The Shiretoko Peninsula on the north east tip of Hokkaido, the northernmost Japanese island, is designated a World Natural Heritage Site. The narrow spit of land that juts out into the Sea of Okhotsk is home to a huge variety of wildlife while the surrounding waters provide some of the world’s best whale watching.
Sadly an incoming typhoon put paid to our chances of a boat trip to look for whales but our day driving around the peninsula offered plenty of rewarding sights. I’ll leave this as a picture post for now and will write up the details of our visit to the park in the coming weeks. It is enough to say that in almost any other part of the world Shiretoko would attract hundreds of thousands of visitors, such are the natural attractions on offer. Here in this remote region of Japan, apart from a modest flow of domestic tourists the area remains relatively untouched.
Early morning photographers at Oshinkoshin Falls
Shiretoko Five Lakes - we were given strict bear warnings before setting out
Shiretoko Five Lakes - another popular photo stop
Shiretoko Five Lakes - Elevated Boardwalk
Fox in Shiretoko National Park - he didn't seem bothered at all by our car
This deer in Shiretoko National Park casually crossed the road in front of us
Climbing Kamuiwakka Falls, Shiretoko - the water pours from a hot spring above
Kamuiwakka Falls, Shiretoko - a lovely climb through water that got warmer the higher we went
Shiretoko is one of Japan's last wilderness areas (if you ignore the coaches of tourists passing through)
Rausu on the east coast of Shiretoko Peninsula - a great place for whale watching (so they say)
Geyser near Rausu town in Shiretoko - erupts roughly once an hour (maybe less punctual than a Japanese train though)
Driving through the clouds - Crossing the Shiretoko Pass
