Use the Pirika sightseeing bus by Akhan Bus to tour the Three Great Lakes of Eastern Hokkaido in one day

Text and photos byKavanah

The Three Great Lakes of Eastern Hokkaido — Lake Mashu, Lake Akan, and Lake Kussharo — are famous sightseeing spots in the region. However, these three locations are quite far apart from each other. Most people visiting Eastern Hokkaido travel by car, but for those who don’t drive, like me, who often travel alone, driving can be inconvenient or not cost-effective. As a result, visiting all three lakes has been quite challenging. Originally, I had planned to stay one night each in Kushiro and Lake Mashu, taking buses from the station to visit both Lake Mashu and Lake Akan. Due to the limited bus schedules, visiting both lakes would have taken about two days. Since it required too much time, I was almost ready to give up on visiting one of the lakes. Fortunately, while searching online for Akhan Bus schedules, I discovered that they offer a tour that covers all three lakes in Eastern Hokkaido — today’s featured “Pirika” bus.

The “Pirika” is a sightseeing bus operated by Akhan Bus. By making an online reservation in advance (reservation page:http://www.akanbus.co.jp/sightse/s001.html), you can ride the “Pirika” on specified dates to visit major tourist spots across Eastern Hokkaido. First, it's important to note that the “Pirika” does not operate every day. Its main service period is from April to the end of October each year. The operation schedule for this year is as follows:

First run in 2014: April 26 (Sat) – May 6 (Tue)
Only weekends: May 10 (Sat) – May 31 (Sat)
Then runs daily: June 1 (Sun) – October 26 (Sun)
For fares, if you depart from and return to within Kushiro City, it costs 4,600 yen.

(This image is from the Akhan Bus webpage:http://www.akanbus.co.jp/sightse/s001.html)
) The “Pirika” bus journey takes 8 hours and 55 minutes, covering major sightseeing spots in Eastern Hokkaido such as the Three Great Lakes and Mount Iou, making it a very convenient sightseeing bus.

(This image is from the Akhan Bus webpage:http://www.akanbus.co.jp/sightse/s001.html)
) The route of the “Pirika” bus —

(This image is from the Akhan Bus webpage:http://www.akanbus.co.jp/sightse/s001.html)
) Reservation form (reservation page:http://www.akanbus.co.jp/sightse/s001.html). It’s quite easy — just select your travel date and boarding points, then fill in basic information and your hotel details.

On the day of travel, first go to the Kushiro Station Front Bus Center to check in and pay. The bus center is located right downstairs from SUPER HOTEL Kushiro Ekimae.

When checking in, tell the staff your name, pay the fare, and you’ll receive your ticket along with tourism brochures for Eastern Hokkaido and Kushiro.

Then head to the designated bus stop — Stop No. 15 — and wait. After 10 minutes, the “Pirika” arrived.

After ticket verification, we got on the bus. There were no assigned seats, so seating was free.

Once on board, the bus staff provided commentary along the way (she was amazing — there was no pause during the outbound trip, talking non-stop for about four hours!). This is the Kushiro Marshland Hokkaido Observatory we passed along the way, though we didn’t stop here and could only enjoy the view from inside the bus. I found that a bit disappointing. Honestly, even a short stop would’ve been great. Passing by the Kushiro Marshland without stopping was really a shame.

We also passed by the Tsuruoka Crane Sanctuary in Kushiro City.

The first stop: Lake Mashu’s First Observation Deck.

They say Lake Mashu is often shrouded in clouds, making it hard to see its full beauty. But the weather was great that day, and we could clearly admire the stunning scenery of Lake Mashu.

Lake Mashu is a crater lake formed by a volcanic eruption 7,000 years ago. With a circumference of 20 km and a maximum depth of 212 meters, it’s known for its frequent fog. Legend says that people who never get to see the lake without fog (like on a clear day like this) may suffer bad luck. Online sources say you might “experience a delayed marriage,” “break up with your lover if you see a clear Lake Mashu together,” or “fail to achieve success”...... I suspect this is some kind of curse placed by someone who kept coming but never saw the lake clearly.

The small island in the middle of Lake Mashu is called Kamuishu Island, which means “old woman who turned into a god” in the Ainu language. Actually, this island is the top of a volcano about 240 meters high, which was submerged, leaving only about 30 meters above the water surface.

In a 1931 survey, Lake Mashu surpassed Lake Baikal to become the clearest lake in the world, but later fish farming experiments reduced its water clarity. Even so, Lake Mashu’s transparency remains among the best in the world.

The background looks almost fake.

Then we got off the bus and took another ride to our next destination: Mt. Usu.

Mt. Usu is an active volcano, called “Atosanupuri” in Ainu, which means “bare mountain.”

Coming here gives you a feeling similar to that of Yangmingshan’s Little Oil Pit.

The next stop was Lake Kussharo, the largest caldera lake in Japan, which has legends of a giant creature called “KUSSI” roaming around.
The Legend of KUSSI (information from the Akan Tourism Association)http://www.lake-akan.com/zh-tw/eastern/kussharo/index.html):
KUSSI is an unidentified mysterious animal (UMA) that has been sighted and testified since 1973 at Lake Kussharo. It is named after the famous Nessie, which is said to inhabit Loch Ness in England. The first sighting was in the summer of 1973 by about 40 middle school students on a school trip. Later, in 1988, a man who tried to approach it in a motorboat reported that “KUSSI’s back looked black like a dolphin.” In 1990, photos of ripples on the lake surface were taken, and it was also captured by TV cameras, but its true identity remains unknown. Locally, there are legends of deer being swallowed whole by a monster in the lake, and in Ainu mythology, there are tales of a giant snake living in the lake, all pointing to its connection with KUSSI.

Because Lake Kussharo is located in a volcanic crater, it has a unique feature — if you dig down into the sand by the lakeshore, hot springs will gush out, known as “sand baths.”

Our final destination was Lake Akan, famous for its marimo (green algae balls), and a must-visit spot for Taiwanese tour groups coming to Hokkaido.

To be honest, I found Lake Akan to be pretty ordinary — didn’t think it was particularly beautiful.

The wooden sculpture shop street by Lake Akan.

Japan’s most “suggestive” mascot: the erect marimo character — its image is based on Lake Akan’s famous green algae balls.

We spent quite a long time at Lake Akan, about two hours. The itinerary suggested soaking in the hot springs here (Akan Hot Springs is quite famous), but the weather was so hot that day — I had zero desire to soak in hot springs. So I just wandered around until about 3 PM, when I finally got on the “Pirika-go” at the designated meeting point.
For those who don’t have a car, I think taking the “Pirika-go” to tour eastern Hokkaido is a very convenient option.

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