The hotel spa where I am staying is located up on some cliffs overlooking the seashore. They have a beautiful walking trail that goes among the grasses of the plains and along the edge of the bluffs. Along these cliffs are many geographic features that were revered by the local Ainu and it is partially to see these natural promontories first-hand that I came to Noboribetsu.
Today, I chose to walk along the top of Osorokochi (Osorokot), meaning “indentation of the buttocks” (Yamada H. 1986, 170–171). This geographic feature is a U-shaped indentation in the cliff face that creates a pocket of low-lying land near the beach. It is said to have been created by accident when the culture hero (Kotan-kar-kamui) was grilling a whale over a fire using a huge skewer, which gave a loud snap and the hero fell backwards in surprise (Strong S. 2011, 49).
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