Snowshoe & Nature Cruise in Nemuro with AT Guide

Welcome to Hokkaido! Travelers will be greeted by our tour guide at Nemuro Nakashibetsu Airport (2:00pm) we warmly greet you and start the journey.

After a 10-minute drive from the airport, you will see the viewpoint “Kaiyodai” on top of a small hill. Here we will get an overview of the field we will be visiting today. After that, we will drive about 15 minutes and stop at UB Coffee, an outdoor café in the city center.

There is also an outdoor store where we can buy or rent any gear we may be lacking. For dinner, we will go to a popular restaurant in Nakashibetsu that uses local ingredients. After a 30-minute drive, we will stay at an onsen ryokan in Shibetsu.

The second day of the trip begins in earnest with an introduction to the “Salmon Sanctuary .Enjoy a breakfast buffet served at the hotel and leave the hotel at 08:30 am. Then, we enjoy a 2-hour river Snowshoe in Po River forest .

After a 10-minute drive from the hotel to the Po River Historic Park for guidance, we will head out into the vast field before us for a forest walk and canoeing tour.

The lunch on this day you will enjoy chazuke, a traditional preserved food made from salmon in the mountains, with a dashi broth that you can blend yourself. The Rausu kelp and scallops used in the broth are major marine products from the Nemuro Straits.

After lunch, we will take a walking tour of the town to learn what the town looks like today based on the salmon sanctuary and history we learned at the beginning of the tour. You will have the opportunity to compare it with existing documents and screen paintings to learn how the region has developed.

For dinner tonight, salmon dishes with local ingredients will be served. After the delicious dinner, we return to the hotel to spend the night.

Whole day enjoying the activity that starts from 9:00 am to evening.  We have a Japanese style menu breakfast at the hotel, then start our Shiretoko-Rausu Drift Ice Tour, Including Shrine, local maklet visit , drift ice observation.

On the way back to town, we will stop by Hamada Shoten for lunch and try our hand at cracking sea urchins. To learn the fishing industry that developed in Rausu and the marine products that symbolize the richness of Shiretoko’s seas while cracking sea urchins with an industrial guide and make a seafood bowl for lunch.

After returning to town and having lunch, it is time for a lecture by a veteran kelp fisherman. It will be touching the “Rausu kelp” that you tried in the previous day’s ochazuke and learn about the source of the delicious taste that is carefully produced. Rausu kelp is a high-quality kelp that is attracting attention from all over the world. After being harvested, Rausu kelp undergoes 23 different processes and takes about 100 days to be made into a product.

After lunch, We will drive north along the coast of the Nemuro Straits for about an hour and enter Rausu, on the east coast of the World Natural Heritage Site Shiretoko.

Get on the Shiretoko Nature Cruise, the highlight of your wildlife experience. Join experienced crew in their search for Steller’s Sea Eagle and White-tailed Sea Eagle. It is said that Shiretoko Rausu is the only place in the world where you can see these birds in such a short time after boarding.

Experience firsthand the overwhelming sight and majesty of these wild animals, which are revered as gods (kamui) by the Ainu tribe, and the way of life of the people who have lived in harmony with the great outdoors

For dinner tonight, seafood and sushi with local ingredients will be served.

Going to the Notsuke Peninsula area, a 60-minute drive south of Shiretoko. As with the Rausu kelp of the previous day, the area was developed through trial and error when the catch of major salmon declined, and fishing for scallops and Hokkai shrimp began, which led to the development of modern-day industries.

Take a snowshoe tour on the Notsuke Peninsula, which benefits from the rich waters of the Nemuro Straits. This is a premium activity that allows you to enter the primeval forest of Narawara on the Notsuke Peninsula under the limited guidance of a guide.

To learn about the rich marine resources of Notsuke Peninsula and observe wild animals such as Ezo sika deer.

Before heading out for dinner at local restaurant Shirao, we go back to our hotel at 3:00pm to take a short break. For dinner tonight, seafood from the Notsuke Peninsula  with local ingredients will be served. After the delicious dinner, we return to the hotel to spend the night.

The main activity on the fifth day is a hands-on tour of Traditional fishing method in the Furen Lake with active fishermen. Lecture from an active fisherman in Nemuro and experience the traditional fishing method of ice net fishing under the ice at Lake Furen and  learn about the harsh environment of fishing and unique Hokkaido fish such as those found under the ice.

Today’s food is made with local ingredients, and you will have “Hanasaki Crab Ramen” for lunch at Suwan 44 Nemuro.

After lunch , please enjoy free time at Nemuro!

Recommendation:

Experience dairy farming at Ito Ranch in Meigo, take a short break at the dairy cafe “Grassy Hill,” and enjoy a cup of coffee at the Nakashibetsu Dairy Farm. Also take a short rest at Grassy Hill, a dairy café, or stop off at a local market in Nakashibetsu.

For dinner, we will have a Japanese-style dinner at “Yujyuku Daiichi”, with the richness of the local food from the mountains and the sea and try your hand at sake . Please enjoy hot spring and relaxing after a long day of travel.

Please enjoy the local dairy products of Shiretoko Nemuro area.

Those who wake up early in the morning can join a sunrise tour of the landmark Kaiyodai. In the morning, we will enjoy snowshoe trekking at Moan Mountain, where you can experience firsthand the history of dairy farming and pioneering.

The last activity will be completed with a remembrance of the feats of our forefathers who pioneered the vast land that feels so tremendous.

After a meal of local wheat bread and hot soup, we will head to the airport. We hope that you enjoy the trip and we would be delighted to see you again.