Eastern Circuit

Twisted trees near Lake Mashuko, Akan National Park

The Eastern Circuit (道東 Dōtō) covers the eastern half of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Regions

The Eastern Circuit is composed of the following four subprefectures:

• Okhotsk – it was renamed from Abashiri Subprefecture in 2010. Has a Japanese-only portal site for tourism.
• Tokachi – the region is dominated by the Tokachi Plain, a major agricultural area
• Kushiro – the region is dominated by the Kushiro Plain, a major agricultural area
• Nemuro – the region is dominated by the Nemuro Plain, a major agricultural area

Cities and towns

Cities

• 1 Kushiro (釧路市 Kushiro-shi) – the largest city in the circuit is the year-round home of endangered Japanese cranes, making it a popular stop for birdwatchers
• 2 Abashiri (網走市 Abashiri-shi) – fishing town famous for drift ice and infamous for its prison
• 3 Kitami (北見市 Kitami-shi) – the onion capital of Japan is also known for growing mint
• 4 Monbetsu (紋別市 Monbetsu-shi) — well known for drift ice and has a sea ice museum
• 5 Nemuro (根室市 Nemuro-shi) – at the easternmost tip of Hokkaido, famous for its seafood, dairy industry, bird-watching, and wild nature preserves
• 6 Obihiro (帯広市 Obihiro-shi) – the main city in the Tokachi Plain near the volcanic peaks of Daisetsuzan with its extraordinary alpine flora

Towns

• 7 Bihoro (美幌町 Bihoro-chō) – gateway to the Akan National Park; Bihoro Pass has views over Lake Kussharo in the nearby Akan National Park
• 8 Shari (斜里町 Shari-chō) – gateway to Shiretoko National Park and home of onsen village Utoro

Other destinations

• 1 Betsukai
• 2 Nakashibetsu
• 3 Shibetsu
• 4 Rausu
• 5 Kamishihoro
• 6 Nakasatsunai
• 7 Engaru
• 8 Ōzora
• 9 Takinoue

National Parks

• 1 Akan National Park (阿寒摩周国立公園 Akan Mashu Kokuritsu Kōen) – known for the crystalline mountain lakes of Akan, Kussharo and Mashu
• 2 Daisetsuzan National Park (大雪山国立公園 Daisetsuzan Kokuritsu Kōen), – Japan's largest national park named after its "Great Snowy Mountains"
• 3 Kushiro-shitsugen National Park (釧路湿原国立公園 Kushiro-shitsugen Kokuritsu Kōen)
• 4 Shiretoko National Park (知床国立公園 Shiretoko Kokuritsu Kōen) – the most inaccessible and least explored of Japan's national parks

Understand

Drift ice in Monbetsu

The most sparsely populated region in all Japan, this vast area is nearly 40,000 km² in size. While the easternmost part is largely flat, rural and filled with endless cow pastures, much of the circuit is ringed with mountains.

Get in

By plane

Kushiro, Monbetsu and Ōzora, Memanbetsu (near Abashiri) have regional airports.

Get around

Here, if anywhere in Japan, a rental car will come in handy. Train coverage is severely lacking (many lines have been terminated due to a lack of customers) and buses are infrequent, inconvenient and expensive.

Do

Eastern Hokkaido has beautiful coastline, wonderful outdoor hot springs, and remote hiking. Some combination of these should make for a satisfying visit.

Eat

Hokkaido on the whole is good for seafood — if you're on the coast — and dairy, and the east is no exception. In central Hokkaido, near Asahikawa and Furano, there are a plethora of melon stands, though by foreign standards, Japanese melons are exceedingly expensive.

Pork Bowl

• Pork Bowl (豚丼 Buta-don). Pork bowl with sightly bigger pork. Obihiro is originated, it is possible to eat in Tokachi whole area.