Rausu Onsen Hokkaido

Rausu Onsen Hokkaido is a natural hot spring in Rausu Town on the eastern shore of the Shiretoko Peninsula, the UNESCO World Heritage coastline of the Okhotsk Subprefecture where Rausu offers some of the most spectacular wildlife viewing accessible to travelers in all of Japan, including daily winter and spring cruises from the fishing harbor to observe Steller's sea eagles — the world's largest eagle species, with a wingspan up to 2.5 meters — hunting fish on the sea ice alongside the Japanese white-tailed eagle, and frequent sightings of foraging brown bears on the coastal slopes above the spring sea. The fishing harbor at Rausu represents one of Hokkaido's most productive and authentic maritime communities, where the winter catch of snow crab (zuwaigani) and the summer salmon and Pacific cod fishing sustain a traditional fishing economy that has operated in the waters of the Nemuro Strait since the Ainu people first settled these shores and Japanese fishermen followed in the Meiji period. The chloride thermal spring waters of Rausu, flowing from the volcanic geology of the Shiretoko mountains at temperatures reaching 66 degrees Celsius, fill simple outdoor pools and ryokan baths in a setting where the raw elemental beauty of sea ice, eagle wings, and brown bear culture creates one of Japan's most powerfully wild and authentic wilderness onsen experiences.