After all the planning, my plan was to go to Akan national park first, camp out there for a night, then hike around for a half day before catching the train to Shiretoko national park, camp there for a night, then hike around for another half day before returning to Sapporo...it was probably only wishful thinking I could tackle something like that with terrible bus service.
Well, because I ended up staying up quite late the previous night trying to find bus info, I ended up snoozing my alarm and woke up 5 minutes later...wow did that come back to bite me in the ass. I missed the train I was planning to catch to Akan by 1 minute! But I guess everything happens for a reason - it was actually better I missed the train, because when I got back to the hostel, I made a few quick adjustments to my plan and decided I would only go to Shiretoko. This ended up being a better plan since I would actually have some time to actually see some of Shiretoko instead of rushing through one sight at each park. Plus on the way back to the hostel (the next train bound for Kushiro, a city along the train line to both national parks, wasn't for another few hours), I picked up a few treats for myself at a French-style bakery! They were actually pretty decent, but then again I have no real basis to compare to since I've never been to France yet!
I had some fancy donut (is that even French?) and a maple butter twist stick.
So I caught the next train to Kushiro, and then to Shiretoko-shari, the closest train station to Shiretoko national park (and it's not even that close). It was a long journey, about 5 hours, and it still wasn't over yet. I managed to catch the last bus from the train station to a small town just outside the national park (which most visitors use as a base for visiting the park) called Utoro...another 70 minutes. So by the time I got to Utoro, it was pitch dark (despite being only 7 PMish) and most places were closed.
At Kushiro station. I had no effort left during the rest of the trip to take any pictures of my journey to Shiretoko haha.
When I finally got to Utoro, I still had to figure out how to get the the campsite. There are absolutely no directions anywhere on how to get there. I tried asking the bus driver how to get there, but with limited English, he couldn't help much besides just pointing me in the general direction. So I departed, but luckily along the way, I found a big 7-11! I officially love the 7-11's here in Japan. I'm not sure how they are in the U.S. (I'm sure they're junk) but here in Japan, they're amazing. Amongst all the convenience stores here (and there are many: Family Mart, Lawson, Sunkus, am pm, Daily Yamazaki, Mini Stop...the list goes on), they usually have the best selection of items, and they have the cheapest bottled water amongst all the convenies (as the local foreigners like to call the stores). Anyway, I managed to pick up a warm meal (they can microwave the meals they sell for you) and directions to the campsite (the very kind lady behind the cash register even drew me a map!). Getting to the campsite wasn't any fun either, it was a 10-15 minute uphill walk...not fun with a heavy pack on your back and feeling tired and gross from travelling all day, and trying to find your way in the dark. When I finally got to the campsite, the main office was already closed, so I just set up my tent as quickly as I could and enjoyed my meagre meal (though it was much better than I had planned for - I had planned just to eat a few protein bars I brought from Toronto for dinner).
My dinner and me before heading to bed.
When I woke up the next morning, I was greeted with deer not too far from my tent that had wandered into the campsite for some morning grub; quite unexpected. I was all packed up by 8AM, and the main office still wasn't open, so I left and ended up staying the night for free! (I had read there was a 400 yen charge/person/night) I grabbed a quick breakfast at the 7-11, luckily found a security locker at the bus station to stash some of my heavier things, and then caught the bus to Shiretoko. My original plan was to first see the Kamuiwakka waterfall, a waterfall with onsen, and then choose the easier hiking route up the 1665m Rausu-dake (Mt. Rausu). But when I was buying a bus ticket, a nearby Japanese hiker who spoke English saw I was in hiking gear and that I needed some help buying a bus ticket, so he actually helped me buy a ticket to Iwaobetsu onsen, where the trailhead to the more difficult trail to Rausu-dake was located. So while I was planning on doing some hiking that day, I hadn't planned on doing it that early, nor that hard of a hiking path. But it ended up being quite a nice hike. The trailhead was actually a bit difficult to find - it's located behind the onsen.
The campground in the morning. The 3rd photo is of the cemetery just outside the campground...I usually won't take a picture of one out of respect for the dead, but the morning fog made for such an interesting photo I had to take it.
The Utoro Onsen Bus Terminal (the next morning).
The set of pictures above is for the benefit of any travelers planning to camp out at the Shiretoko campsite (because I could find no directions myself). After you make a right from the bus station, you'll see the stretch of buildings in the 1st photo. Walk past them and you'll soon see a road that leads uphill to your right. Follow it (as the pictures show, only one way to go) to the T-intersection, and turn left there (why they decided to put a sign pointing to the campsite at the top of the road with no signs at the bottom is beyond me). You'll get to another T-intersection, turn left again, all the way to a 3rd T-intersection (you'll pass a hotel along the way). Turn right this time, and the campground is at the end of the road to your left.
At Iwaobetsu onsen, about to embark on my first real hike up a mountain, and my first real hike in Japan.
