Seseki Waterfall (seseki-no-taki [セセキの滝])

Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan

About Seseki Waterfall (seseki-no-taki [セセキの滝])

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Seseki Waterfall (seseki-no-taki [セセキの滝]; “Hot Spring Falls” in Ainu?) was a rather unsung and obscure but tall seaside waterfall spilling towards a sleepy village on the east coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula.

Of course, this was really a waterfalling excuse to experience the Seseki Onsen, which was a seaside hot spring that’s free and public when it’s not high tide.

Seseki_081_07172023 - The Seseki Waterfall in the Eastern Shiretoko Peninsula
The Seseki Waterfall in the Eastern Shiretoko Peninsula

When it’s high tide, then the onsen can be submerged under the sea water, making it unsafe for bathers given the combination of deeper water and waves.

Nevertheless, seaside hot springs like this aren’t very common in Japan (let alone the world), and the novelty of bathing here while staring at the sea or even the Seseki Falls in the distance was a real treat.

There were two pools at the Seseki Onsen, but the smaller cold one was a feeder pool for the larger hot one.

Needless to say, it’s the larger hot spring that you’ll want to bathe in, but definitely watch out for very hot water that bubbles in because it can easily burn you in those spots.

Seseki_027_07172023 - Looking at the context of the larger pool of the Seseki Onsen with Seseki Falls way in the distance (hard to see in this photo)
Looking at the context of the larger pool of the Seseki Onsen with Seseki Falls way in the distance (hard to see in this photo)

The water in the Seseki Onsen can also be a bit on the slimy side given the amount of algae that grows here.

Apparently, donations are appreciated for periodic clean up of these onsens.

Anyways, going back to the waterfall, despite it being essentially roadside, it’s so obscure that it didn’t even appear to have an official sanctioned pullout or car park.

Therefore, we actually had to walk to this waterfall from the Seseki Onsen, which did have a public car park (see directions below).

Seseki_051_07172023 - Mom and my nephew walking along the Route 87 towards the Seseki Waterfall
Mom and my nephew walking along the Route 87 towards the Seseki Waterfall

The roadside walk along the narrow road between Seseki Onsen and Seseki Waterfall (so passing cars did have to swerve around us) was about 800m in each direction (or 1.6km round trip).

It was during this walk that we noticed the main industry was cultivating seaweed (so there was definitely a strong seaweed smell here).

Harvesting seaweed was apparently a big deal in and around the Rausu side of Shiretoko Peninsula because they apparently supply high quality seaweed to the rest of Japan.

There was also road work going on during our mid-July 2023 visit, where we saw crew rappelling and doing dangerous work trying to mitigate against rockfalls potentially impacting the Route 87 Road.

Seseki_056_07172023 - Looking up at some workers trying to perform rockfall mitigation measures to protect the Route 87, which is the only road up and down the east coast of Shiretoko north of Rausu
Looking up at some workers trying to perform rockfall mitigation measures to protect the Route 87, which is the only road up and down the east coast of Shiretoko north of Rausu

It was dangerous, but necessary work because this was the only road going up and down this coastline.

Overall, we spent about 45 minutes away from the car.

That said, I did see one driver “cheat” by pulling out in an unsanctioned driveway to get his shot before continuing on.

Authorities

The Seseki Waterfall resides north of the town of Rausu in the Menashi District of Hokkaido, Japan. It may be administered by the local authorities in Rausu. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Nasukarasuyama Tourism Association website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.

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Tagged with: seseki falls, sesekinotaki, sesekino falls, sesekino waterfall, rausu-cho, shiretoko, hokkaido, japan, seseki onsen, sesekionsen, seseki hot spring, rausu, shiretoko pass, mt rausu



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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