7 Wonders of JapanShiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido
At Japan’s northern edge, the Shiretoko Peninsula feels markedly different from the rest of the country. In winter, drift ice from the Sea of Okhotsk presses against the coastline; in spring, brown bears emerge from hibernation to fish the rivers while Steller’s sea eagles circle overhead; by summer, wildflowers cover the upland meadows.
Much of the peninsula is protected and only partially accessible, which has helped preserve its raw, unpolished character. Most visitors take boat tours from the port town of Utoro, following the sea cliffs where waterfalls fall directly into the ocean. Wildlife sightings are common – deer along the shoreline, foxes in the grass, and, occasionally, bears moving at the forest’s edge.
Jungle on Iriomote-jima
Getty ImagesIriomote Island, Okinawa
Closer to Taiwan than to mainland Japan, Iriomote Island feels worlds away from the country’s urban centres. Nearly 90 per cent of the island is covered in dense jungle, threaded with mangrove-lined rivers and cascading waterfalls, and within it lives the Iriomote wildcat – a critically endangered species found nowhere else on earth.
Getting around often means kayaking or hiking, through mangrove channels where black-naped terns wheel overhead, or upriver to the Mariyudu and Kampire Waterfalls. There is very little built infrastructure – and that’s entirely the point.
AloJapan.com