Hokkaido. Shiretoko Peninsula. Aug 2022. Part 2.
You walk the roads, you remember young days which you would not do otherwise...Interesting.
Lake Rausu, Furepe Falls, Cape Puyuni (do you feel music in the name?).
Fear. This morning I am all fear. Why? Because the plan is to walk a rather secluded track towards Lake Rausu. And I am afraid of bears. Which frequent that area.
Will there be other people on the track? Should I buy bear spray? May be stay in town and have a beer safer? Thoughts…
To get to the start of the hike I am taking a bus from Utoro to Rausu. After about 30 min. ride there is a bus stop called Rausu Lake Entrance. There are announcements in English depending on the season (ask for Rausuko Iriguchi for the driver to stop if unsure). Luckily, three more people are getting off: I am starting to feel more at ease. There is some hesitation: who will lead the path. Three Japanese hikers pretend to study their phones. So, I decided to go first to enjoy quietness and solitude. They will make enough noise anyway, I hope, to warn the bears, while following me. Important is not to startle the bear, I learnt. So, with my small portable radio on (bought on purpose!), periodically clapping hands I am starting to march.
The track is muddy. Now I understand why tourist booklets recommend rubber boots for this walk. But very doable in my water-proof hiking shoes with some maneuvering on the edges of mud.
It gets better later.
Even better afterwards (before changing to bad again).
Nice view of Rausu Mount.
Edible berries. This one (lingonberry, sometimes called cowberry) is good for kidney function, by the way. Ate a lot of it when lived in Vladivostok and during trips to Sakhalin. Bears love them too.
There are some ponds on the way. Water is super clean.
I am feeling calm and elevated. But…
Beer poo. Rather fresh. Less relaxed I am walking a bit further until reaching the lake (took around 90 min. from the bus stop, in case you want to time your bus back). Made my small rest camp before other group catches up.
The young guy from the newly arrived group spots the bear on the other side of the lake. I can hardly see it, but yes, leisurely walking to his private pool. We took picture on a pro camera, left corner: the word is probably “exciting” .
On the way back don’t miss small side track not far from the start of the hike. There is a sign.
I liked it there. Found a place to sit and enjoyed the view until there was a time to get back to the bus stop. Felt like touching the clouds, but could not.
Next destination is Shiretoko Pass: just one bus stop from the Lake Entrance ( going back to Utoro town).
Many cars stop here, and people enjoy beautiful panorama. Far away is Kunashir (Kunashiri in Japanese way) island, part of the so called Northern Territories disputed between Russia and Japan (I am sure most of the residents of these islands do not mind to become Japanese citizens. Japanese might mind…).
There are maps to make you more educated about what those Northern Territories are (average Japanese are not much keen on the issue, same as average Russians, but some Japanese were born there, and consider their home was waken away - different story).
It was quite chilly on the top of the Shiretoko Pass, around 18 degrees, but I really enjoyed spending a time there.
The bus arrives. Now I am heading towards Nature Center (Shizen Center), just one stop again towards Utoro. Here the plan is to walk to the view platform of Furepe Falls. Beautiful waterfall.
Tomorrow when I take boat tour, I will see it from the seaside.
What is next? Looking at my phone I see that it is not too far for me to simply walk to Utoro and my hotel from the Nature Center. Slightly over one hour. The weather is good, the road is not wild and descending. Why not. On the way I spot another animal: local deer. We stared at each other for some time.
Him: why the hell everybody is in the car, and this guy is walking? Me: what are you doing here, near the road, even not so busy a road, but human road?
I also liked the small viewing platform at Cape Puyuni on the way. Utoro is just on your palm.
Along the road I came across hokke (Okhotsk atka mackrel) being sundried. Will be yummy after a few weeks…
I remembered my father (a professional fisherman on weekends and boutique shoe maker during the weekdays) used to do the same with lake breams. My task was to scare off the flies whilst preparing myself for the entry exams into Foreign Languages Institute in Moscow (1975, old days…). This is how I learnt multi-tasking (: . But I could not beat my older brother who was doing biceps with dumpbell in one hand, holding glass of milk in another and reading and murmuring phrases from German language textbook. Going back to lake bream I was the most wanted (free, of course) drinking beer companion on any beer platform of the then Soviet Union: those lake breams were the best…Until now I can not buy anything even close: Japanese toba (dried salmon belly) is the closest, but too dry.
I am glad I am here…
( to be continued)