A pair of canoers take on one of the fastest-flowing streams in Hokkaido Prefecture to feast their eyes on a valley adorned with autumn leaves. It's a paddler's delight to enjoy splendid views from their canoe!
Rough rapids from recent autumn rains.
Today, we ride some of the best rapids in Hokkaido
by Canadian canoe.
Our goal is the vibrant autumn leaves in the gorge,
a wonderful view only accessible from a canoe.
Beautiful.
It feels great!
Join us for a thrilling ride!
Wild Hokkaido!
The Hidaka Mountain Range stretches south from central Hokkaido.
The Saru River flows from this mountain range
and empties into the Pacific Ocean.
It is 104 kilometers long.
Riding this river are veteran canoers who live in Hokkaido,
Greg Bruyere and his wife Mari.
These two have ridden the rivers of Hokkaido for over 10 years.
This is their fourth time down the Saru River.
Looks like we're dealing with a little bit of low water here today, Mari.
You can see... You know, the water's quite clear,
so you can see the rocks.
- Yeah.
- Anywhere there's a white wave,
it's going to be a rock. So the key today is to
look for the green tongues and the deep channels.
And it's going to be a technical run today.
It's going to be a fun day, I think.
I'm a little nervous about this.
The couple will travel for roughly 10 kilometers about halfway down the river.
The many rapids and drops make this a course even experts find challenging.
They're headed to a prime spot to enjoy the autumn colors
in the Saru River Gorge.
There is a chance their canoe could capsize,
so they check their gear carefully.
A very important piece of equipment today is rope.
One little knot here,
and if I pull it,
it all comes out.
So then I can swim to shore
and pendulum the canoe into shore.
So it's kind of our
little safety feature that we use on the river.
Well, let's have a good day.
Looks like they're ready to go.
It's the middle of October, and today's low was 8 degrees Celsius.
Here we go!
Greg sits in the back.
Let's go!
To handle this large Canadian canoe,
it's important that they both know what the other is thinking.
When we're reading a rapid, especially in low water conditions,
we're always looking for the deepest channels.
Because otherwise we're just going to get stuck or hit a rock.
It is important for the person in front to dodge the rocks.
I am always on the lookout for rocks and paddle to avoid them.
Fallen trees like this one are especially difficult to see.
Using their best judgement, they focus on proceeding along the safest route.
Perfect.
- The old gate.
- Canyon!
Welcome to the canyon!
They paddle through a natural gateway of giant rocks.
And from now they enter the gorge.
The autumn leaves have come into view.
But before they get into the excitement, they step ashore.
Because of the many rapids and drops
on this mid-stream stretch of the Saru River,
they must be more careful than usual to choose the best routes.
They hold a strategy meeting.
Right, so we want to be on the left side, work our way to the right.
Once we come around that corner, we want to go right down the middle.
We want to aim for that...
the middle of that little drop, basically.
Okay.
White waves mean there are rocks hiding underneath the currents.
They avoid these areas as they proceed.
Yeah, give me a good draw.
This is their first challenge of the day.
Nice!
- Nice one, Mari!
- Nice!
Beautiful! Let's see how they did it.
With quick motions, Mari uses her paddle to maintain their forward course.
Meanwhile, Greg steers hard to change the direction of the canoe.
- We did it! Yay!
- Nice!
They bail the water that has collected out of their canoe.
If they don't, they risk it tilting.
After all the excitement, they enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet.
This feels wonderful!
Autumn is great here... with the colorful leaves.
Now for the "SENSEI's TIP!"
Greg and Mari love to use their canoe.
But have you ever wondered how they get around
when they're not in their canoe?
Normally, if you park at the starting point,
you'll have to catch a ride with a friend
or guide to get back to your car,
which requires more than one car.
But what do Greg and Mari do?
Either use some type of public transportation.
Either a taxi or a bus or train.
They drop their canoe off at the starting point,
then drive their car to the end of the line and park it there.
Then they catch a bus or train back to the starting point.
The people of Hokkaido live in close proximity to their natural environment.
