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

Regions[edit]

43°23′49″N 145°10′5″E

Map of Eastern Circuit

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[edit]

Cities[edit]

• 42.983333144.3833331 Kushiro (釧路市 Kushiro-shi) – the largest city in the Circuit with 200,000 people
• 44.016667144.2666672 Abashiri (網走市 Abashiri-shi) – fishing town famous for drift ice and infamous for its prison
• 43.8143.93 Kitami (北見市 Kitami-shi) – the onion capital of Japan
• 44.35143.354 Monbetsu (紋別市 Monbetsu-shi)
• 43.333333145.5833335 Nemuro (根室市 Nemuro-shi) – at the easternmost tip of Hokkaido
• 42.916667143.26 Obihiro (帯広市 Obihiro-shi) – the main city in the Tokachi Plain, a large

agricultural area

Towns[edit]

• 43.825144.1055567 Bihoro (美幌町 Bihoro-chō) – gateway to the Akan National Park
• 43.916667144.6666678 Shari (斜里町 Shari-chō) – gateway to Shiretoko National Park and home of onsen village Utoro

Other destinations[edit]

• 43.393806145.1174721 Betsukai
• 43.555222144.9713612 Nakashibetsu
• 43.661417145.1313063 Shibetsu
• 44.021944145.1897224 Rausu
• 43.232722143.2958065 Kamishihoro
• 42.697917143.1341676 Nakasatsunai
• 44.062083143.5275837 Engaru
• 43.911944144.1725568 Ōzora
• 44.192306143.0775839 Takinoue

National Parks[edit]

• 43.544444144.2836111 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
• 43.660278142.8580562 Daisetsuzan National Park (大雪山国立公園 Daisetsuzan Kokuritsu Kōen), – Japan's largest national park named after its "Great Snowy Mountains"
• 43.108144.4013 Kushiro-shitsugen National Park (釧路湿原国立公園 Kushiro-shitsugen Kokuritsu Kōen)
• 44.1145.1833334 Shiretoko National Park (知床国立公園 Shiretoko Kokuritsu Kōen) – the most inaccessible and least explored of Japan's national parks

Understand[edit]

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[edit]

By plane[edit]

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

Get around[edit]

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.

See[edit]

Do[edit]

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

Eat[edit]

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

Drink[edit]

Go next[edit]