Experience the best of Kushiro

Kushiro sits at the mouth of the Kushiro River on the south-east coast of Hokkaido, a working port where summer sea fog rolls in and keeps the air cool. North of the city, Kushiro Shitsugen National Park protects the largest wetland in Japan, a flat expanse of reeds, marsh and small lakes crossed by boardwalks, where the red-crowned crane, known in Japanese as tancho, can be seen.

In winter the cranes gather at feeding grounds in the village of Tsurui, a short way inland, in one of the best-known wildlife scenes in Japan. Further inland, Akan-Mashu National Park has Lake Akan, famous for its round green marimo algae balls, Lake Mashu, a very clear caldera lake often veiled in mist, and the steaming sulphur slopes of Mount Io.

Kushiro's harbourside market lets visitors build their own rice bowl, piling fresh sashimi on rice, and the city is said to be the birthplace of robatayaki, seafood grilled over charcoal at the table. Kushiro ramen has thin curly noodles in a soy broth. Winters are cold and clear with little snow, and summers stay cool under the fog.