And so I began my trek. I can see why it was rated as a hard hike: narrow trails, some muddy slops, small rock crossings, many points along the trail requiring some climbing over giant tree roots or big boulders that were never blasted through. But it was a good hike, lots of beautiful scenery! It was rated as a 6 hour hike. But because I wanted to see Shiretokogoko (a group of 5 lakes that are a popular tourist attraction in Shiretoko), so I didn't even make it all the way to the summit! I had hiked up for about 170 minutes, was about 2km away from the summit, and I guesstimate an altitude of around 1000m (I passed the 650m altitude point, from which it is a 4.3km hike to the summit). I made a quick pit stop to at the 2km point to eat some protein bars for lunch, and then made a 90 minute descent. It was actually really disappointing coming back down without reaching the top...I felt like I had hiked all the way up for nothing.
Some of my photos from my hike (I took many photos haha). Some really amazing views of the surrounding waters (Shiretoko is actually a northeastern peninsula of Hokkaido). It was surprising to me to see clouds so thick they cast shadows on the mountainside! As you can tell, the autumn foliage was already beginning to appear. My lunch at the 2km point actually was pretty good considering it was only 2 protein bars.
I tried to plan enough time for my descent so that when I returned to Iwaobetsu onsen, I could walk to the nearest bus stop on the main bus route to get to Shiretokogoko (for some reason, the bus only made one morning stop at the onsen from Utoro, and one evening stop at the onsen back to Utoro...like I said, very inconvenient). Boy did I underestimate the distance. The bus took 8 minutes from the nearest stop on the main route to the onsen, so I figured it would be a 30 minute walk...the distance was actually 4.2km (I forgot to figure in the fact that there was no traffic here so the bus didn't have any stoppage time between stops)...it took 45 minutes to walk to the bus stop, and of course I missed the bus by then. I had to wait at the bus stop for another 45 minutes for the next one...and of course I stood there wondering if during that span of time, I could have made it to the summit instead.
The walk from the onsen to the other bus stop.
So I finally got to Shiretokogoko. I took the "long" 90 minute hike that allows you to see 4 of the 5 lakes (none of the trails let you see the 5th lake...). It was a very, very easy hike compared to the morning hike - with clearly marked paths and wood boards over most of the trail to provide a hard flat surface to walk on - it was definitely geared towards all tourists. The lakes were nice, especially how the mountains in the background reflected off the water, but to be honest, I didn't see what all the fuss was about (many people told me that it was a must see attraction). I finished the hike in 50 minutes...that included the time I took to stop and take pictures. I felt kind of disappointed again at the end, and once again, the thought creeped into my mind that I probably should have stayed on the morning trail and made the summit instead. But you can't turn back time - so as a little treat to myself after all the walking, I decided to buy soft serve ice cream inside the souvenir shop at Shiretokogoko. It was supposed to be the flavour of local berries that grow in the mountains in Shiretoko...I wasn't really sure what it was, it tasted like generic berry flavour haha.
The first lake.
The second lake.
The 3rd lake.
The 4th lake.
The ice cream. No the ice cream didn't taste terrible, I was half squinting because of the sun haha.
It was only about 4:30PM by the time I finished my ice cream. I really wanted to see the waterfall I had planned to see earlier during the day, but again, because the bus schedule was so infrequent and the information isn't easily available in a pamphlet of some kind for tourists, I had to make the hard decision of catching the next bus to return to Utoro. Obviously, I got back to town much earlier than I had wished, but at least it wasn't pitch dark when I set up my tent this time at the campsite (yup, I returned to the same campsite to sleep). I made a stop at the 7-11 for dinner this time, and I splurged a bit by buying a sandwich on top of the regular bento meal...I can't believe I now consider splurging on food as buying a 300 yen sandwich. The walk back to the campsite again wasn:t fun...why they chose to put it on the top of a hill is beyond me. I was actuallysweating more from the walk up than during the morning hike (maybe because of the heavier pack?). After my dinner, I actually found out I might have bought too much...I was really full after the sandwich. I don't think my stomach was prepared for so much food anymore haha.
A strange shaped rock called Godzilla Rock in Utoro, just beside the 7-11. I think I got the wrong angle for the picture, because I can't figure out why they call it Gozilla Rock.
My dinner for the night (with the extra sandwich haha).
The campground before nightfall. It's really hard to make it out in the photo, I haven't had a chance to brighten it, but the deer from the morning were still there (they're in the background of the photo).
