The name in Ainu means "the end of the Earth." And the bleakness and ruggedness of this lonely peninsula jutting out into the Sea of Okhotsk are such that little imagination is required as to how the Ainu -- the indigenous people of Hokkaido -- happened by the name of Shiretoko.
Located in eastern Hokkaido, the Shiretoko Peninsula is a 70-km-long finger of land that is one of the wildest and most remote areas of Japan. So successfully has development there been kept at bay that in July this year, Shiretoko was designated a World Heritage Site -- only the third natural site in Japan to make the UNESCO list.
Covering about half of the peninsula is the Shiretoko National Park, a 386-sq.-km. expanse of volcanic peaks, virgin forest, sheer cliffs, sparkling waterfalls, hot springs, rich fauna, vivid flora and -- blissfully -- hardly any roads.