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Day 1: 釧路大漁どんぱく
It was evening by the time we arrived at Kushiro. It was with amazing help from my brother's friend that we managed to secure lodgings for that night. We could not book any room online and we didn't know why until our Japanese friend told us it was Kushiro Tairyo Donpaku.
Kushiro Tairyo Donpaku is a harvest and fishing festival held at the beginning of September every year. We managed to catch the array of food stalls in the night market and feast on beer and seafood. The whole port area where the festivities were held was like a big carnival. To top it off, fireworks displayed for what I gathered was more than an hour to end the night.
Wheelchair Accessibility
- Accommodation
Both the Route-Inn Hotel and Comfort Hotel we stayed in were definitely adequate in accessible facilities but the rooms were so small that there was no space for a wheelchair to turn around. I had to enter the rooms by going backwards through the doors. As there was no space for a wheelchair to turn and face the washroom, I needed to find handholds slowly to get onto the toilet and then into the bathtub.
- Public Transport
I don't recall seeing any buses with the wheelchair signs and my cousin verified that there were none going the direction we wanted for our lunch appointment. So I conclude that the public transport here was not ready yet but the taxi ride we had was not too expensive to deter you from taking it, with Kushiro being small.
- Roads and Sidewalks
Kushiro was a nice place to just have a walk around. It helped that we had cool weather then. The roads and sidewalks were well-paved with only some slopes that I needed help going over. The sidewalks also had the tactile pavings for the blind but were wide enough for wheelchairs to avoid them altogether.
Kushiro is a sleepy fishing town after the festival and I think it feels like this everyday too. I really like it; without the hustle and bustle of a city. However, I doubt it will be easy or even possible for a foreigner to stay and work there.
Have a feel of Kushiro from the video on the right...
Day 2: 寿司や刺身
We were invited to have both lunch and dinner with my brother's friend and her family. Before that, we made an early stop at the Kushiro Railway Station to reserve our tickets for the rest of our journey. This was going to save us a lot of time and ensuring us in getting to our next destinations as planned.
For lunch, we went to a sushi restaurant in the heart of the Kushiro residential district. I suspect it was a place only known to the locals as tourists I saw none. In fact, we seemed to be the only foreigners there.
We took the decision of walking from our hotel to the restaurant, thinking a 5-km walk would not be far and with a nice weather, should be an easy sightseeing hike. We did make it but still opted for a taxi ride for the way back, with a full stomach that was.
For dinner, it was a traditional restaurant near out hotel this time round. But alas, the restaurant was on the second level of a shophouse! This was one of those times that one was glad to be travelling in a big group. The brothers banded together and were strong enough to carry the wheelchair guy up the stairs.
So what can I say about the food? Allow me to use a word from a movie: Fantabulous! The rice couldn't be starchier, the fish couldn't be fresher, and the wine couldn't be smoother. But hey, that is just my opinion. Oh, I also got to try horse meat sashimi but I would say that was more of an acquired taste.
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