Nao Iwayama and the Team behind Shinra Nature Tour

Nao Iwayama who is originally from Tokyo, relocated to Hokkaido in the early 1980s. His love for mountains, forests, and wildlife saw him settle in Shiretoko, where he started Shinra, a small company that allows visitors to the area to enjoy the Shiretoko National Park while learning about its rich biodiversity and various ecosystems. He has a small, but competent team of staff who take visitors out into the national park to partake in a variety of activities including Drift Ice Walking in the ocean, Snow Shoe Hiking and Wildlife Watching. I had read about Shinra online but wanted to see for myself what Nao and his team are all about, so one cold February morning I made the trip up there from Tokyo.

I arrived in Shiretoko in the early evening and checked into my hotel, after dinner and a hot bath I received a phone call from Nao. He wanted to brief me on the following days’ activities and check that I was well prepared for a day exploring the wilds of Shiretoko. He went on to explain that I would be picked up from my hotel by one of his guides, Mr. Hayasaka, at 9am sharp the following day for a morning of walking on drift-ice–large chunks of ice that have drifted some 200-300 km across the Okhotsk Sea from Russia. After a thorough explanation of the day’s activities, I hit the sack feeling rather excited about what lay ahead!

The next day I was greeted at the reception of my hotel by an eager looking Mr. Hayasaka, who led me to his car, and off we went towards the coast. When we arrived it was so full of drift-ice that it appeared to be frozen solid! Mr. Hayasaka was quick to tell me in detail about the journey the ice has made from Russia, and how it benefits the local ecosystem and food chain. We hadn’t even started the activity yet and already I’m learning all sorts of information about the benefits of drift ice to the local community!

The rest of the participants and I changed into our dry-suits and listened carefully to Mr. Hayasaka’s safety talk, and he then led us down to the seafront where we hopped on to the closest chunk of floating ice. Mr. Hayasaka lead us out to sea, stepping from one solid block of ice to another, with the creaking sound underfoot making us feeling both nervous and excited.
Being of Ainu descent himself, Mr. Hayasaka also gave us a detailed and fascinating account of his family experience growing up in Hokkaido–the native land to the Ainu people. He told us of their rich history along the Shiretoko Peninsula and how his grandmother instilled in him traditional Ainu values from a young age. The drift ice walking tour was every bit as educational as it was physical. I later learnt that the boss of Shinra, Nao, has a lot of respect for the history of the Ainu people, and places a lot of emphasis on teaching his customers about their heritage. As we chatted away about this intriguing history we also stopped every now and then for photos on the drift ice, photos unlike any I have taken before!

After the tour I caught up with Nao Iwayama again to discuss the afternoon’s activities, and he explained that I would be snowshoe hiking deep into the forest, a place that various birds and animals call home. A keen bird watcher from a young age, he started reeling off the different species one can see around the peninsula and explained that his passion for bird watching was what inspired him to relocate to Hokkaido in the first place. He also told me of the importance of the birds and animals to the history of the native Ainu people and that the animals we can find here are the life and soul of Hokkaido.

Nao’s colleague and the afternoon’s guide, Mr. Okawa, soon arrived and we set off for the forest to begin our snowshoe hike. Mr. Okawa was quick to point out an abundance of wildlife as we entered the thick woods, it started with groups of woodpeckers, who were perched on trees all around us hammering the trunks, but quickly turned to herds of deer sweeping majestically across the snow-covered landscapes ahead of us. A few foxes also made a brief appearance!

Similar to the morning tour, Mr. Okawa took great pride in dropping knowledge on the group about the nature surrounding us. He was not only a great source of knowledge but also a keen amateur photographer, meaning he had lots of ideas about where to stop and shoot images too.

As well as Mr. Okawa, another long-term member of the team, Mr. Hayata, also takes groups around the peninsula for snowshoe hikes, and I joined one of his hikes on my final day in Shiretoko. The destination was Furepe Falls, a 100 meter-tall waterfall that flows from the cracks in a cliff and plunges into the ocean. As with the rest of the crew, Mr. Hayata is extremely knowledgeable about his routes and is full of facts to keep you entertained along the way. He lead us to the falls through some of the most beautifully sparse snow-covered landscapes I have ever seen!

From the minute we set off on our trek it was immediately obvious that Mr. Hayata was a hit with the younger members of the group. Keen to hear him speak and keep up with him there was a line of junior explorers hot on his tail the whole way.

Watching him interact with both adults and children so well, and managing to keep everyone’s attention as he did it, I realized the Shinra team are genuinely professional when it comes to playing host around Shiretoko. They possess everything from physical fitness and knowledge, to awareness and sensitivity about everyone’s needs, all the while maintaining a fun and exciting atmosphere. I was sure to tell all of this to Nao Iwayama upon returning to the base camp at the end of the day. His reaction was a broad smile and a nod of the head. He concluded that he is happy as long as the guests to Shiretoko are happy and the flora and fauna are healthy and free. One cannot argue with a positive attitude like that!

SHINRA Shiretoko Naturalist’s Association

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