- July 22nd, 2014
- Nature
- TouristSpots
- EasternArea
[Furepe Falls in Shari, Shiretoko] Bears and Deers Often Appear on Furepe-no-Taki Walking Trail
Furepe Falls
Furepe Falls (フレペの滝) is a waterfall in Shari town, Shiretoko Peninsula (知床半島), and the Furepe means "Red Water" in Ainu language. There are various opinions about the red water, but it is said that it was named after sunset light reflecting in the surface of the falls. The falls is near a junction for Rausu Pass (羅臼峠), Shiretoko Goko Lakes (知床五湖) and Utoro Onsen (ウトロ温泉). Rain and snow fallen to Shiretoko Mountain Range (知床連山) have turned into groundwater, and it has fallen from cracks of steep cliffs with about 100 m in height to the Sea of Okhotsk. The drop is about 60 m. It is the rare waterfall in Japan that underground water drops from cracks of rocks, and is one of famous falls together with Shirahige Falls (白ひげの滝) in Biei and Funbe Falls (フンベの滝) in Hiroo in Hokkaido. A observation deck, walking trails, Shiretoko Nature Center (知床自然センター), Wildlife Protection Center (鳥獣保護区管理センター), Shiretoko 100 Square-Meter Trust House (しれとこ100平方メートル運動ハウス), Path for Growing Forest (森づくりの道) and a parking lot are built on the site. A restroom and a restaurant are at the Shiretoko Nature Center, and informations about bears are announced. Admission free. The parking lot is free of charge.
Furepe Falls Guide Map in Japanese
The falls is also called "Tears of Young Girl (乙女の涙)", and it is called that name because the small dorrping falls looks sad. Speaking of the tears of the young girl, another name of Cape Namida (涙岬) in Hamanaka is the tears of the young girl, too. That was named after a sad legend without a waterfall, so true tears can be seen only in the Shiretoko Peninsula. By the way, in strong contrast to the tears of the young girl, Tears of Man (男の涙) looked very powerful and a cape called Elephant's Nose (象の鼻) are near the Furepe Falls, and guided tours are held. The tours are popular, so those are held all the year round. The bears often appear around here, and hiking without a guide is dangerous.
Movie of Furepe Falls
The distance is around 5 km away from the center of Utoro, and a restraunt, a cafe and a convenience store are not built around here. Cape Puyuni (プユニ岬), Utoro Onsen (ウトロ温泉) and Iwaobetsu Onsen (岩尾別温泉) are relatively near here.
Cape Puyuni
Cape Puyuni (プユニ岬) is a cape jutting out into the Sea of Okhotsk in Shari town, Shiretoko Peninsula (知床半島), and the Puyuni means "A place with a holl" in Ainu language. Because a road to the tip of the cape is not built, visitors can not reach to there. But Puyuni-misaki Lookout (プユニ岬展望台) is about 700 m away from the tip of the cape. There is not definite lookout, and a place around Miharashi Bridge (見晴橋) along Shiretoko National Route (National Route 334) is called "the Puyuni-misaki Lookout" at about 95 m above sea level. Utoro Port and the Sea of the Okhotsk can be viewed from here, and Oronko-iwa Rock (オロンコ岩) and Godzilla-iwa Rock (ゴジラ岩) are fitted to a picture, too. This place is well known as a good place to see the sunset, and a lot of visitors come. A winter scenery that drift ice spread over the whole sea looks grand, too. A parking lot is not built, and there is much traffic, and it has a blind curve, a parking on a road shoulder may be dangerous. There is a bridge that is not used any more, the visitors can park their cars. Admission free. Read More
Utoro Onsen
Utoro Onsen (ウトロ温泉) is a hot-spring place in Utoro, Shari town located in the middle part of Shiretoko Peninsula (知床半島) and is called another name Shiretoko Onsen (知床温泉), and there are about 16 hot spring facilities. Utoro is one of the 3 major superb views in Hokkaido together with Shakotan and Benbe Rebun (Rebunge, Toyoura), and has been well-known as a scenic area since a long time ago. Hot springs were succeeded in drilling in 1971, and the Utoro Onsen has been developed as a tourist hub for Shiretoko Goko Lakes and Kamuiwakka Hot Falls, etc. in the north side of the Shiretoko Peninsula, and is a popular hot-spring resort for enjoying the sun set over the Sea of Okhotsk and mountains of Rausu. Read More
Iwaobetsu Onsen
Iwaobetsu Onsen (岩尾別温泉) is a hot spring place at about 215 m above sea level in Shari town located in the north side of Shiretoko peninsula (知床半島), and is famous as one of secret hot springs in Shiretoko National Park, and is near Kamuiwakka Hot Falls (カムイワッカ湯の滝) and Shiretoko Goko Lakes (知床五湖), and have famous natural open-air baths, Sandan-no-Yu (三段の湯) and Takimi-no-Yu (滝の湯). Only Hotel Chinohate (ホテル地の涯) and Kihoshita Hut (木下小屋) are built at the end of Hokkaido Road 93, and are used as hiker bases for Mt. Rausudake (羅臼岳). Unfortunately, restraunts, cafes, cafes, souvenir shops and convenience stores are not built. They close a business in a winter season because the Hokkaido Road 93 is closed to traffic. Read More
By the way, a highway bus, Eagle Liner (イーグルライナー), runs between Sapporo and the Utoro.
