Precious Memories: Kushiro

Friday, August 21, 2015

Kushiro

July 19, 2015 -- Kushiro, Japan (7:00AM~2:00PM)

Weather: Overcast

Temperature: 17.6C

We had an early start this morning because we only have a short day in Kushiro. Horizon Court was already very crowded at 6:30 because everybody was thinking about the same thing--leave the ship as soon as it docks.

Always take the Patter or at least have a picture of the Port Agent contact information at each port on cell phone or camera just in case of needing assistance while in port.

At 6:57AM Diamond Princess docked alongside the berth.

Many will visit the Crane Nature Park, Kushiro Marshland, Lake Akan etc. on their excursions in this city on the east coast of Hokkaido. We are the kind that like to just walk around town and feel the life of locals in each city. Trying out local food is also one of our favorite things to do. This cruise around Japan was easy to do on our own because we were able to use public transportation or the free shuttles provided at each port. All we needed to do was to get a map when we get off the ship and we were good to go. There were plenty of taxis at each port for those who needed them. The only excursion we signed up for on this cruise was the stop in Russia because of the visa situation.

We got off the ship at around 7:45 and took the complimentary shuttle to town. There were tents set up at the port with information booths with many helpful volunteers. Street maps were given out.

The shuttle dropped us off in front of the Kushiro Fisherman's Wharf (MOO) building by the river.

From Moo, we walked up to Nusamai Bridge, rounded the corner of EGG (Ever Green Garden) which is connected to MOO.

On Nusamai Bridge

View of MOO and EGG from the bridge.

The Flower Clock next to the rotary and one of the four-season statues on the bridge.

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

We walked across on one side of the bridge and then made our way back on the opposite side.

Young school girls practicing rowing. Even during their busy practice, they found time to wave at us.

Sign of Kushiro River

Nusamai Bridge on this quiet Sunday morning.

We then followed the main street, Kita-Odori, to the train station. Our destination of the day was the Washo Ichiba Market near the train station. This picture shows a side street along the way.

Soft music was playing from the amplifier along the streets as we stroll through this city that morning.

It was about a 15-minute walk from the bridge to the train station.

As we reached Kushiro Station and Bus Terminal, we made a left turn towards the Market.

I was surprised to see a church next to the train station.

We found the Washo Market at a street corner about three short blocks away from the station.

At the port lecture, Heather said the Market would not be opened on a Sunday and we were all very disappointed. Glad that ChC checked online and found out that they did open on that particular Sunday. There is a Lawson (convenience store like 7-11) right there. Across the street at the Avenu Kushiro Shopping Center I was told that there is a Daiso but we did not go there.

Entrance to Washo Ichiba Market

Busy market with many stalls selling the freshest seafood there is.

The place is really clean.

The best place to get your seafood fix.

Katte Don (Seafood rice, your-way) is what made this market famous. First you buy a bowl of rice from the rice vendor, then you go around the seafood stalls and pick out whatever seafood you want to put on your rice. You get your seafood rice the way you like it. Very easy. The hard part is to control and not to over spent because everything looked delicious! But then I suggest not to hold on to your wallet too tight either. How often do you get to pick your seafood piece by piece? And how often do you get to come to Kushiro? So, enjoy!

Different sizes of rice bowls.

My bowl cost me close to 2000 yen, with fish from two different stalls. Not cheap, but OMG! Look at the pieces of fatty toro, they were 400 or 500Y each but they were just amazing! Creamy is the word. Worth every yen!

Then you can enjoy your seafood bowl at the communal area in the center of the market.

We also bought these.

A map of the market near the entrance.

Mission accomplished! Now we were ready to go back to MOO. This is the front of the market on the side street. We just follow this same street back to MOO.

Front view of MOO, which is a shopping mall mainly selling souvenirs and local products. Definitely a touristy but fun place. There are also restaurants, bakeries, and cafes inside. They also have some seafood stalls on the first floor.

Inside EGG where they had a couple of cultural activities going on to entertain tourists. Here is the kimono dress-up station. It's all free. A super nice idea but I already had the yukata dress-up the day before so I skipped this one.

Paper-boats station--I thought that was kind of fun and relaxing sailing the origami boats down on that little 'stream'.

Passage to the mall on the 2nd floor.

Back on the first floor we saw this vendor grilling some kind of rice rolls wrapped with fish which looked delicious. They were selling for 600Y each. We just had to try it. It was super tasty! Apparently this is a famous local favorite and had been shown on Japanese TV. Photos on the wall show celebrities visiting the stand and enjoying their fish rolls there. (Not sure what they were called officially.)

We shared this whole order.

I also purchased a bag of melon jello, which is suppose to be the #1 item to get as gifts from Kushiro. It was OK but it's just not my thing.

After walking around a couple of times and making sure we did not miss anything that we may want to try, we took the shuttle back to the ship at around 11:50. It was about a 15-minute ride between the mall and the pier.

Welcome sign at the pier

Our ship was scheduled to leave port at 2:00. Locals gathered to see us off at the pier.

This gentleman played on his saxophone for about half an hour as we waited for the sail away. Impressive!

Unfortunately, even after the farewell performance our ship was still in port and there was no sign of us leaving. So they all packed up and went home.

We ended up leaving port two hours later because about 10 to 12 passengers (from a particular country) failed to report to the immigration stations to process their exit inspection stated clearly on the front page of Patter. Our next port would be Russia and we were officially exiting Japan on this day. Everybody was suppose to turn in their passports and go through immigration inspection when they return to the ship here. They would not let the ship leave unless everyone has been reported. These people ignored the continuous announcements through the PA system which was using the appropriate language, causing problems for everyone on and off the ship. What a shame!

Checking out the dinner menu outside International Dining Room. Seemed like this was the only restaurant that posted their English menu. Japanese version was posted at the other restaurants.

Went to the Bon Odori Dance Class that afternoon. It was pure fun watching men, women, and children learning the traditional Japanese dances. Everybody seemed to be having a good time.