> The Ultimate Hike through Shiretoko
Access to the site : Buses and trains are quite unfrequent. Difficulty level : medium on the first day, hard on the second. Path : well marked path. Can turn very steep (climbing), and less visible in cas of fog. Departure point : Iwaubetsu onsen. Arrival point : Kamuiwakka no taki. Duration : 2 days : 4 to 5 hours on day 1, 7 to 8 hours on day 2. Landscape : awesome. Mountains, Okhotsk Sea, Pacific Ocean, Kunashiri island... What if it rains ? : the first day becomes sleepy and muddy. The second day becomes extremely hard and dangerous Season : From mid-July till end of August. Map : Yama-to-Kôgen (n°1), Shôbunsha : Shiretoko, Rishiri-tô and Rebun-tô. Attention : the risk to bump into bears is REAL. Use the food locker to stock your food and garbage at night. |
As for the first hikes described in this section, this first edition is still quite rough. I'll add a map and name in kanjis as soon as I can.
Access
To get to the trail head,
you need to get to Utoro, a small port on the North side of the peninsula. Utoro is the last inhabited place on this side of
Shiretoko. To get to Utoro, you can take a bus from Shari, a small town at the entrance of the peninsula. Some buses connect Shari with
Iwaubestu onsen and the beginning of the trail. Now the problem is to get to Shari. If you don't have your personal car, it can be
tricky because you can wait a long time between connections. From Abashiri, there are local trains who can arrange this,
but check the time schedule as they can be unfrequent, even during peak season. One good plan is to arrive to Abashiri
by the early morning, and you should be able to be on the trailhead by 9 am. The first day is not so long (4 to 5 hours), so don't
worry if you start your hike late. If you are very concerned with early departure, you can reach Iwaubestu onsen on the previous day,
and sleep at the youth hostel next to the onsen. From Sapporo, there are 4 to 5 bus a day to Abashiri. You can also take a night bus and arrive
by 6 am at Abashiri, and connect with both train and bus to Iwaubestu onsen. To finish, don't forget that the trailhead is
pretty far from Utoro, and you will have to take the bus (the same as the one coming from Shari) to get there.
Food and water
This can be a problem.
The only place you can get food is conbini or supermarket at Utoro. Prepare your food before if you rely on the morning bus to the
trailhead. Bring plenty and don't forget plastic bags for your rubbish. For your water supply, you will have no choice but
to fill your bottles beforehand, or at the first source after the beginning of the trail (1 hour of walk) as there is
no other water source. For two days of intense walk, three liters is a minimum. Above all, don't even think about drinking
the water of any other source you could find on the path as the whole region is contaminated with ecchyconocus parasite.
Camping facilities
A nice camp site is available
in Utoro, just next to an onsen where you can soak your bones after this fantastic hike. Actually you can get a 100 yens
discount at the onsen if you stay at the upper campsite.
On the trail, there is two campsites, well, two small sites delimited with a rope, where you can set your camp. The second one is reachable within
the first day, just add a couple of hours. It would definetely make the second day easier. However don't forget that night can fall
very early, so as the weather can turn quickly to storm after a hot summer day. I strongly recommand to spend the night
on the first campsite, especially if your last night was short (if you came with the night bus from Sapporo for example).
On both campsites you will find food locker where you can stock your provisions AND your garbage. To keep it in the tent is at
your own risk and is strongly not recommended if you don't want to be awaken by bears.
The Hike
The beginning of the hike is
behind Iwaubestu onsen and the Youth Hostel. It is actually the end of the road, and the bus terminus. Don't forget to
sign the register book, indicating your itinerary.
Here is the
beginning of the trail : it first goes through forest following a steep path. Hopefully, with an early departure,
you will breath fresh air.
At the end of the hike, you will have no choice but to catch a bus back to Utoro. Be careful to arrive early enough !