Quite often, the roads follow the course of the rivers.
Remember when we rode the train out east near Kushiro?
The bus was packed full of high school kids, and Mari and I in our river gear.
It's pretty funny. But nobody cares.
Sometimes, these two will paddle down the river twice in one day.
Be sure to make the most of your available transport.
Paddling down the Saru River in autumn.
They've arrived at the most difficult spot on the Saru River,
the three drops at the Mitsuoka Bridge area.
They conquer the first drop by slipping over the underwater boulders.
At the second drop, they must zigzag between jagged rocks
and avoid the huge boulders awaiting them.
If the water is too high or too low,
these three drops are impossible to maneuver a canoe through.
The conditions today look good as they make their first attempt.
And we're looking for that pocket.
Looking for that pocket!
First drop cleared!
- Okay, you see that rock?
- Yeah!
- Just next to it, keep driving forward.
- Okay.
They straighten up and head for the second drop.
That's it! Good!
Perfect.
Nice!
They squeak by the large boulder and clear the second drop!
I read that line right!
Give me a high five on that one!
Nice!
Let's have another look at that.
They slid cleanly over that large rock.
At the second drop, they passed right between the rocks with no trouble.
Watch how they handle their paddles.
Can you see how they keep the canoe delicately balanced
using a light touch?
This couple is amazingly in sync!
Now they are ready to face the third drop.
First, they do a preview.
Oh, wow!
That's when the water is higher. People go over the rock.
This water, we hit that, we're over in two seconds.
That's nasty!
It's scary.
Yeah, the water is coming this way.
As soon as you hit that, boom! Over you go.
No, not today.
That is a nasty drop.
Number one, we don't want to get hurt.
Number two, we don't want to hurt our canoe,
because then I have to fix it!
They decide to bypass the third drop and go on foot.
They will save that conquest for their next trip.
After passing the famous Mitsuoka Bridge on the Saru River,
they've come to the halfway point of their journey.
It's time for lunch.
They've brought various kinds of dips
that they eat on Japanese rice crackers.
They like that these crackers are crunchy and last a long time.
It's delicious!
Canoeing as a couple.
They say this time spent together is invaluable.
Greg always says, "Couples that play together stay together."
While recognizing that we each have things we like to do,
we value the time we can spend together, like this.
You know, canoeing for us is just another tool
to get into the wilderness and to get outside
and enjoy each other's company.
I mean, it's fun, it's challenging.
The drive to the river is always beautiful, especially in the fall.
Yeah, it's a great sport.
We really enjoy doing it together.
About 6 kilometers from their start,
they are surrounded by steep, 20-meter-high cliffs.
This is the beautiful spot they came all this way to see.
Notice the reflections on the water. So beautiful.
There's a nice reflection.
In Japan, the beautiful sight of autumn leaves
is referred to as "kinshuu," which means "tapestry of colors."
The grand vistas of these canyons are a privilege reserved for canoers.
Looks like they've found something.
A dipper. Oh, it stepped right there. Hello.
- Hello!
- Hello dipper-san!
Look how close we are to it.
Hello, dipper!
It seems to be singing on a stage.
Even for the wild birds,
perhaps autumn is a time for respite before the harsh winter.
These two love autumn on the Saru River,
and they are nearing the end of their thrilling ride.
- And that's that!
- We're here!
Nice. Good job today.
That was so much fun.
- We did it!
- Good job.
Awesome day today.
So much fun.
What a view to end our ride with!
That's a beautiful take out, that's for sure.
From the start I was nervous and excited and had to really concentrate.
It all made me feel so alive! It was so much fun.
I made no mistakes reading the lines all the way down, so it felt great.
Hidaka is a really wild part of Hokkaido,
and there's some fantastic rivers to paddle here.
You know, you get a feeling of remoteness,
and you get a real feeling of being in the wilderness
in this part of Hokkaido. So,
yeah, we love it here.
Wild Hokkaido! takes you on great activities
in the great outdoors of northern Japan.
Join us next time for another adventure!