P315 - Japan - National Park Shiretoko ,Hokkaido

National Park Shiretoko, Hokkaido, Japan (UNESCO WHS)

Shiretoko National Park (知床国立公園, Shiretoko Kokuritsu Kōen) covers most of the Shiretoko Peninsula at the northeastern tip of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. The word "Shiretoko" is an Ainu word meaning "end of the Earth".

One of the most remote regions in all of Japan, much of the peninsula is only accessible on foot or by boat. The park is best known as the home of Japan's largest brown bear population and for offering views of the disputed Kunashiri Island, claimed by Russia. The park has a hot springs waterfall called Kamuiwakka Falls (カムイワッカの滝, Kamuiwakka-no-taki). Kamui wakka means "water of the gods" in Ainu.

The forests of the park are temperate and subalpine mixed forests; the main tree species include Sakhalin fir (Abies sachalinensis), Erman's birch (Betula ermanii) and Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica). Beyond the forest limit there are impenetrable Siberian Dwarf Pine (Pinus pumila) thickets.

In 2005, UNESCO designated the area a World Heritage Site, advising to develop the property jointly with Kuril Islands of Russia as a transboundary "World Heritage Peace Park".

知床國立公園為日本北海道知床半島上的國立公園，面積38,633公頃。於1964年6月1日成為國立公園。

範圍跨越斜里郡斜里町和目梨郡羅臼町，多數區域為原生林所覆蓋，並有棕熊、北海道狐狸、虎頭海鵰、白尾海雕、海豹等野生動物。主要景點包括知床五湖和知床岬，同時每年1月到3月間在岸邊有流冰景觀。

2005年，知床半島被列入聯合國教科文組織的世界自然遺產。

References sources : Wikipedia