The Rusha coast, reachable only by sea, is the prime bear area. Sightseeing boats from Utoro run along the cliffs in summer, finding bears foraging on the shoreline, turning rocks and fishing at river mouths. Sows with cubs are regularly seen from the water in the same way.

The Shiretoko Five Lakes give the land-based option, on an elevated boardwalk with a guided ground trail. Access rules change with the season according to bear activity, and during the highest-risk period the ground loop can only be walked with a registered guide — check the current status before driving out.

The Rausu side, on the peninsula's east coast, is the boat-based marine destination. Summer cruises look for sperm whales, orca and dolphins in the deep Nemuro Strait; winter cruises push into the drift ice for Steller's sea eagle and white-tailed eagle, which gather on the floes in numbers found nowhere else on Earth.

The Shiretoko Pass road between Utoro and Rausu is good for Ezo deer and, at dawn, foxes, though it closes for the winter with the snow.

Summer, roughly June to September, is the bear and marine-mammal season. February is the drift ice month, when the eagles concentrate and the whole seascape changes — the two experiences are so different that many people come twice.

Practicalities

Memanbetsu is the usual airport, with a drive of around two hours to Utoro. Book winter eagle cruises well ahead: they run on small boats, weather cancels them freely, and the ice arrives on nobody's schedule. Bears here are wild and unhabituated — on foot, carry a bell, keep food sealed and follow the park's guidance rather than treating it as advisory.