IN THE MIDDLE OF LOVE'S PRIDE
I arrived in Kushiro and chose Tsuruimura crane village to stay. The homestay I booked was located in the middle of a vast grassland, and every window looked out as beautiful as a painting. The homestay, called “Heart n' Tree,” was founded by a Japanese couple who left the bustling city to seek joy in the countryside. With sincerity and love, Uncle Hattori’s family created a resting space that was always warm and family-like. And quickly, the couple had nearly 1,000 “children” from many countries around the world, just because every time they stayed, everyone wanted to call him “Otousan” (father) and “Okaasan” (mother). “Dad’s love from the time he met Mom over the past several decades has remained intact and unchanged.”
Every day here, I get to enjoy authentic Italian dishes personally cooked by my “mom” who studied in Tuscany, drink pure cow’s milk from a farm on the steppe, and have my “dad” take me to visit wonderful destinations in Kushiro. Every morning when I wake up, outside the window I see the sunlight shining on the heart hanging on the tree, where every day is filled with love.
Eyes that can see and a heart that can feel
Perhaps it is very rare in the long journey of travel enthusiasts that we can be completely overwhelmed by a certain scene. That was me when I stopped at Lake Sunayu, Teshikaga when the sun was halfway up the mountain and shone its warm rays directly onto the shimmering water where a flock of white swans were leisurely swimming. A scene that made everyone around exclaim “It is truly touching!”. Tourists just need to sit at the small Onsen on the sandy shore, soak their feet and quietly immerse themselves in the joy at that time.
Around Kushiro, there are many other blue lakes with a beauty that “needs no filter” enough to make any tourist flutter, such as Akanko or Mashuko. On the way, you will pass by mountains covered in lava smoke, coniferous forests waiting to be covered with snow, and a series of “heart-stopping” moments in front of nature. That is when deer, elk, roe deer, snow foxes, rabbits and mysterious creatures in the deep forest peek out to “ask permission” to cross the road. If you come to Kushiro with eyes that know how to see and a heart that knows how to feel, you will receive the most memorable emotions about this northern region of Japan.
SYMBOL OF LONGEVITY and LUCK
That is the Japanese crane (also known as the white crane, Tanchou), a symbolic bird of the Land of the Rising Sun with the characteristics of longevity, fidelity, luck, and loyalty. You can easily see embroidered pictures of this red-crowned crane on traditional kimono, on curtains or in any other respectful space in the island of the rising sun. However, only in Kushiro can we witness this precious crane at the most beautiful moments of the day: sunset and sunrise.
The people of Tsuruimura village (the village name also refers to this crane, meaning “big bird”) highly respect “Tanchou”, they always keep a distance of at least 100 meters at the points where they will stop at sunrise or sunset. There, visitors need to use a camera with a large zoom to take pictures, or binoculars to see the scene. If you are lucky, you can see the white cranes up close when they accidentally land on the land near your house or fly overhead before going far away to find food. But I can confirm that they are really beautiful, very beautiful in a very spiritual way, very worth the effort to come and see.
VILLAGE OF ANCIENT PEOPLE
A few months ago, I sat in the library, diligently searching for pages of books about the Ainu people for a necessary document at that time. I asked every Hokkaido person about the Ainu people, they often did not know, or knew little, it was like when you ask a person from Da Lat about the Lach people. Through a few Vietnamese translated articles found on the internet, I thought that this people had long since disappeared, had moved into the deep snow-covered forest and lived in seclusion until now.
But no, according to Japanese documents, by Lake Akanko, in Kushiro, at the end of Hokkaido, the Ainu people still live happily in a wooden house village. In the summer, they sing songs about the mountains. In the winter, they dance the legendary crane dance. And the patterns on the clothes of this ethnic group still continue from the past to the present. So during my trip to Kushiro, I decided to visit this lakeside village. Although it is a bit far, the result is enjoying the mysterious atmosphere of Ainu Kotan, from the entrance gate which is the symbol of an owl to the music of the Ainu language, from the street filled with twinkling lights where the wooden houses are to the traditional handicrafts carved with exquisite carvings. Most surprisingly, there is also a lovely Ghibli Studio goods shop that attracts any tourist.
Unfortunately, the Ainu only appear during festivals. On normal days, they work diligently in their own workshops. The shops in the village are all run by pure Japanese people, so I have not had the chance to meet them in person. But I think that is the reason why I will soon return to Kushiro, to Lake Akanko, and see the crane dances of this special people, in the nearest winter.
