Eastern Circuit

Twisted trees near Lake Mashuko, Akan National Park The Eastern Circuit (道東 Dōtō) covers the eastern half of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Regions The Eastern Circuit is composed of the following four subprefectures: Abashiri Tokachi Kushiro Nemuro Cities Abashiri - fishing town famous for drift ice and infamous for its prison Bihoro - gateway to the Akan National Park Kitami - the onion capital of Japan Kushiro - the largest city in the Circuit with 200,000 people Obihiro - the main city in the Tokachi Plain, a large agricultural area Nemuro - at the easternmost tip of Hokkaido Other destinations Akan National Park - known for the crystalline mountain lakes of Akan, Kussharo and Mashu Daisetsuzan National Park - Japan's largest national park named after its "Great Snowy Mountains" Shiretoko National Park - the most inaccessible and least explored of Japan's national parks Shari - gateway to Shiretoko National Park and home of onsen village Utoro Understand 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 Kushiro and Memanbetsu (near Abashiri) have regional airports. Get around 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 Do Eastern Hokkaido has beautiful coastline, wonderful outdoor hot springs, and remote hiking. Some combination of these should make for a satisfying visit. Eat 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. Drink Get out This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!