hokkaido: day 9 - this place is like a smiths song
DEST: KUSHIRO DIST: 70KMS
monday was never going to be anything other than a rest day after our 9 hour epic from sounkyou. we had our typical hostel breakfast (one difficulty at some hostels is the feeling of being rushed) of bread and coffee, one sausage and oddly, coleslaw, then hit the road. all the way to the train station. after a second breakfast during our wait we bagged the bikes and headed toward the coast. we passed a few hamlets and the famous marshlands of east hokkaido but the red-capped cranes (tsuru) failed to materialise just as the bus load of female, swedish hockey players had failed to check in to any one of our hostels. we had high hopes for kushiro though - our next destination. we needed recharging.
I'm always positive about life and I always try to see the bright side of bad situations but I really struggle to write anything good about kushiro. the youth hostel was odd for starters. it was damp. there wasn't an air of youth about it. it wasn't easy to relax in. socialising in hostels is all very well if you are japanese, alone on a motorbike but we invariably rolled up tired and hungry and faced the same inane questions at dinner. daniel, having been here for eight years was still being asked if he could use chopsticks (having already established he runs his own business and whilst actually using chopsticks). it sounds really shitty but we've started just getting our heads down and finishing fast. the questions have become second nature. we've even started lieing about where we are from. the housing was depressing.
we had a quick squint at the docks - exotic for land lovers but the cloudy sky meant it could have been hull. the squid boats were interesting though - the huge lights to mimick the moon were on show and the bizarre sight of 8 metre high bamboo on board could only have been for good luck. that or the local fishermen like to be reminded of shore. or it's panda bait.
the saving grace of kushiro was salt and pepper - a wee italian just off the main drag. we found it in time for lunch and it was so good we went back for dinner. the staff were friendly and drew us a map to get to the fish market - it too was worth a visit, great sights, smells and omiyage. the light shades were great - the green floor too - it was certainly an authentic feeling place.
after scrubbing up and heading down the docks for a cheeky can of classic, we bypassed the hookers, hostesses and bars which had transformed the ghost town into a bustling, tart filled neon abyss and arrived to a rather surprised looking chef. the food, again, was great although they had to run out for my pork and then when we ordered our second bottle of wine, the local booze store van rocked up with, at least this time, a room temperature bottle of red. fawlty towers it almost was. we were pished by the end. dan was hiccuping and we were both a bit loud. we stumbled into the hostel an hour late and collapsed.
