Beware Japanese Bears

熊

The Japanese kanji for bear (kuma) is a useful one to know if you are out hiking in the mountains at this time of year. The sign reads: kuma shutsubotsu chui (lit. "Beware of haunting bears" or a better translation may be "There are bears about.")

Bear attacks are rare in Japan, but they do occur. In September last year, a black bear injured nine people at a highway rest stop in Nyukawa, a small village in northern Gifu Prefecture and caused havoc as it broke into a souvenir shop before it was shot dead by a registered hunter.

The Sankebetsu brown bear incident in Hokkaido in 1915 is Japan's worst bear attack in which a huge brown bear killed seven people over a period of time.

The following site www.davidbjack.com has information on Japanese brown bear attacks in Hokkaido, some of them fatal, and the author's close encounter with our furry friend on one of its "hauntings".


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Rausu Shiretoko Peninsula

羅臼

The small village of Rausu on the south eastern side of the Shiretoko Peninsula has a population of just over 6,000 people and is much quieter than Utoro on the opposite side of the peninsula. Rausu's Konbumachi is famous for konbu, a thick kind of seaweed used in Japanese cooking.

There are a few onsen hotels and a number of smaller minshuku (traditional inns) in Rausu, which also has a campsite.

There are whale watching tours in season departing from the town's fishing port and it's possible to hike to Rausu-dake - a challenging climb.

Tour boats leave from Utoro port to sail up and down the Shiretoko Peninsula.

It is 30km to Utoro on the other coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula through the Shiretoko Pass on the Shiretoko Odan Road when it is open for traffic in the summer months. There are buses all year to Kushiro (3 hours, 30 minutes). Rausu is around 70 km northeast from Nakashibetsu Airport, which has flights to Haneda and Chitose.

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Utoro Hokkaido

ウトロ (宇登呂)

Utoro is the main tourist town and fishing port giving access to Shiretoko National Park on the western coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula.

The town offers some good restaurants right next to the harbor, known for their very fresh seafood including salmon roe, Hokkaido crabs and local sea urchins. There are plenty of traditional minshuku and ryokan in town, many of them with onsen.

The Oronkoiwa Rock behind the harbor gives a good view of the town (see above) and can easily be climbed. There is also a ski slope further in the mountains behind Utoro.

Tour boats leave from Utoro port to sail up and down the Shiretoko Peninsula.

Utoro is connected by bus with JR Shiretoko Shari Station (50 minutes) along National Highway 334 and Memanbetsu Airport (2 hours, 20 minutes). It is 30km to Rausu on the east coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula through the Shiretoko Pass on the Shiretoko Odan Road when it is open for traffic in the summer months.

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Nagoya To Sendai Ferry

太平洋フェリー

One way to beat the intense summer heat in and around Nagoya is to escape northwards on the Taiheiyo Ferry to Sendai and Tomakomai in Hokkaido.

It's 770km from Nagoya to Sendai and a further 560km to Tomakomai putting some serious distance between you and the pizza oven that the Chubu area becomes in August and September.

The Nagoya-Sendai leg of the journey lasts 21 hours, 40 minutes overnight and it's a further night on the ship for the remaining 15 hours, 20 minutes from Sendai to Tomakomai on the west coast of Hokkaido.

Ships leave Nagoya at 7pm arriving in Sendai at 4.40pm the next day. For the return journey the ferry leaves Sendai at 12.50pm arriving in Nagoya at 10.30am the next day.

The ferry continues from Sendai to Tomakomai after a three hour break at 7.40pm arriving in Hokkaido at 11am the next day. Ships leave Tomakomai at 7pm arriving in Sendai at 10am the next day.

The ferries are spacious with both cabins and cheaper open style rooms where people sleep in an alloted space and are provided with a blanket and pillow.

The cabins come with TV and bunk beds and sleep up to four people. Larger suites and semi-suites are also available. The cheapest fare is 7,000 yen for Nagoya-Sendai in the open style accommodation.

The ferry also carries cars, motorcycles and bicycles for an extra cost.

Facilities include a restaurant, vending machines, games room and Japanese-style baths.

Taiheiyo Ferry (in Japanese)


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