Shiretoko National Park
Shiretoko National Park (知床国立公園) at the northeastern edge of Japan main land is a national park between Shari town and Rausu town in the the northeastern part of Hokkaido. Most northern part of Shiretoko Peninsula has been desinged as the national park since 1964, and has also been designed World Natural Heritage Site, one of only 4 world natural heritage sites in Japan, since 2005. In the national park, there are Shiretoko Mountain Range (知床連山) such as Mt. Rausudake (羅臼岳), Mt. Chinishibetsudake (知西別岳), Mt. Iou (硫黄山) and Mt. Shiretokodake (知床岳), and here is a tourist attraction on behalf of Hokkaido containing some hot spring places such as Aidomari Onsen (相泊温泉), Seseki Onsen (瀬石温泉), Rausu Onsen (羅臼温泉) and Iwaobetsu Onsen (岩尾別温泉). The Shiretoko National Park is roughly divided into 2 areas, Shari Area and Rausu Area. The area is about 39,000 ha in total. A deep forest that wild animals such as Brown Bears, Yezo Deers and Blakiston's Hish-owls inhabit, Steep cliffs with about 100 m in height that separet the sea from mountains, the sea that marine life such as Salmons and Whales swim in, and those closely related to each other create great nature views. Because the Shiretoko means "The end of the earth" in Ainu language, I can understand the reason that it is said to be an unexplored region. Read More
Furepe-no-Taki Walking Trail
Furepe-no-Taki Walking Trail (フレペの滝遊歩道) of around 1 km in total length is built from the Shiretoko Nature Center to the Furepe Falls. Because the bears often appear around here, it is recommended to clap their hands while walking. Beware of the bears. Wildbirds such as Great Spotted Woodpecker, Latham's Snipe and Oriental Cuckoo can be watched in a forest. When visitors come out of the woods, they reach to grassland. That has large openness, so Shiretoko Mountain Range can be seen from there, and Yezo Deers may appear. Furepe-no-Taki Observation Deck (フレペの滝展望台) like a gazebo is built to look at the falls in the end of the walking trail. Views are very good, and it is a tourist attraction that Utorozaki Lighthouse (ウトロ崎灯台) and the Sea of the Okhotsk (オホーツク海) look very beautiful. It takes about 30-60 minutes to go a round trip on foot. The walking trail is closed if the bears appear.
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Atmosphere of Furepe Falls Can Be Watched on Youtube
Movie of Furepe Falls
| Admission fee | Free of charge |
|---|---|
| Parking lot | Free parking is provided (120 Cars) |
| Business hours | 09:00-16:00 |
| Regular closing day | Open all year round |
| Telephone number | +81-152-22-2125 |
| Home page | Home page is here |
| Mapcode | 757 603 607*07 |
List of Accommodations
Refer to following websites for the accommodations in the Shari. You can get information regarding online reviews and photos.
Utoro Onsen
Iwaobetsu Onsen
Shari
A page of Shiretoko National Park is here
Shiretoko National Park
By the way, Club Tourism (クラブツーリズム), a Japanese tour travel agency, provides various types of tours such as day trip tours or ordinary tours. In the case of bus tours, tourists do not drive their cars themselves, so they can savor alcohol. Choosen tourist attractions are national parks such as Rishiri and Rebun, Shiretoko, and popular tourist places such as Furano and Biei, and some activities such as hiking and fruit picking are also enjoyed depending on seasons. If you are interested in tour trips, you should visit the club tourism's website for details.
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