Mt. Rausu

The tallest mountain on the Shiretoko Peninsula at 1,661 meters, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site on Hokkaido's remote northeastern coast. Two trails lead to the summit, one starting from Shari and one from Rausu, open from early July to mid-September. The dominant trees, Japanese stone pine and Sakhalin fir, grow at unusually low elevations here compared to Honshu. From the summit, views extend across the peninsula and, on clear days, to Kunashiri Island and the Kuril Islands chain stretching toward Russia.