Wakkanai

Wakkanai (稚内, [1]) is the northernmost city in Japan. It has a population of about 42,000, and is in the subdistrict of Soya in northern Hokkaido.

Travel to Wakkanai - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Wakkanai

Wakkanai's tiny airport (WKJ) fields regular flights to Sapporo and Tokyo (Haneda), with additional summer-only services to Nagoya and Kansai. The airport is 20 minutes away from Wakkanai station by bus.

By train

The JR Soya Honsen line connect Wakkanai to Asahikawa. There are two stations in city limits, Wakkanai itself as well as Minami-Wakkanai to the south.

Three daily Super Soya and Sarobetsu Limited Express trains make direct runs from Sapporo in 5-6 hours, at a hefty price (~¥10000). There is no charge to use this train with the Japan Rail Pass.

By boat

The spanking new ferry terminal hosts frequent (in summer) connections to the National park islands of Rebun and Rishiri.

Right across from this terminal, is the International Ferry terminal with weekly departures for Korsakov, on Sakhalin Island. Journey time is 5.5 hours, and one way tickets starts at 24.000 Yen. Note that a Russian visa is required to buy tickts bound for Russia.

All ferries out of Wakkanai are operated by the Heartland Ferry Company [2].

Tours and Getting around Wakkanai

Wakkanai tourist attractions and sightseeing

Ryuhyo (floating ice) is of interest in winter, and occurs either in February or March. It is ice that drifts in from the sea. Dog sled races are also held in February.

Wakkanai city tours

Wakkanai has a variety of stores and bars, a shopping mall, and a bowling alley. It does not have a movie theater, probably due to the fact that it is a small city, and movie theaters in Japan are expensive, one ticket costing 1800 yen (about 15-16 American dollars).

Try biking north along the coast to see the dozens of small seaweed drying family operations to know where the seaweed in your food comes from. At the northern tip a nice lighthouse and an excellent aquarium awaits you - with great views of Government radars on green hills - and the islands of Rishiri and Rebun and Sahkalin visible.

Wakkanai souvenirs and shopping

Wakkanai Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Wakkanai is known for its variety of seafood. Catching and selling sea-dwelling creatures (fish, crab, octopus et cetera) and drying of seaweed may be considered the industry in Wakkanai.

Wakkanai nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Wakkanai cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

There are three large hotels in Wakkanai, the ANA hotel, the Wakkanai Sun Hotel and the Dormy Inn. The Wakkanai Sun has free wifi in the lobby, however non smokers be warned, every room is a smoking room. They are all quite pricy however. Expect 8000 Yen for a single room and 16000 for a double. One can wonder why a small town with 40.000 inhabitants needs a great luxury hotel like the ANA hotel. The answer is probably an influx of Russian tourists.

There are two youth hostels at 3-4000 Yen per night. The Wakkanai Moshiripa and the Wakkanai YH.

Get out

• Rebun and Rishiri - Japan's northernmost national park

This page was last edited by Jani Patokallio. Based on work by D. Guillaume, Stefan Ertmann, Jose Ramos and Patrick Kelso and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license