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KUSSHARO-KO |
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To the west of Mashu-ko is the Akan National Park's largest lake,
picturesque Kussharo-ko , which at eighty square kilometres is the
biggest crater lake in Japan. It's also famous for being the home of
Kussie, Japan's answer to the Loch Ness Monster. Kussie's mythical
status received a boost in 1997, when several people reported seeing a
mysterious creature in the lake, though according to most locals, it was
an oversized trout. Whether it has a monster or not, Kussharo-ko is
special because it is fed by onsen water, creating a warm temperature
and several natural rotemburo around its edge, such as the piping-hot
pools at Wakoto Hanto , a mini-promontory on the lake's southern shore.
You can hop into another lakeside rotemburo at Kotan Onsen , an easy
cycle ride from the Kussharo-Gen'ya Youth Guesthouse . This is also
where you'll also find a small Ainu museum (daily 9am-4.30pm; ¥300) in a
strikingly modern concrete building, worth going inside only if you've
not checked out any of the other collections around Hokkaido.
A strong whiff of sulphur from the nearby volcano Io-zan drifts over the
area's main village, Kawayu Onsen , 3km from the lake. Here you'll find
several hotels and minshuku, as well as the bus terminal. Be sure to
stop into the excellent new Kawayu Eco-Museum Centre , where you can
pick up an English map and a guide to the many birds you are likely to
see in the area (including all five of the Japanese woodpecker species).
One of the centre's nature guides speaks English and there are several
hiking trails, one of which is wheelchair-accessible. Kawayu's train
station is a ten-minute bus journey south of the village; if you arrive
late (the last bus to the onsen is 5.30pm), you might stay at the Hotel
Park Way (tel 01548/3-2616; ¥10,000-15,000), which has decent tatami
rooms and rotemburo . Beside the lake a great place to stay is Nibushi-no-Sato
(tel 01548/3-2294; ¥10,000-15,000), a minshuku run by a friendly English-speaking
manager, who'll come pick you up at Kawayu Onsen bus terminal if you
phone ahead. Bike rental is available (¥1800 a day) and there's an
indoor onsen bath with a lake view. This is also a great place to
observe the whooper swans ( O-hakucho ) in winter, and lots of other
birds and animals all year round.
The park's best youth hostel is the Kussharo-Gen'ya Youth Guesthouse
(tel & fax 01548/4-2609; ¥3000-5000), a distinctive, tent-like building
made of wood, with a central atrium set amid potato fields, some thirty
minutes' walk from the southern shore of Kussharo-ko. Accommodation is
in Western-style rooms and superb Japanese meals are served. Mountain
bikes can be rented (¥1000 a day) from here, and the staff organize
two-hour canoe tours from the lake up one of the local rivers (¥3500)
and cross-country ski tours in the winter.
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