Full Day Private Tour of the Akan Lakes from Kushiro

What a great tour! My tour guide was waiting for me with a sign when I got off the plane (which was delayed about 20 minutes). We went to the crane center where I could photograph the endangered Tancho, red-cranes cranes..., and visit the center. My guide Inoue-San, was so professional, patient and an excellent driver on the snowy mountain roads. We visited Lake Akan, the beautiful caldera Lake Mashu and also Lake Kussharo, with wintering wild Whooper Swans along the shore. We also stopped to see steaming sulfur springs coming out of the bottom of a mountain, another wild crane viewing spot and the overlook of Kushiro Marsh. I was so happy I booked this tour, seeing the Tancho fulfilled a Bucket List item for me and the beautiful lakes and wild swans were icing on the cake. Thank you for such wonderful memories!

Do not be turned away by the high price of this tour. Afterall, it is a PRIVATE taxi in Japan and such price is definitely expected. Our driver, Mr. Ishida, who was waiting for us at the lobby very early before the tour ...starts, was extremely polite and helpful despite his limited English. He had a booklet with key English phrases that made communication a breeze. The highlights for me were Iozan (the volcano) and of course the Japanese (Tancho) Crane Reserve but the rest of the stops provided amazing scenery as well (Shitsugen Observatory, Lake Masshu, and Kasshuru Lake). We had to skip on Lake Akan because the Crane Reserve closes at 4 PM due to the early sunset in winter. Highly recommended if you are in Kushiro especially in the winter when bus tours are limited to none.

Thoroughly enjoyed this day trip. Our driver arrived at our hotel early to pick us up and was utterly charming and helpful throughout the trip. He had a translation phone app which allowed him to communicate what we woul...d be doing, i.e which places to visit, and when we would be having lunch etc. He suggested changing the schedule slightly which was fine with us, as the weather wasn't very good. We squeezed lots of activities into the day and it was a great opportunity to get out into the beautiful Hokkaido countryside. We particularly enjoyed the visit to the crane centre. Thank you very much.