basic information

Utoro Town

Oronko Rock

Utoro is the largest and only sizable town along the western coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula. Located at the entrance to the national park, it serves as a transportation hub and is the boarding point for sightseeing boat tours up the peninsula's coast.

Utoro is blessed with natural hot spring water and offers a range of accommodation from simple minshuku to large onsen ryokan. While the town's coastal area retains the atmosphere of a small fishing village, a short walk up the hill brings you into the hot spring area where the numerous, large onsen ryokan are located.

Several large rocks stand along the shores of Utoro. The most spectacular of them, Oronko Rock, is 60 meters high and stands just next to the harbor. A small path leads up the rock, from which you can enjoy nice views of the town and coast.

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how to get there

By car

Utoro is located about 40 kilometers from the town center of Shari along Route 334. Alternatively, it is about 30 kilometers from Rausu via Shiretoko Pass (closed in winter).

By bus

From late April through October, Utoro is connected by direct buses with JR Shiretoko Shari Station (50 minutes, 1670 Yen, 8 buses/day, operated by Shari Bus) and Memanbetsu Airport (140 minutes, 2,700 Yen, 4 buses/day, operated by Abashiri Bus and Shari Bus).

During the winter months, Shari Bus operates 5 buses per day between JR Shiretoko Shari Station and Utoro.

How to get to and around Shiretoko National Park

6th of 8 most visited sights in Shiretoko.
343rd of 414 most visited sights nationwide.