After dinner, I felt gross and sticky from all the hiking and sweating. I couldn't find any shower facilities on the campgrounds, so I asked some local Japanese campers if there were showers around. There were none; but they took me over to the next building, a small hotel which had a public bath and onsen (I've noticed public bathes are very common in Japan). Quite possibly one of the most rewarding 500 yen I have ever spent to get into the onsen. After hiking and walking all day, my feet were beat up. In fact, during the morning hike, the path was so rough (and I forgot to buy moleskin before I left) that a blister that had formed on the back of my heel during the hike had actually burst during the same hike (I found this out when I was stripping for the onsen). I didn't even mind the stinging of the open blister from the hot water of the onsen - it was amazing. It's hard to describe how awesome and relaxing it feels just to immerse your entire body in hot water after a long day of trekking. The onsen was actually much hotter than the one in Hoheikyo...I wanted to stay longer, but I couldn't handle the heat after about 15-20 minutes despite trying to tough it out (I knew if I stayed for a few more minutes I would've passed out, which is a big no-no in onsen etiquette). It felt so good to take a shower after that and feel clean again. And despite all this, I was in bed by 8:30PM...there wasn't much to do in the town, and as the lone English-speaking camper, there aren't many options for conversation, so sleep seemed like the ideal choice. I still awoke at around 7:30AM the next morning. And again, I stayed the night for free! It was strange, I showed up at the campsite at 6:30PM when there was still some light out, and the office was closed again, and still closed when I left at 8AM.
One final photo before bed.
The next morning.
My original plan was to see if I could see another waterfall in the area, Oshinkoshin-no-taki (Oshinkoshin falls), that's rated as one of the top 100 waterfalls in Japan, and then get on a 4 hour sightseeing cruise that went from Utoro to the tip of the peninsula (where no humans are allowed to go) to see the strange rock formations and cliffs of Shiretoko. Well neither worked out. Again the bus timing was so terrible that I would have wasted almost 2 hours if I wanted to see the waterfall to wait for the next bus back to Utoro or to Shiretokoshari (it would have taken all of 5 minutes to walk to the waterfall from the nearest bus stop, stop to take pictures and observe the falls for a bit, and then walk back to the stop). I found out for the cruise, it would cost around $80 CDN, which was way out of my budget, so I had to skip on that too. So I ended up catching an earlier-than-planned bus back to Shiretokoshari, and then an earlier train back to Sapporo. I actually got to see the Oshinkoshin falls on the bus ride from Utoro (yes, the waterfall is that close to the road), but I was sitting on the wrong side of the bus to try and snap a few quick photos as the bus passed by. Even from the brief view, it looked very nice and picturesque.
Leaving Utoro. You can see there are some strange rock formations along the coast that Shiretoko is known for.
Back in Sapporo, I decided to give eating at Yukikaze another try, and was successful this time. Their ramen actually was quite good, especially the broth, which they say takes 10 hours to prepare. I also tried the gyoza there, which tasted a little different from the other one a few nights before; the skin was just a tad thicker and the texture was smoother. But I could see why it's so well-known among the locals. They even present it a little differently from other places...they put thin crispy pieces of potato (or yam, I don't remember now) that was quite delicious with the ramen and broth.
A club I stumbled upon while walking to Yukikaze. It's called King Xmhu...and the giant face on the front of the building I guess is supposed to be King Xmhu (who?).
At Yukikaze.
Another view of Susukino at night.
After dinner, I wandered around Susukino again for a bit before deciding to head back to the hostel. But along the way, I just so happened to see a Dutch guy (Paul) I had met at the hostel before leaving for Shiretoko, eating at one of the local Japanese fast food places near the hostel. I thought he had left Sapporo already, so I went in and stopped for a chat, and found out he actually extended his stay because he was enjoying Sapporo too. It was a totally unexpected meeting; I couldn't believe I kept running into people I had met at the hostel. My plan was just to head back to the hostel to catch some sleep, but chatting for a while, I ended up joining Paul for a night out of drinking and barhopping in Sapporo. We first went to a local bars popular among foreigners living in Sapporo called TK6 to grab a couple of beers. They were having some anniversary prize giveaway that we decided not to enter because we didn't know if it was free to enter (it turns out it was free, and the prizes were awesome). After chatting with some regulars, we headed over to another bar called Gaijin Bar (literally Foreigner Bar haha) for their grand reopening where all beers were 300 yen (considered a deal in Japan). We met some random drunk Japanese along the way, and then chatted up some Japanese girls in the bar while having a beer. I don't remember what we talked about, but I remember it being a long conversation in broken English and Paul trying to broken Japanese haha. Then we left for a club called Booty that someone at TK6 told us about. We couldn't find it at first, so we asked a group of local guys, who actually got us into the club cover free! But there weren't too many girls in the club that night, and it was only so amusing watching drunk Japanese trying to dance to American hip-hop, so we just grabbed a quick shot of a drink call Blue Balls (I'd never had it before so I was curious haha). We didn't know where to go next, so Paul asked one of the guys promoting escort clubs if he knew any good bars nearby, and he showed us to a decent bar with a Hawaiian/tropical theme. For some reason, it seemed so strange to the both of us to see this in Japan. We grabbed one final drink, and each got a free plate of sausages from the bartender (which was nice because I was starting to crave something greasy after the drinking), and then called it a night and each headed back to our own hostels.
At TK6.
On the way to Gaijin Bar, with some random locals.
At Gaijin Bar.
Inside Booty. It was so strange to me to see this in the club I just had to take a picture with it haha. The 2nd photo is from the 2nd floor lounge of the club.
The final bar of the night. See this is why you take pictures haha...now I know, the bar was called Bar Niseko Yo-Tei.
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