Travel to the 'end of the earth' at Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula

A view of the Frepe Waterfall, dubbed the Otome no Namida (Virgin’s Tears), by locals.
A view of the Frepe Waterfall, dubbed the Otome no Namida (Virgin’s Tears), by locals.ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Walter Sim at Cape Notoro and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Walter Sim at Cape Notoro and the Sea of Okhotsk.ST PHOTO: WALTER SIM
Japan Correspondent
  • Published
    Dec 28, 2020, 8:00 pm SGT
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OKHOTSK, HOKKAIDO - As one would expect from a place whose name has roots in an aboriginal phrase that means "end of the earth", there is vast emptiness on the rugged Shiretoko Peninsula on the north-eastern tip of Hokkaido.

It is here that I meet Mrs Etsuko Umezawa, 76, an ethnic Ainu whose dialect had inspired the destination's name ("sir etok").

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