Kushiro in February

Hello,

I would like to see the cranes and have a canoe tour in Kushiro next February, but I have some problems to find the best way to reach the sanctuary.

As Raina Ong says here: https://www.japan-guide.com/blog/far-flung/180206.html she rented a car: is this the best way? Are the road cleared after snow in Japan? Last February I was in Yamagata and Akita prefectures and roads were not cleared.

I was thinking about taking an internal flight from Sapporo to Kushiro airport, and then?

Thanks

http://www.akanbus.co.jp/foreign/en/sightse/w02/

I'm planning to go to Kushiro in February as well. I will fly from Sapporo to Kushiro and take the bus tour as described in the above link (it's from a year or so ago). I am not familiar with the canoe tour. I'm hoping to ride the steam engine train as well. :)

Enjoy!

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6792.html#section_get_there

I would recommend using one of the Akan bus tours if travelling in February. They are not expensive at all. Buses are very infrequent and not tourist friendly in terms of bus stops, timings etc. and I saw many tourists waiting around in the cold once they�fve finished their visit. Its scheduled for local transportation primarily.

I was there in March 2018 and rented a car from Kushiro. Most of the snow had melted by mid March that year. And hardly any cranes as well.

Re yr canoe tour: will the company collect you from your hotel? Some do, so worth checking.

We took a day tour from Kushiro Bus terminal which is virtually next to the Kushiro station. I made a reservation just hour before the departure. The bus was not full then, the tour took us to several different places, the main one being the crane centre.

Thanks for your answers!

From the airport to the town is there any bus in February?