Hokkaido, April 30-May 5

So we went to Kushiro, Hokkaido during Golden Week but I'm just now posting photos. There was no one there, the landscape reminded me of northern Michigan. It was relaxing and great just to spend some time away with SG. The winter in Hokkaido is really long so when we went all the snow had just melted and most plants were still dead and brown. We stayed in the huge marshland in Kushiro.
Great fresh fish in Hokkaido. We stayed in a little cabin on a lake and cooked on the grill at night and ate pasta or whatever we had for breakfast.
the marsh...
We saw one wild Japanese crane while there. Song gi spotted it when we were driving back from a day trip to Lake Akan. We pulled over and were lucky to be able to take some photos. It's rare to see cranes this time of year because they are deep in the marshlands nesting. This one was eating in a field in Tsurui (meaning crane) Village. In the winter time the cranes depend on the people of Tsurui for food. The villagers throw corn into the fields and large groups of cranes come feed. The cranes are really important to the people of this village. Even after WWII when everyone was poor and hungry they still gave their food to the cranes.

The tsuru (Japanese cranes) are huge with a wing span of about 6 feet. They were heavily hunted during the Edo period and almost became extinct but now they are a protected species and are coming back. They are to Japan what the bald eagle is to us.

Lots of cows in Hokkaido. There's a real Western influence in Hokkaido, a lot of missionaries came there after the Edo period. Dairy and beef were not a traditional part of the Japanese diet. The climate is similar to the midwest and central Europe so it's condisive to dairy farming.
These scenes really reminded me of Michigan. The sign in front of the house above reads something like "Christ will return and you will be judged" so Judgment Day is coming... I have never seen anything like this in Japan.
We drove up to Akan, famous for "marimo" these green, perfectly round balls of algae pictured in the tank above. They naturally occur in Akan Lake and I guess this is the only place in the world you can find them.

The Ainu are the native people of Hokkaido. The Japanese made efforts to strip them of their culture and took their land the same way the American settlers did to the Native Americans. In Akan there is a touristy little "Ainu Village" where you can see shops with their original embroidery and woodworking. I really wanted to go there but when arriving it was clearly a tourist attraction like Mackinac Island. But I got to see some embroidery so I was happy...
the village entrance
It was a great trip and I saw a whole different area and culture of Japan. The best part was just being away from people and being with Song gi :)