Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [491]
GETTING THERE & AROUND
Bus
Depending on the season – services drop off in the winter – there are up to three buses a day between Kawayu Onsen bus station and Bihoro (¥1920, 2½ hours), which run via the scenic Bihoro Pass.
Between May and October, a sightseeing bus service runs four times a day from Kawayu Onsen bus station via the main sights in the park to Akan Kohan (from ¥2100, 2¼ hours). It stops for sightseeing and picture taking – if you’re low on time and don’t mind the package-tour atmosphere, this is a nice way to see the area without shelling out for a rental car.
Car
Kawayu Onsen is accessed by Rte 319, which runs north–south between Abashiri and Kushiro. Between Mashū station and Akan Kohan on Rte 241 is a particularly scenic stretch with an outstanding lookout at Sokodai that overlooks the lakes Penketō and Panketō.
Train
Frequent tokkyū on the JR Sekihoku line run between Abashiri and Bihoro (¥1640, 25 minutes), and between Asahikawa and Bihoro (¥7020, 3½ hours). From Bihoro, you can catch onward buses to Kawayu bus station.
Frequent kaisoku run north on the JR Senmō main line between Kawayu Onsen and Shiretoko-shari (¥900, 45 minutes), and south between Kawayu Onsen and Kushiro (¥1790, 1¾ hours) via Mashū (¥350, 15 minutes).
JR Kawayu Onsen station is a 10-minute bus ride from the town centre (¥280); buses are timed to meet most of the trains.
Akan Kohan
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The resort town of Akan Kohan has one of the largest Ainu kotan (village) in Hokkaidō, and is a hot spot for anyone interested in this ancient culture. It’s also where you catch a glimpse of marimo, the most famous algae ever to bob to the surface, and then quickly leave behind the tourist throngs on a hike into the national park.
ORIENTATION & INFORMATION
Tourists arrive at Akan Kohan bus terminal on the eastern edge of the village. Here, you’ll find a tourist information office (67-3200; www.lake-akan.com/en/index.html; 2-1-15 Akan-ko Onsen; 9am-6pm) that stocks pamphlets about the park in English, including excellent alpine trail guides with contour maps of O-Akan-dake and Me-Akan-dake.
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
Ainu Kotan
Although it’s definitely a tourist-orientated affair, the kotan on the western edge of the village is in fact inhabited by one of the largest remaining Ainu communities in Hokkaidō. Generally speaking, however, the Ainu are virtually indistinguishable in appearance from the Japanese due to generations of intermarriage, though there are material signs of their rich culture. The most obvious of these are the woodcrafts, leatherwork and other handmade items, which are on sale at shops throughout the kotan.
At the top of the hill is the Ainu Seikatsu Kinenkan (; Ainu Lifestyle Memorial Hall; 67-2727; admission ¥300; 10am-10pm May-Oct), but it’s small – perhaps a disappointment if you’ve already seen other Ainu exhibitions elsewhere.
Next door and better value is the Onnechise (; admission ¥1000), where Ainu dance performances take place six times a day in the high season. Shows are at 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 8pm, 9pm and 10pm from April to October, and at least once a day the rest of the year.
The Akan Forest & Lake Culture Museum (; 67-2001; admission ¥500;10am-5pm May-Oct) has more displays and exhibits on the history and culture of both the Ainu and the Akan National Park area.
Marimo Viewing
Akan-ko is famous for marimo (Cladophora aegagropila), spheres of algae that are both biologically interesting – it takes as much as 200 years for them to grow to the size of a baseball – and very, very kawaii (cute). Only growing in a few places in the world, Akan marimo became endangered after being designated a national treasure: suddenly, everyone in Japan wanted one. The building of a power plant (which lowered the lake level several inches) did not help the plight of these green benthic fuzzballs.
The Ainu finally came to the rescue