A group of Japanese environmentalists conducted a weeklong sea kayak ecotour over the summer to collect garbage that had washed ashore on the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, putting people power to work in preserving the World Heritage site.
The tide carries massive amounts of ocean debris that accumulates along the craggy peninsula that juts out into the Sea of Okhotsk. Although local governments and others are involved in current cleanup efforts, it has been rough going due to the delicate operation needed to protect the environment from further human damage.
On the eve of June 22, about a dozen participants of the ecotour organized by local nonprofit Shiretoko Nature School collected garbage that had washed ashore on the coast near Kashuni Falls, a tourist attraction on the western side of the peninsula.