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Shiretoko NP, Hokkaido
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In 2008, a botanist recorded the rare grass Schizachne purpurascens subsp. callosa on Rausu—the first record on the Shiretoko Peninsula. A survey counted 694 flowering plants across a 2-hectare scree slope.
From Rausu’s summit, Kunashiri’s highest peak, 1,772-m Chacha-dake, is visible across the strait. Both mountains share the Ainu name Chacha-nupuri, often rendered “old man mountain.”
Rausu’s summit carries a lava dome, and geologists identify 3 major eruptive periods in the past 2,300 years. Ash from one explosive eruption reached central Kunashiri, roughly 60 km away.
In the 1920s, no road linked Utoro and Rausu, so climbers reached Shiretoko by ship from Abashiri or Nemuro. In 1928, one party spent 6 days crossing from a Kamuiwakka fishing station via Io-zan to Rausu.
On April 1, 2025, Rausu officially “lost” 1 m: Japan’s listed elevation changed from 1,661 to 1,660 m during a nationwide switch to satellite-based elevation standards. The peak didn’t shrink; the measuring system changed.
Around 1,000 m on Rausu, Japanese stone pine and Sakhalin fir already grow—far lower than on Honshu. High-latitude weather can feel like a 3,000-m Honshu peak, with snowfields lasting into July.
“Rausu” carries a different story from the mountain’s older Ainu name: Rausu Town traces its own name to Raushi, “place of animal bones,” linking it to this area’s history as an Ainu hunting ground.
