Sailing to Alaska...

The city is Kushiro is located in the Eastern Hokkaido and this is one of the last stop for those who trys to sail from Hokkaido, Japan to Alaska.

A photo of my friend's sailing boat...

Flooded Kushiro Marsh

As snow melts more and more everyday, Kushiro marsh is getting flooded.


"Flooded Kushiro Marsh"

Because of the good amount of snow we had this year, it seems that the water level at Marsh seems higher this year.



"Ezo Shika Deer Trails in Water"

Brown Bear near the House...

You may not associate Japan with bears, but we do have two kinds of bears.

On the main island calld Honshu, we have blackbears. And here in Hokkaido, the Northern island,we have brown bears.

Today as I was walking on the trail in the moutain behind my house, I came across the big print on the snow.



Undoutedly this is the track of a brown bear. Deep marks of his/her claws showed the size of this bear.

I have never seen the actual bear yet in Hokkaido, but I was surprised to see even the track so close to my house.

Next time I go into the moutain, I will take my bear spray...

Back to Winter

As the first sign of spring, butterbur sprouts came out last week.

Like many Japanese who live in the country side, I have been wanting to pick them to eat, but I have not had a chance until today.

Unfortunately it was snowing this morning, so my "spring hunt" was not quite warm like a spiring day.

Yet, it was nice to see the plant covered in light snow, giving me a sense of vitality of life in spring.

After taking a photo of them, I pick out several buds and fed one to my favorite horse and the rest to myself.

Paddling Kushiro River

There lies a big river running through Kushiro Marshi in Eastern Hokkaido, Japan.

My friend and I paddled Kushiro river today with our kayaks.

Starting at the nearby Toro lake, we had to thrust through a thin layer of ice with our kayaks, but the rest of the trip was quite fun.



With the spring thawed water, the water level at the river was very high.

We spotted a lot of Ezo shika deers, four minks and many ducks.

Almost inaccessible on foot, Kushiro river gives a chance to explore the marsh to those who like to paddle the river.

Another beautiful day....

^

Cranes back to Marshland

Today I went to bike on the gravel road that cut through the marsh.

Motor vehicles are not permitted on the road, so my friend and I were the only ones on road for the three hour Marshland bike trip.

Japanese cranes are back in the marsh for the spring and you hardly see them in the Tsurui village anymore.

AFter biking about 30 minutues, I found one pair of white dots in the yellowish grass.

Sure enough they were Tancho(Japanese Cranes)looking for food in the marsh.

In the Fog

The outside was covered by fog this morning.

This area in Southeast Hokkaido is famous for thick fog during spring, summer and fall.

Standing in the middle of fog, the landscape reminded me of the black and white Japanese traditional painting.

Here is a photo of the day.