Sponsored by Doto Adventure Network and the Hokkaido Tourism Organization
Local Experiences, Shared with You by Locals
Your local hosts all year round
- Rika, Horse Ranch Owner in Shibecha
- Suzu, Japanese Calligrapher in Kushiro
- Kosuke and Ryota, Curlers in Kitami
- Risa, Kelp Farmer in Rausu
Your local hosts for winter trips
Rika, Horse Ranch Owner in Shibecha
Near the shores of Lake Toro, just outside of the Kushiro Wetlands, Rika Tatsukawa runs Heart Ranch with her husband, Lui.
They offer several tours that you can enjoy on one of thier eight horses. English and Italian available.
Experiences with Rika
Available all year round
Horse Drive
A 90-minute trek through fields and forests, culminating in a panoramic view of the Kushiro wetlands and the Akan-Mashu National Park. Perfect for sunset views over the horizon in pastures of green and gold. Recommended for travellers who are more confident in riding/interacting with horses.
Price: 22,000 JPY per person
Horse Walk
A 45-minute ride through the flat and peaceful pastures next to the barn and cafeteria. Enjoy a stroll with the assistance of professional guides.
Price: 11,000 JPY per person
Horse Interaction
Not interested in riding? Enjoy a simple time interacting with horses of all different sizes, ages, and temperaments. Guides at Heart Ranch will teach you all about the daily life of caring for horses.
Horse Ranch Stay
Heart Ranch also has two options for staying and dining, exclusive to guests, on its property.
A luxury camping trailer located at their upper pasture and a private cafe accommodation for up to four guests. You’ll have free range access to the ranch and options for dinner and breakfast to be provided.
Price: 100,000 JPY (+ dinner/breakfast for 15,000 JPY per person), max four people
Location: Heart Ranch in Shibecha town, near the Kushiro Marshland National Park (Google Maps)
Suzu, Japanese Calligrapher in Kushiro
Calligraphy is a foundational cultural aesthetic in Japan. From an early age, students learn complex Chinese characters or kanji by writing them with calligraphy brushes in ink.
Suzu, your guide, fell in love with calligraphy at a young age and has travelled the world teaching calligraphy workshops.
For Suzu, calligraphy is more than just an art, it’s an expression of self and one’s emotion.
Private Calligraphy Workshop with Suzu
Available all year round
At the workshop, you will learn the meaning of your favorite phrases or words in Japanese and how to write them using traditional brushes and ink. You will also have the chance to wear traditional Japanese clothes.
Price: 7,000 JPY per person (extra fee if outside of Kushiro City)
Time required: 1.5 hours
Location: Kushiro or a place of your choice
Kosuke and Ryota, Curlers in Kitami
Kitami City has two separate curling halls. Depending on availability you will join Kosuke Hirata and Ryota Meguro in learning how to curl.
Curling Experience with Kosuke and Ryota
Available all year round
Starting with simply throwing stones and progressively leveling up to learn how to slide across ice like a pro.
Curling is a sport that requires good hand-eye coordination and balance to be able to safely navigate walking on the ice. It is recommended that guests be in good condition, but accommodations can be made with prior notification.
Price:
20,000 JPY per person (2 participants)
16,000 JPY per person (3-5 participants)
14,000 JPY person (6-8 participants)
Time required: 2 hours
Location: Argo Graphics Curling Hall in Kitami (Google Maps)
(Hosts can speak Japanese only, but have English instructions boards)
Risa, Kelp Farmer in Rausu
In Rausu Town, in the shadow of the Shiretoko Peninsula, kelp farming is one of the major industries practiced by families throughout the generations.
Risa’s family are multi-generational kelp farming family who have constructed this two-story house just outside the main area of Rausu town.
Kelp Experiences with Risa
At Kobu Stay, you can enjoy different slices of kelp from the fisherman’s lives, exclusive to guests staying at the modern private accommodation just a few meters from the ocean.
You can enjoy one of four different tours, some being seasonal, which explain the value of kelp to the Japanese diet and the local economy.
English-speaking guide available.
Kelp Cutting
Learn how fishermen cut and prepare kelp for packaging by trimming off unwanted sections and preserving the nutrient-rich core, which is then heated and folded into packages.
- Time: 80 mins
- Price: 8,000 JPY
- Available from October to May
Kelp Tasting
Different kinds of kelp produce different flavors when boiled. Enjoy tasting and learn how to create your own “dashi’ or soup stock from kelp.
- Time: 80 mins
- Price: 6,000 JPY
- Available from October to May
Shiretoko Rausu Fish Market Tour
With Risa as your guide, travel to the Rausu Fish Market at the local port and learn more about what types of fish the hearty fisherman catch in the Pacific Ocean and strait of Rausu. This tour is exclusive to guests of Kobu Stay, as the general public is not permitted to tour the port. The port is closed every week on Sunday.
- Time: 80 mins
- Price: 6,000 JPY
- Available from October to December
Kelp Preparation
Early in the morning, just outside of Kobu Stays, join fishermen as they wash and dry large stalks of kelp and lay them on the rocky shores. A long tour with hard work is rewarded with a breakfast on the beach.
- Time: 2.5 hours
- Price: 6,000 JPY
- Available from July to August
Toyama Family, Farmers in Obihiro
At the Toyama family farmhouse, learn how to create miso from different sets of beans. Each bean offers a unique flavor, with each batch of miso age also creates a difference in flavor.
Toyama-san see’s miso a crucial part to the Japanese diet and a cultural touchstone. She wants to share her favorite place in the world with guests.
Toyama farm also has a stay solution.
Miso making with Toyama-san
- Time: 3-4 hours
- Price: 22,000 JPY per person, from 2 persons, including farm-to-table lunch and an English guide
- Available from December to February
Taki, Nature Guide in Bihoro
Did you know you can build your own…snow surfboard?
Expert guide Taki-san will guide you over this two day experience in Bihoro Town on how to create your own board. You’ll pick the shape and paint your own design.
While the paint and glue dry, spend your time birdwatching, snowshoeing, and learning about the winter landscape of East Hokkaido. With a fresh powder snow day, tear up the silent forested slopes of Mt. Mokoto, the largest peak in the Kussharo Caldera.
Snow surfboard workshop with Taki
Spend day one making a yuki ita (snow board) and laying out its shape to you desires and body shape. You can also paint the board.
As it dries, enjoy snowshoeing, birdwatching, safety management and then the following day head up to Mt. Mokoto to enjoy powder show.
Limited workshops are held year per year and only when snowfall is best.
- Time: 3 hours
- Price
- Powder snow surfing only: 18,000 JPY for 1 participant, or 10,000 JPY per person for 2 or more participants
- Powder snow surfing borad making & snow surfing, 2 days one night: Starting from 40,000 JPY per person
- Available from Mid Januiary to early March
Gen, Nature Expert in Shiretoko
Learn what it feels to be in nature. Discover awe as you look across the horizon and see it covered in drift ice. Witness frozen waterfalls and wildlife up close in its most wild habitat.
Snowshoeing thorugh Shiretoko with Gen
Gen is a longtime guide and conservationist in Shiretoko, his favorite place in the world, one he’s dying to share with you.
- Time: 3 hours
- Price: 8,000 JPY per person
- Available from January to Marh
Karch, Nature Lovers in Kamishihoro
Despite its penchant for snow, Hokkaido’s wintery wonderland is often not travelled by snowmobiles. Laws prevent snowmobiles from both public and private land.
The local team of nature lovers in Kamishihoro offer a solution.
Snowmobile in the Highlands near Obihiro
Enjoy a private snowmobile tour, a rarity in East Hokkaido, and drive up the snow covered road towards the Naitai highland terrace park where you’ll be served a multi course meal of Wagyu, sukiyaki, and Hokkaido grown vegetables and ingredients.
- Time: 1-3 hours
- Price
- Smowmobiling only: 30,000 JPY per person
- Snowmobiling & lunch: 50,000 JPY per person
- Available from late January to early March