Article

01694 ／らうすちょう

Hokkaido 目梨郡

Rausu Town

A sea-set hot spring sinks at high tide.

Seseki hot spring, on the coast

Photo by Snap55 (CC BY 3.0)

01 ／ Okhotsk culture

A trough with a bear's head on its spoutcame from a settlement of about the 7th–8th century.

The site lies on a sand dune facing the Nemuro Strait, and a 1982 excavation found 15 pit-dwelling remains and more. The 260 finds were designated Important Cultural Properties on September 4, 2015, and include a wooden chain with a bear-head ornament.

260 finds, Important Cultural Properties
Designated September 4, 2015
15 pit-dwelling remains and more

02 ／ Luminous moss

The cave moss glows to the eye becauseit reflects light from behind the viewer.

The Cultural Heritage Online commentary says what glows is the protonema, a mass of spherical lens cells with chloroplasts. The Rausu moss is a Hokkaido-designated natural monument, and the town museum shows the living moss.

Hokkaido-designated natural monument
Designated December 24, 1963
The protonema is what glows

03 ／ End of the road

24 km north of Rausu on Road 87,a place is known as the road's end.

The town's distance table gives 24 km and 30 minutes from Rausu to the place. The tourism site says it lies north on Hokkaido Road 87, past the Seseki hot spring, and introduces it as famous as the end of the road. It says the hot spring there is said to have been found in 1899.

24 km, 30 minutes from Rausu
North on Hokkaido Road 87
Its hot spring said to be found in 1899

Rausu Town from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot June–September 2024)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

No railway station; 195 minutes by bus from Beppo.

about 5,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the town. The Akan Bus Kushiro–Rausu line runs from the Beppo Station stop on the Nemuro Main Line to Rausu in 195 minutes with no transfer, counting the fastest of the daily services. The town names Shiretoko-Shari Station in Shari Town as the nearest station.

People living here: 4,722people
Area: 397.72km²
Households: 1,958households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 2 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —0 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Rausu Town in Japan44.022°N 145.190°E

to BeppoLocal bus195min

Travel times follow 阿寒バス『釧路羅臼線』（日本語PDF https://www.akanbus.co.jp/route/pdf/time/rausu.pdf・紙面2024/10/1・Last-Modified 2024-10-01）の便3（別保駅前8:40→羅臼営業所11:55）と便9（別保駅前14:10→羅臼営業所17:25）はどちらも195分。★（土日祝運休）の印の無い毎日運転の便（便801・便11は標津止まり・★）。英語PDF（https://www.akanbus.co.jp/pdf/en/Rausu-line.pdf・2026年4月1日〜9月30日・Last-Modified 2026-04-30）の釧路駅前8:15→羅臼11:55・13:45→17:25（平日・土日祝とも）と、日本語PDFの便3・便9の釧路駅前の時刻が一致する。2026-10-29 に読んだ。 (checked 2026-10-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 2 municipalities.

Territory of Rausu Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

53.6km

Shari Town, Shibetsu Town

Rausu Town isthis kind of town.

01The Seseki hot spring is made of stones set in the sea on the Seseki coast of Rausu Town; the tourism site says it goes under at high tide and can be too hot because the 64°C source is not diluted at low tide
02The 260 finds from the Matsunori River north-bank site are Important Cultural Properties, the Rausu moss is a Hokkaido natural monument, and Hokkaido Road 87 ends at a place known as the road's end
03The town is split with Shari Town along the Shiretoko mountains, has no railway station, and is 195 minutes by Akan Bus from the Beppo Station stop

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Rausu Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes