Shiretoko National Park

From the day I first started reading about Hokkaido, Shiretoko was a dream destination. This summer gave me a chance to make that dream a reality. Shiretoko is about 580km from our home in Niseko. Our plan was to start early in the Friday morning and drive all the way throughout the day and reach the hotel before sunset. The trip was planned a month before with no idea about the weather. Unfortunately, it turns out to be very bad.

 

Lake Akan and Lake Mashu

We started from Kutchan at about 6 am. Rain was continuous from the beginning. It was about 2pm when we arrived Lake Akan. There is a paid parking lot where you can park the car and walk to see the Lake and Bokke mud pools. With the rain it was not possible to take the walk to see mud pool. We drove towards the lake to take a glimpse of misty lake, had our lunch and continued towards Shari. Lake Mashu is widely regarded as one of the clearest lakes in the whole world and obviously one of the most beautiful in Japan if not in the world. Because the lake is a short detour on the way to Shari we decided to try our luck there even it was evident that we will not get a chance with the heavy mist. The road towards the lake was narrow with sharp bends with a posted speed limit of 30kmh. The mist was so heavy that we cannot see more than a few meters.  After about twenty or thirty minutes of driving through the mist we arrived the first observation platform of Lake Mashu. Usually you need to buy a ticket to enter the parking lot, which also allows you to enter the nearby Iozan parking lot. But because of the continuing rain no one was at the ticket gate. We parked the car in the deserted parking lot and walked to the observation platform hoping to get a sight. We had a glimpse, but obviously not enough to confirm any claims to be the clearest or most beautiful lake. Again nature was against us and prevent us from enjoying its serene beauty. But we determined to have another try on our way back from Shiretoko on Sunday.

Oshinkoshin Falls

The rain reduced to a drizzle as we were nearing Shari. From Shari to Utoro the road mostly ran along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. There was about 37 km to Utoro and there were no any gas station for the whole distance. After about 30min of drive we reached the spectacular Oshinkoshin Falls, which was just next to the main road. With the heavy rain during the day, fall was furiously flowing down exploding with water. Even walking was a bit difficult with heavy winds which tried to push us sideways. We spent about 15 minutes enjoying the serene beauty of the waterfall and continue to the hotel which was only a five minutes drive from the waterfall.

Utoro

The hotel was a small but nice one next to the harbor. The scenery was bit obstructed by some ongoing construction works in the harbor, which I thought should be a Breakwater. With the heavy winds I had some doubts about the boat tour which we had booked for the next morning. So I had a look at their website and got to know that all the tours were cancelled for that day because of the bad weather. But the next day weather forecast forecasted a moderate wind speed. We had to hope for the best.

Next morning weather was a bit better. Sky was cloudy but there was no rain. A little rain was forecasted later in the day. But fortunately the wind was not too much for the boat ride. Our departure time was 9.30. But we left the hotel just after the breakfast and was at the tour office by 8.30 am. After checking in we were asked to be there by 9.15am which gave us about 45 minutes to idle. So we strolled towards the harbor.

Oronko Rock

There was a huge rock about 60 meters high near the harbor. A tunnel dug under this rock which take us to the dock. There was a parking lot close to the dock for the Aurora cruise ship customers. The ship was docked there and was loading for the morning cruise. We were walking in the area and by chance noticed that there are steps leading to the top of the rock. With only few minutes to the cruise, we hurried towards the steps hoping to climb to the top. We were surprised that we didn't read anywhere that there was stairs to climb to the top of the rock. Steps were wooden and it was an easy climb. There were hundreds of seagulls all over posing nicely for pictures. From the top, on one side there was a nice view of Utoro Harbour and the Sea of Okhotsk. Most of the peaks of Shiretoko mountains were covered with mist. Even in June, still there was snow on the mountains. A road can be seen winding through the mountains towards five lakes. We spent about 15 minutes enjoying the scenery before start descending and walking back to the tour office to join the boat ride. When we were on the way we met the group on their way to the boat and we joined them.

Shiretoko boat tour

The boat was about 40 feet long. We decided to choose a smaller boat against larger Aurora ship because it allows to go closer to the shores giving better chances of a bear sighting. On the other hand Aurora ship is bigger and should be more stable and a pleasant ride, especially if you are worried about sea sickness. The sea was rough on the day and the medicine for sea sick was also available in the tour office.

After riding quickly for about 10 minutes boat drove close to the shore. All along the shoreline was cliffs about hundred feet tall. There were bizarre carvings of various shapes on the rock the rock faces. And also there were caves of various sizes and shapes most probably formed by the erosion caused by sea waves and wind. Everything was explained in Japanese by a tour guide which unfortunately I couldn't understand much. The sea was rough as predicted and the wind was strong. There were several waterfalls falling to the sea form top of the cliffs. Two were large and much beautiful which I thought should be Furepe falls and Yunohana Falls. Because of the continuous rains during the week there were lots of waterfalls formed.

We were riding about 800m from the shore when the boat suddenly turned towards the shore. There were bears on the shore. When the boat closed slowly, fist we saw a black thing slightly moving on a bank among the trees. As we get closer it turned out to be a bear. There were two cubs close by. The boat stopped keeping a distance of about 200m which didn't give us a chance to take a clear photo with our smaller lances.

We got to know that Shiretoko was inhabited years ago. There was an iron bridge and some signs of settlements on the shore. Kamuiwakka falls was bursting with water. Without any further bear sightings we reached the Shiretoko cape. There was a lighthouse on the cape. The cape is the furthest point the boat ride goes and it took about 2 hours to reach there. 

On the way back from cape, the boat usually rides far from the shore. But we had some pauses in some places which should be the places known for frequent bear sightings. We were lucky to have seen few more bears reasonably close, but obviously not touching distance. You must carry a binocular if you wish to enjoy a closer look, which unfortunately we didn't have.

Shiretoko Five Lakes

We planned to take the Shiretoko Five Lakes tour expecting to see some bears more closer. In the months in which bear sightings were frequent it is required to take the service of a registered guide to take 3km the walking trail. We booked a guided tour starting at 3pm. Five lakes are about 15km from Utoro. The road was winding through the mountains and was going close to the shore for a few kilometers before moving into the wilderness. There is a chance to see bears along the road if you are very lucky which we were not.

We reached Five Lakes well before 3 pm. There were some souvenir stores and food stalls. Place was filled with tourists. We were provided with boots free of charge because the trail was muddy. There was a introduction by the guide before the tour started. To our great surprise we got to know that tour was not a bear watching tour. Actually the tour would be cancelled if a bear was sighted by on of the groups anywhere close to the trail. And she was proud when saying the they saw a bear 3 days before close to the trail.

With all hopes of seeing a bear close vanished we started the tour. The trail was muddy as expected. First lake was small. The guide was very informative and explained everything from plants, bears and geography along the way. There were about 8 people in the group and the tour was entertaining. Because the sky was cloudy we couldn't see the spectacular reflection of the snowy peaks through the water clearly as we should have seen on a clear day. To have the most spectacular views one should take the tour on a clear sunny day.

We didn't see any bears or any other animals along the trail. But there were signs of recent bear activity all along. We saw huge rocks thrown by a nearby volcano when it erupted years ago. Final part of the trail in on the wooden elevated path which is fortified with an electric fence to prevent a bear attack. This part of the trail is free for anyone and also wheelchair accessible. Forest in this area had been cleared some time ago for farming. We saw the efforts of reforestation. There were wind breakers protecting plants, trees from the strong winds form the Sea of Okhotsk. The scenery was picturesque with Shiretoko range in one side and miles of Sea of Okhotsk on the other side.

It was about 5pm when we came back to the visitor centre. We decided to take the road towards Kamuiwakka falls to have a look. From the visitor centre to Kamuiwakka is a gravel road of about 11km. We were lucky to see lots of wild animals including Deers and Foxes along the way. Both sides of the road were thick forest and time to time on bends there were spectacular views of the Sea of Okhotsk. We drove up to the end of the road and turned back after spending some time near the stream. It was dark when we were coming back and there were potholes on the gravel road which were difficult to see in the dark made the dive bit challenging.

Shiretoko Pass

Next morning we decided to take the Shiretoko pass road to Rusu on our way back to Niseko. There was a thick mist when we were driving through the pass preventing us enjoying the scenery. Rain started falling when we reached Rusu. But we badly wanted to try our luck again with Lake Mashu and Iozan. So we continued towards Lake Mashu instead of driving directly to Kushiro.

Iozan

This time rain was stopped when we were getting close to Lake Mashu and there was no mist. We thought we were going to enjoy the scenery this time. But as we were driving up on the winding road a heavy mist rolled in covering everything. We couldn't see more than a few feet in front of the road. Somehow we reached the parking lot. We were glad to see at least a few vehicles in the parking lot and this time we had to buy tickets also just to see a thick wall of mist instead of the clearest lake in the world. We just had a glance and started towards Iozan which was less than 30 minutes drive.

As we drove down the mist was vanished. The ticket of the Lake Mashu parking lot is also valid for the Iozan parking lot. Parking was filled with tour busses and private vehicles. We walked towards smoking fountains. The whole area was covered with a thick smoke and a harsh rotten egg odor. There were hundreds of fountains with bubbling and emitting steam. The rate of steam changed time to time. There was Sulfur everywhere, giving a yellow color to the mountain. There were some souvenir shops and food stalls. We had something for lunch and continue our journey towards Kushiro.

Kushiro City Marsh Observatory

It was about 2 pm when we reach Kushiro. We stopped at the Marsh Observatory and bought a ticket to climb to the top. From the top the view was spectacular, extending miles in every direction. In the east there was Kushiro town and then the vast North Pacific Ocean. There were some interactive exhibits explaining the biodiversity of the ecosystem. There is a also a walking trail connecting to the Kushiro Shitsugen View Point where you can enjoy a nice view of the Marsh. After visiting the Marsh observatory we continued our journey back home. There were speed camera close to most of the major cities. But there are clear yellow signs with Japanese letters before the cameras which helps you to avoid getting caught for speeding.


Useful Links

Places to stay

• Hotels in Shiretoko
• Hotels in Kushiro
• Hotels in Lake Akan and Lake Mashu

Shiretoko Boat Tour Reservation

• Aurora Cruise Ship Reservation
• Boat Tour Reservation

Shiretoko Five Lakes Guided Tour Reservation

• https://www.goko.go.jp/fivelakes/
• http://www.jinendo.net/