- July 22nd, 2014
- Nature
- FamousSpots
- EasternArea
[Kamuiwakka Hot Falls in Shari, Shiretoko] Rare Hot Spring River and Falls in Japan
Kamuiwakka Hot Falls
Kamuiwakka Hot Falls (カムイワッカ湯の滝) is a small collective waterfall with warm springs in Shari town, Shiretoko Peninsula (知床半島), and is famous for enjoying bathing in basins like natural open-air baths, few rare falls in Japan. The Kamuiwakka means "God's Water" in Ainu language. Kamuiwakka River (カムイワッカ川), about 3 km lengh in total, flows from the bottom of Mt. Iou to the Sea of Okhotsk, and hot springs runs downward to the river. Kamuiwakka Falld (カムイワッカの滝) that can be seen only from the sea side is in the downstream, and a powerful dropping is popular, too. A road for the Kamuiwakka Hot Falls is opened to traffic from June to October. At the peak tourist season, ordinary owned cars have entrance regulation, and a shuttle bus runs from August 1 to August 25. Admission free. A parking lot is free of charge. The road is close to traffic from November to May. In addition, the road is close to traffic at 4 pm after 31 July. Beware of bears, too.
Kamuiwakka Hot Falls Guided Map in Japanese
Movie of Kamuiwakka River
Here is suitable place for onsen of hidden lands, and the visitors turn right on the road just before Shiretoko Goko Lakes (知床五湖), and head for 11 km gravel road. Because the road is no wider than a driveway, an attention is necessary for driving. The distance is around 20 km away from the center of Utoro, and a restraunt, a cafe and a convenience store are not built near here.
Shiretoko Goko Lakes
Shiretoko Goko Lakes (知床五湖) is a collective name of 5 lakes in Shari town, Shiretoko Peninsula. The 5 lakes, Lake Ichiko (一湖), Lake Niko (二湖), Lake Sanko (三湖), Lake Yonko (四湖) and Lake Goko (五湖) are in marsh at about 240 m above sea level, and are popular as a tourist attraction in hidden region. About 320,000 tourists visit here. Walks, observation decks, hiretoko Goko Lakes Field House (知床五湖フィールドハウス), Park Service Center (パークサービスセンター) and a parking lot are built on the site. Souvenirs and light meals are sold at the Park Service Center, too, and Lingonberry flavor soft serve ice cream has a good reputation. In addition, a restroom is at the building, too. The walks are available from late April to early November. In a winter, a snowshoe tour is held. Admission free. The parking lot is charged for JPY 500. 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
Kamuiwakka Hot Falls Tour
A restroom and a parking lot are built at an entrance of the Kamuiwakka Hot Falls. The parking lot was narrow, so I paid attention to parking. I walked through a short trail to the river, and begun walking in the river. Because it seemed to be dangerous for walking barefoot in the river, I wore my shoes. * Nonslip water sox (すべらん靴下) is sold at Road Station "Shirietoku" (道の駅「シリエトク」), Shiretoko Nature Center (知床自然センター) and Shiretoko Goko Lakes (知床五湖).
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The Kamuiwakka River has 4 waterfall basins in total, but the visitors can reach to only the nearest waterfall basin, Ichi-no-Taki (一の滝), in danger of falling rocks at present. It was hard to walk in the river than expected. Some walkers sometimes fall down in the river, so you have better careful not to lose focus in walk. After I headed for about 100 m, I reached to the Ichi-no-Taki. Water temperature is about 30 C, and the water is lukewarm. I thougt that it is not suitable for bathing. In addition, a lot of the visitors come, so you will not get naked. But I think that you can enjoy playing in the water if you wear your swimsuit in a hot summer. When I licked the river water with my hands, it tasted considerably sour. Acidity is very high as well as Kawayu onsen (川湯温泉).
Atmosphere of Kamuiwakka Hot Falls Can Be Watched on Youtube
Movie of Kamuiwakka Hot Falls
| Admission fee | Free of charge |
|---|---|
| Parking lot | Free parking is provided (20 Cars) |
| Business hours | 24 hours |
| Regular closing day | From early November to early June |
| Business hours | +81-152-22-2125 |
| Home page | Home page is here |
| Mapcode | 757 855 238*76 |
List of Accommodations
Refer to following websites for the accommodations in the Shari. You can get information regarding online reviews and photos.
Iwaobetsu Onsen
Utoro 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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