Shiretoko Pass (Route 334)

From the 738 m pass the cone of Mount Rausu rises dead ahead, primeval oak and fir falling away toward the Nemuro Strait and, on a clear day, Kunashiri Island. Deep snow walls the road shut through winter and spring, and brown bears turn up on the verges once it opens.

The Shiretoko Crossing Road carries National Route 334 over Shiretoko Pass at 738 metres, linking Utoro on the Sea of Okhotsk side with the fishing town of Rausu on the Nemuro Strait, through the heart of the UNESCO-listed Shiretoko peninsula. From the pass the cone of Mount Rausu rises directly ahead and a sea of primeval oak and fir forest falls away below; on clear days the strait and Kunashiri Island are visible. The road climbs and descends in long, mostly open mountain curves through wild country with no settlements between the two towns. It is the only national highway in Hokkaido with a seasonal closure and one of the shortest-open roads in Japan, walled by deep snow in winter and spring. Mind the long winter and early-spring closure, sudden sea fog and brown-bear sightings near the verges, and the exposed, weather-prone summit.