The first test run for touring the Sea of Okhotsk by kayak was carried out on September 13 at the Abashiri coast. A first-time kayak rider, I joined the tour as a reporter for a wonderful view of untouched, beautiful nature and a panorama with the ambiance of deep history. It was a journey that made me feel the magnificence of the Sea of Okhotsk anew.
At 9:00 in the morning, I received an explanatory orientation from a male guide. I then put on a life vest and got into a two-person kayak with the guide. Following other four kayaks, we set out to sea cautiously.
The tour starts at and comes back to the Futatsuiwa coast that is famous for its huge rocks. It is a two-hour round-trip course in which kayakers slice through the water for two kilometers, detouring around the rocks, and aim to reach the beach hidden by rocks. The wind was strong, but the participants kept going forward saying, “This is thrilling and fun!”
I paddled as if my life depended on it for 30 minutes, got to the beach, and came ashore. There are no houses nearby, and a beautiful, untouched beach with washed-up shells and driftwood stretches out before the eye. There is a 10-meter tall sheer-cliff nearby with layer upon layer of visible geological strata.
The president of the tour organizer, “Okhotsk Rural Village Activity Tourism Promotion Council,” explained, “The bottom layer is from the ‘Miocene Epoch’ from about 20 million years ago.” I was amazed to learn that this is a place where you can observe the grandeur of history.
After a break, we got back in our kayaks. The return trip proceeded a lot more casually, and I was awed with the feeling of becoming one with nature amidst the sun-sparkling Sea of Okhotsk. The Promotion Council is aiming to commoditize this tour from next year onward.