Wakkanai: Rishiri & Rebun Island

Work has finished and Golden Week has begun. I choose to take a pleasant, five hour train ride to the northern most tip of Hokkaido and Japan – Wakkanai.  Said with a different intonation to the ‘I don’t know’, wakkanai.

On first arrival, there didn’t seem like there was much there, a tiny train station, a Seikomart, a lot of seafood restraunts. Early to bed for the early start for the ferry to the islands.

Off the coast of Wakkanai there are two islands that are National Parks, Rishiri and Rebun Island. Rishiri has a mountain in the centre, standing at 1721 metres high, is the first thing you see from the ferry. Towering down and still covered in snow, with large peaks and rock faces. I could also see Mt Rishiri on the train arriving into Wakkani, all pinks and purples in the early evening sunset.

Right outside the ferry terminal on Rishiri Island there are about four or five car rental / omiyagi shops. Knowing there was a cycle path, I went to the bike hire hut. No one there, went next door and asked the omiyagi lady, who called the bike guy. Moments later he arrives and gives me a purple mama-chari bike for three hours.

I am off to Hime-numa, Princess Lake, five kilometers from the ferry terminal. The first two were on the flat, following the ocean road, then the last three were up a very steep slope that I had to get off and push. Hime-numa is also the start of the path to take up to Mt Pon, a smaller mountain. The path started out fine, then as more and more snow covered the path it become too difficult to continue and I had to turn back and take the more mellow, Hime-numa Nature Trail, which followed the edge of the lake.

Fun reflectors on Rishiri

On the way down, I joined up with the cycle path and took it to the Notsuka view point looking over the ocean. Rode the cycle path all the way back to the ferry terminal in time for the next ferry to Rebun Island.

Rebun Island, famous for it’s large range of wild flowers in the summer althought I was a little too early for the flowers. The Rebun ferry terminal has a variety of leaflets on the different trails you can do on the island. I took the Momoiwa walking trail, one of the shorter ones, which was mainly covered in dry grass, with a few little plants trying to push their way out. At the look out point it was very windy and a lot of cloud cover blocked the view. I followed the trail out towards a lighthouse; I didn’t reach it as I had to make it back to get the ferry back to the mainland. Wasn’t too disappointed, couldn’t see much because of the clouds and the wind was getting a little too much. When I did get back to the ferry terminal, found I was too early by nearly an hour, so used the time to go to the Rebun onsen.

If you are short on time, it’s best to plan which ferries you want to take, the ferry company connecting the islands is called Heart Land Ferry and they have an English website here.

By the time I got back to Wakkanani, I was famished and went to a little place right next to the station for a large bowl of crab ramen. After a day of trampling around, was well needed.

Rishiri & Rebun Island