Kaminoko Pond

Sorry for the long delay between posts. As I’m sure you can understand, back to school in September for teachers is like Christmas for Santa Claus, the busiest time of the year by far. It seemed like a never-ending highly-stressful nightmare, but I’m happy to report that I’m alive! These days when people wistfully say that teaching English in Japan sounds like the easiest, funnest job in the world I just laugh, and then laugh a little more, and hopefully I stop laughing before they think I’m crazy. It’s hard work, anyone who thinks teaching is a “soft & cushy” job has obviously never taught.  Anyways, on to my actual story!

The Kaminoko Pond on the border out of Shiretoko was the last place in Hokkaido that I visited where I can honestly say I felt lucky. It would appear that I not only left my heart in Shiretoko, I left my luck too.

Kaminoko Pond (神の子池 Kaminoko-ike) is a very well known beautiful pond just outside the border of the Shiretoko National Park, near Lake Mashu.  Its aquamarine and emerald green waters are mysterious to behold and it’s no wonder it was given the name “Child of God Pond”…although, that may also be because the person who first discovered it thought it was a miracle not merely to behold but to find!It’s really nestled deep in the woods, so be prepared for an adventure getting there! You won’t need 4-wheel drive to make it there, but it is a bit bumpy. It’s well worth the trouble of finding, so don’t give up!

  Seeing as there is VERY little information (in English) about instructions on how to get there I thought I’d try to help folks out.

How to get to Kaminoko Pond:

Coming back from Shiretoko National Park change from Route 334 and get onto Route 1115 (heading towards Lake Mashu). From the base of the peninsula, this will take approximately 1 hour (48km or so).

When you see this sign turn in off Route 1115. You’ll need to drive a little bit uphill over some bumpy terrain, this will take approximately 10 minutes.