The Shiretoko peninsula is a UNESCO...
The Shiretoko peninsula is a UNESCO site. The Goko 5 lakes is an accessible way to experience primeval forest, one of the factors which contributed to this status.
There is a hop on - hop off bus service from Utoro which stops at Goko and also at the national park center. When you arrive, you need to register and attend a 10 minute bear awareness lecture. From this years sightings it seems the bears are most visible at the end of July, and during this period you may need to be accompanied by a guide.
The path that passes all five lakes takes around around 90mins. When we visited a typhoon was about to arrive. The low visibility certainly resulted in an air of mystery and a 'Jurassic park' atmosphere. There is a well designed raised walkway section but I think we would need to come back in better weather in order to savor the views of the volcanic backbone of the peninsula and the peaks of Rausu and Io.
