Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, gives glimpses of diverse, aboriginal spots to visitors

June 29, 2014

Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, gives glimpses of diverse, aboriginal spots to visitors

About 80 pct of the names of towns and villages in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, are said to be traceable to the language spoken by Ainu, an aboriginal tribe. Sapporo, the name of the most populous city in Hokkaido, means a “dry, big river” in the Ainu. Tourists to Hokkaido, particularly the eastern part of the landmass, can have glimpses of not only many scenic natural spots but also sites linked to the Ainu tribe.

People in Ainu-related areas are even more enthusiastic than before to attract tourists as the “irankarapte” hospitality campaign was launched jointly by various local organizations, public and private, in 2013. Irankarapte represents “hello” in the Ainu, but it is a slightly formal word of greeting toward visitors from distant places.

The 71,100-hectare Shiretoko natural park lies in the northeastern tip of Hokkaido. Shiretoko, which means “a remotest land” in the Ainu, is actually a peninsula jetting into the Sea of Okhotsk. It is one of the four UNESCO-registered World Natural Heritages in Japan, but it is the sole asset which reminds visitors of the importance of diverse, aboriginal values in Japan, the largely unitary country. Hokkaido is also proud of classic Ainu dancing, which was registered as a UNESCO intangible cultural asset in 2009, four years after Shiretoko became the World Heritage.
Tourists can see a show of Ainu dancing, including the “horippa” circle dance, at a theater built in an Ainu community by Lake Akan. The show is performed by those who are clad in ethnic costumes with Ainu patterns. Items and animals that give blessings of the nature or cannot be lacked for life have been respected by Ainu people as gods, among them bears, owls, salmon and fire. They call their gods as “kamuy.”

The “Kamuy Wakka (god water) Falls" are one of the most attractive spots on a tourist cruise from Utoro Port along the northern coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula. The falls are located beneath a steep cliff and flow directly down into the sea.

The cruising ship service starts from a different port during the winter season because Utoro is then closed with thick ices flowing from the north. The 491-gross-ton Aurora II brings passengers to waters off Cape Shiretoko on the tip of the peninsula on a once-a-day 3-hour-and-45-minute cruising from Utoro. "Sometimes, we can have a distant view of the landscape around the tip into the other side of the peninsula, but the area is usually filled with fogs," a sailor said.
The scenic, wild environment of Shiretoko, coupled with the traditional Ainu dancing, is expected to give further chances for visitors to think about the importance of preserving the precious ecological system and diverse cultural assets for the future generation.