Cape Shiretoko, Peninsula cape in Shari, Japan

Cape Shiretoko is the tip of the Shiretoko Peninsula in northeastern Hokkaido, a plateau 30 to 40 metres high ending in cliffs above the Sea of Okhotsk. Dense forest covers the top, and a small lighthouse stands on the Rausu side, about 700 metres southeast of the cape. The photographs show dark blocky rock at the shoreline and a pale structure near the crest.

The cape lies at the tip of the Shiretoko Peninsula, where nearly 100 pit-house sites from the Zoku-Jōmon and Okhotsk cultures remain. In 1669, during Shakushain's revolt, the village of Shiretoko sided with Shakushain. The peninsula was designated a national park in 1964, and in 2005 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The cape's name comes from the Ainu sir-etok, "the tip of the land"; the wider area was called Shiretoko, while the point itself was known as Nusaushi. Near Cape Shiretoko lie the remains of the Shiretoko-misaki site, with close to 100 pit dwellings from the Zoku-Jomon and Okhotsk periods, and the Bunkichi Bay chashi fortification. In 1669 the "Shiretoko village" sided with Shakushain during his uprising.

No road reaches the cape, and the nearest road end is the Aiboshi port at the terminus of Hokkaido Route 87; walking the coast from there covers about 25 km with no facilities and takes four to five days round trip. Powerboats may not land for recreation under a 1984 agreement, so visitors normally view the cape from sightseeing or nature-cruise boats out of Utoro or Rausu. The only regular chance for ordinary visitors to set foot on the cape is the Shiretoko Misaki Clean Operation, a cleanup event held by Rausu town since 1999.

Cape Shiretoko Lighthouse stands about 700 m southeast of the cape, near the boundary between Shari and Rausu. First lit in 1963, it rises 102 m above sea level and reaches 25.5 nautical miles. Its diesel generators once burned roughly 3,800 litres a year; since 2008 it has run on solar power.