An intrepid journey covering the three National Parks in Eastern Hokkaido. Experience the best of our outdoors, wildlife & culture on this multi-day guided hiking, canoeing & wildlife tour.
Hokkaido’s far east region is often described as the last unexplored frontier of Japan. The area is an ideal place to get in touch with mother nature and observe the flora and fauna unique to Hokkaido.
On this tour, we travel through all three National Parks found in eastern Hokkaido; the marshy Kushiro Shitsugen Wetland national park, Akan–Mashu - home to caldera lakes - and the wild Shiretoko Peninsula. The latter is also designated as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.
During the journey, we will also introduce you to local treasures, including the cuisine enjoyed by local fishermen and the culture of Hokkaido's indigenous Ainu people, who have lived here in harmony with nature, surviving as hunter-gatherers, long before Japanese colonists arrived.
Visit Kushiro-Shitsugen National Park - home to the Red-crowned Crane, Akan–Mashu National Park - a land of lakes and volcanos, and Shiretoko National Park - a wild peninsula with a unique ecosystem.
Taking to the sea is the best way to search for wildlife that calls the Shiretoko National Park home.
The calm caldera lakes of Lake Akan and Lake Kussharo stand in stark contrast to their violent formation. We can still see volcanic activity in the area now.
Meet local Ainu and learn first hand how they use their knowledge of Hokkaido's flora passed down over generations.
We will meet at Kushiro Station at 1:30pm. After the group gathers in Kushiro city, we’ll set off to our first destination, Cape Kiritappu. Journey time is about 1.5 hours.
After we reach Kiritappu, we’ll have the option to head to the nearby cape where we will see if we can catch sight of Sea Otters floating on the waves below. We’ll enjoy a group meal in Nemuro this evening.
Today we have an easy morning as we’ll take a short drive inland towards Lake Furen for canoeing on Bettoga River. After we enjoy canoeing, we’ll enjoy a local lunch before heading over to Shunkunitai sand dunes and the brackish lake, Lake Furen, both part of the Ramsar Convention, a 20 min drive away. We will return to Nemuro for dinner at leisure.
After breakfast, we will head to Rausu on the eastern side of the Shiretoko Peninsula. Enroute, we will stop off at Pogawa Historical Grassland.
When we reach Rausu, we’ll head to port to board a whale-watching cruise. The ocean on this side of the Shiretoko Peninsula is home to marine mammals such as Sperm Whales and Dall’s Porpoises.
Back on dry land we will head to an informative visitor centre in Rausu where we’ll be able to learn more about the region’s fascinating ecosystem before dinner at our accommodation tonight.
This morning we will board a small boat, from which we may spot Brown Bears searching for food along the water's edge or high up on the cliffs. After our cruise is finished, we will return to Rausu for lunch. After lunch, we will take a short 1km return walk through the forest by the visitor centre we visited yesterday to either Kumagoe Waterfall or take a dip in Kumanoyu Hot Springs.
We'll then head through the Shiretoko Pass to Utoro and head to Furepe Waterfall, where we can enjoy a short, 2km walking course through the heart of Shiretoko grasslands to a viewpoint where you can look out over the falls from above. On the way we may see local wildlife like Japanese Deer and various species of birds.
Surrounded by the Sea of Okhotsk, most of the Shiretoko Peninsula has been preserved as a National Park since 1964 and was also designated as a Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005. Aside from its two urban areas, Utoro and Rausu, the rest of the peninsula remains untouched and is a habitat for wildlife, such as Brown Bears, Japanese Deer, Red Foxes and Eurasian Red Squirrels.
This morning, we will walk amongst the Shiretoko Five Lakes. The area is home to a large population of brown bears. We will aim to complete the entire walkway and to visit all five of the lakes, unless the walkway is closed due to a bear sighting on the trail.
In the afternoon you are free to explore the town of Utoro, or relax in your hotel.
After breakfast, we travel on to Kawayu Onsen. We will hike to Mt. Io, a young and active volcano, on an easy 2.5 km trail from Kawayu village.
Returning from the hike, we’ll spend a little time at the nearby Visitor Centre before we return to our vehicle and head for the starting point of our canoeing adventure on the Kushiro River, which feeds into the Kushiro Wetlands. We will jump on our Canadian canoes on the shores of Lake Kussharo and start floating leisurely down the pristine waters until we reach the Biruwa Bridge. This area is a habitat for wild birds, including the Grey Heron and Crested Kingfisher, which are occasionally seen while paddling down the river.
After breakfast, we’ll drive to Lake Akan where we will meet up with a local Ainu guide who will tell us folklore stories and explain the culture and customs of Ainu as we walk through the woods before being treated to an Ainu lunch at a local cafe. The Ainu worship wildlife and it is enlightening to learn about how they have lived in harmony with nature for centuries.
In the afternoon, depending on the group's interests, we can enjoy a leisurely walk to bokke, a spot where we can see the bubbling mud on the shore of Lake Akan. After our walk, we dive head first into Ainu culture at a performance at the Lake Akan Ainu Kotan. This modern performance, created with much thought and discussion by the local community, will introduce viewers to urespa mosir, or “the land of nurturing”. It tells the story through a fox moving between the world of humans and the kamuy, sacred Ainu spirits.
On our last full day, we will take this opportunity to explore the beautiful Kushiro-Shitsugen National Park. We’ll begin by heading to Cape Kirakotan after breakfast, where we will receive special permission to enter this protected marshland. We'll enjoy a beautiful 5km walk to the tip of the cape. Along the way, we may see deer and, of course, the graceful Red-crowned Crane.
We’ll then drive to the nearby village of Tsurui to enjoy a local lunch before heading to our next destination, Onnenai. We’ll stop by an informative visitor centre to learn more about Kushiro-Shitsugen National Park before we head out to enjoy a walking course. There are several course options, from 0.5km up to 3km, and we will choose one based on the weather and the group’s preferences on the day. There are a number of beautiful wildflowers that you can enjoy along the way in spring and summer and in autumn, the marsh is ablaze in beautiful colours.
Tonight, we’ll enjoy a group meal to celebrate the end of our tour and reflect on all we’ve achieved.
We will say goodbye to our hosts and then drive 45 mins to Kushiro City to complete the tour. We can drop you off at either Kushiro Airport from around 9:00 am or Kushiro Station at 9:30 am at the earliest.
“One of our favourite ever travel experiences.”
We can highly recommend the 9 Day Wildlife & Adventure tour for people with an interest in seeing the natural environment of Hokkaido. We were delighted to see bears, sea otters and sperm whales and an abundance of cranes flying overhead at both sunset and early morning. As well as a range of birds, chipmunks, deer and squirrels. Our guides Richard and Yuka were excellent, and we appreciated their local knowledge, enthusiasm and genuine interest in ensuring that all members of the tour had an enjoyable time. The tour logistics were faultless and allowed plenty of time at each stop for wildlife spotting and leisurely walking. We enjoyed the local hotels and varied fresh local food and were grateful that the guides were able to adapt our itinerary and reschedule our cruise when bad weather occurred. One of our favourite ever travel experiences.
This tour includes a series of active experiences that while easygoing will still allow you to experience the great outdoors and work up a bit of a sweat! Although not as active as some of our other tours, you will still need to make sure you have the right clothes and footwear to deal with possible changes in the elements and several hours on your feet. Your luggage will stay in our van, freeing you up to enjoy the day’s adventure with only a light day pack. There is also a focus on the region’s wildlife and you will have multiple chances to catch a glimpse at some of Hokkaido’s incredible creatures.