The Kushiro River flows out of Lake Kussharo in far eastern Hokkaido, about six hours drive east of Sapporo City. For this full four-day journey down the river’s entire length, the put-in is on Lake Kussharo. Options on the lake shore abound. We chose to camp the night before the first day at the Wakoto Campground about 5km northwest of the head of the river around the lake – there’s a canoe port in the campground. Greg said he and Mari have stashed canoe and gear at Ike-no-yu, about 5km north of the river. They stayed in Kawayu Onsen the night before their trip down the river. Either way, if you’ve only got one car, the shuttle will involved both taxi and Japan Rail train. For us, this meant the following steps:

Drive to Wakoto Campground on Lake Kussharo, drop gear and canoe. Drive to the take-out point at the coast. Walk or take a taxi 2.5km from take-out point to Kushiro JR Train station. Catch the train from Kushiro JR Station to either Mashu JR Station or Biruwa JR Station. Get a taxi to Wakoto Campground from either Mashu JR Station (5,500yen – taxis waiting at station) or Biruwa JR Station (4,500yen – need to call for a taxi in Japanese in advance).

Naturally, if you’re traveling with a packraft or folding canoe, then you can just do steps four and five, and then step three at the end of the trip.