Utoro

An easy 6 hour drive through more scenic rice fields, dense forests, and along a rocky coastline took us to the small fishing village of Utoro.
The area is famous for onsens and the remote national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shiretoko. This peninsula, which has no roads through most of it, preserves a wilderness teeming with bears in the summer. We ventured to the end of the road on both sides of the peninsula and were rewarded with beautiful coastal, volcano and forest views, but no bears. Pink salmon were running up the rivers and streams, so we very much enjoyed watching the ritual struggle upriver to lay eggs.
On our last night here, we visited a fancy hotel onsen as day visitors. We had it all to ourselves and loved the incredible views over the harbor from the pools and sauna.Read more