

When you step through the noren curtain of "Azumaya Kawakita Branch", the inside of the store is very clean. There are many employees, and it is good to see them working efficiently.
First, I ordered "Muryoju" and then a piping hot "Kashiwanuki". Kashiwanuki is the same as kashiwa soba without the soba, and the name is a bit confusing, but after eating cold soba, it's great to warm yourself up with the hot broth of kashiwanuki!

15:00 Enjoy a stroll around the town and take in the photogenic retro streetscape

The city of Kushiro is concentrated on the south side of Kushiro Station, with the city hall, art museums, and tourist attractions all concentrated there.
Life is becoming more suburban, and the city center has many closed shops, making it feel a little lonely. However, there are also many alleys lined with storefront signs and shops with nostalgic retro pop fonts. It even gives the illusion of walking through a movie set.

Recommended cafes in Kushiro that you'll want to stop by during your walk around the city

In between walks around the city, I stopped off at a cafe. There are still many cafes with coffee shop-style menus lined up, and they seem to be fun places for locals to chat. There were so many unique and cute shops that I could easily spend an entire day just visiting the cafes.
As we chatted about our travels so far and our future plans, he told me all sorts of things and introduced me to other shops. Perhaps it's because it's a port town with a lot of people moving in, but the welcoming atmosphere made me fall in love with Kushiro right away.

Cafe Boronji

Toyobundo Bookstore Cafe Largo

17:50 The Kushiro sunset seen from Nusamai Bridge, a must-see when sightseeing in Kushiro

Kushiro is one of the three most beautiful sunsets in the world, along with Bali and Manila. In the evening, people with cameras appear out of nowhere near Nusamai Bridge. In the crisp, cold air, the sun slowly sinks into the sea. It was truly magnificent.
I immediately tried to take a photo of the sunset with my camera, but it was quite difficult. However, with the beautiful lace-like railings of the bridge and the artistic bronze statues, it seemed as if the spot was set up for the sunset.

19:00 Go bar-hopping in the evening. Enjoy Kushiro delicacies such as zangi and sushi

Torimatsu, the birthplace of Zangi

"Zangi" is a delicacy you can't miss when visiting Kushiro. I thought it was just another name for fried chicken in Hokkaido, but when I went to the restaurant where it originated, I discovered a much deeper world.
First of all, Zangi refers to chicken cut into chunks with bones. This is because restaurants use whole chickens, and it also means that you can eat all the ingredients without wasting them. The fried chicken we usually eat is distinguished from the "boneless Zangi".
It's up to your preference, but if you want to eat authentic zangi, it's best to choose the one with the bone!

We recommend the Chawanmushi, a delicious dish packed with seafood.

"Matsuzushi" is a recommended sushi restaurant for finishing off a meal