 |
This is an example of the numerous sign you'll see in the beginning of the hike. It gives you some piece of advice in order not to encounter bears. You should walk noisily, with a bell in order to make bears aware of your disturbing presence (bears don't really like surprise). This is especially true in this part of the hike as it crosses the food territory of bears. The ground should be covered with ants and you should start be extremely cautious if you see feces. |
 |
Don't forget to enjoy the landscapes ! This is the Okhotsk Sea seen from the trail. Within the two first hours, you should find two water sources. These are the last points where you can fill your bottle up. If you have an hesitation, don't hesitate to ask before if the water is drinkable or not. |
 |
The trail becomes very steep here. You should be careful at each steps, as the ground can be slippery, due to snow (especially in July), or gravel. |
 |
You will soon arrive to a col, with Rausu-dake on your right (this photo), the path down to Rausu (the small port on the other side of the peninsula) in front of you, and a couple of smaller mountain on the right, with a path crossing them in the middle (col). This is the path you have to follow to reach the campsite, which is just behind these two mountains. You can have a rest here, and decide to climb Rausu-dake (1 hour and a half back). You can leave your backpack here, it will make the climb up easier. |
 |
This is what you can see from the top of Rausu-dake. Weather permitting, you can see Kunashiri, one of the Kuril islands, belonging to Russia but still claimed by Japan. |
 |
After the climb of Rausu-dake, you have to follow the path described earlier, which is going inland Shiretoko. You cannot really lose yourself, as as you have only three path : one is going down Rausu, another is going down back to Iwaubetsu onsen, and the one climbing between the two mountains you can see on the previous photo. The photo here is a view from the col between these two mountains : the camping ground is in this valley. |
 |
Once your camp is set, it leaves you plenty of time to walk around. Don't forget to put your food in the food locker and remember that fire are forbidden in the park. Eventually, you have first choice places to enjoy the sunset over Okhotsk sea. You can also see the five small lakes of Shiretoko-go-ko, just downhill. To my mind, an aerial view is te best way to enjoy these lakes, and it's free here ! |
 |
On the following day, you should leave early because the last bus back to Utoro won't wait for you, and it's 7 to 8 hours of serious hike today. There is only one path to follow now, which is going up quite steeply. In your back, you can see for the last time Rausu-dake. |
 |
After a couple of hours going up and down, you will arrive to the second campsite, next to two pounds. It can appear very gloomy in the mist, as you can see on the picture. |
 |
Sometime you can really wonder wether or not you're in the Scottish Highlands... |
 |
Serious things begin here. The path is becoming steadily steeper and steeper, and more volcanic. The air is charged with sulfur, and you can easily get lost if you don't pay attention to the marks on the path. If it becomes foggy, double check your way on the map, especially around Iô-zan. |
 |
The path goes up these peaks, and it can be vertiginous. Have the greatest caution with the ground, who turns to be very loose scree. |
 |
To get up there, you will have to do some serious climb with both hand ! I would strongly recommend not to climb Iô-zan if it's rainy. Iô-zan is a volcano and having lunch here can be very rewarding after this part of the hike. You'll need some rest before the vertical descent to Kamuiwakka no taki. |
 |
The hike down... This is the hardest part and can be very dangerous if it rains. You can seriously hurt yourself on the rocks. It begins with a steep way down on loose scree and then turn in jumping from rock to rock for around 90 minutes. As you'll get closer to the sea, you will then find that you cannot go further and you'll have to take the deviation, a steep climb up in the forest, and then a descent through small pine trees, walking on roots, bending under branches. This is the time (tiredness) when you can easily twist an anckle, so be extremely careful ! |
 |
This way down is facing the sea, and it almost becomes surrealistic when you get out of the trees, because you realize you are just on the flanck of a volcano ! Sulfur is escaping from the ground, crows and other birds of preys are here, flying over the coastal area and the downhill forest which goes until the sea. |
 |
One last effort and you'll reach the road you can see on this picture. You can also see the river of Kamuiwakka no taki and you could choose to go down directly from here, and reach the top of the river. Be aware this way is not following a path, and can be very dangerous. The regular way goes down through forest and another bear food territory. One you are on the road, walk back for about 500 meters before reaching Kamuiwakka no taki, where you can experience the warmth of a volcanic river. The bus stop is just after the bridge, don't forget it ! |
Kamuiwakka no Taki
You can enjoy
here a volcanic warm water. You must go with your shoes, or rent monk shoes (400 yens), to get in. The water is
at pH 4, and its chemical composition can be dangerous for your eyes or your hair, so don't put your head in the water !
You will also have to wash your wet clothes afterwards, in order to prevent them from an acid attack.
 |
 |
Finally, just enjoy the view, and relax yourself at the onsen back to Utoro : it's actually a rotenburo where you can enjoy a great view on the Okhotsk Sea. The hike is over, it's about 26 km in total... I know, the second day can seem endless sometime, but the landscapes is really worth the effort !
 |