- October 20th, 2015
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[Cape Sukoton in Rebun Island] Feeling like Furthest Reaches of Japan Can Be Enjoyed in Nearly Northernmost of Japan
CONTENTS
Cape Sukoton
Cape Sukoton (スコトン岬) is one of the Japan's northernmost lookout point in the northwestern part of Rebun Island (礼文島). The Sukoton means "A bay in a large valley" in Ainu language. Todo Island (トド島 * The Todo means the Sea Lion in Japanese) can be viewed, and Sakhalin Island (サハリン島) can be seen just a little, too, if the weather is good. The feeling such as the furthest reaches of the Japan is popular, so a lot of tourists come. The sunset across the sea of the Japan from here is beautiful, too. Sukotonmisaki Observation Deck (スコトン岬展望台), Sukotonmisaki Sightseeing Souvenir Shop "Shima-no-Hito" (スコトン岬観光おみやげ店「島の人」), Minshuku Sukotonmisaki (民宿スコトン岬), a public restroom and a parking lot are built at the site. Admission free. The parking lot is free of charge. By the way, the wind is strong at the Cape Sukoton, please be careful not to blow your hat and not to be gotten hair messy.
Movie of Cape Sukoton
The Sukotonmisaki Sightseeing Souvenir Shop "Shima-no-Hito", the nearly northernmost souvenir shop, and the public restroom, the nearly northernmost public restroom, are built beside the parking lot. At the souvenir shop, souvenir can be bought, and seafood rice bowl using fresh marine products such as sea urchin or fishes is served, too. In addition, Rishiri Kombu flavored soft serve ice cream is popular with tourists. The Minshuku Sukotonmisaki is halfway to the path to the observation deck, and opens a business between 3 months, about from June to September. Earless seals can sometimes be seen from the inn. By the way, Here is well-known as as a shooting place for Japanese movie "A Chorus of Angels (北のカナリア達)" that Ms. Sayuri Yoshinaga (吉永小百合), a famous actress, played a roll used here, too.
Movie of A Chorus of Angels
The Cape Sukoton is also the starting point (or the ending point) of Cape Tour Course (岬めぐりコース). The length of the Cape Tour Course is 12.4 km in total. Hikers go a tour for 3 capes, Cape Sukoton (スコトン岬), Cape Gorota (ゴロタ岬) and the Cape Sky. It takes about 5 hours on foot. From mid May to mid June, Cypripedium marcanthum var. rebunense (レブンアツモリソウ), one of the most famous flowers in the Rebun Island, can be seen at the Cypripedium marcanthum var. rebunense Colony (レブンアツモリソウ群生地).
Rebun Island Trail Map
Movie of Cape Tour Course
Cape Gorota
Cape Gorota (ゴロタ岬) is a lookout point in the northwestern part of Rebun Island (礼文島). Gorotamisaki Lookout (ゴロタ岬展望台) is built at the mountaintop of about 180 m elevation Mt. Gorota with precipitous cliffs at the sea side, and Cape Sukoton (スコトン岬), Awabikotan (鮑古丹), Cape Kaneda (金田岬), Gorota Beach (ゴロタ浜), Teppu Beach (鉄府浜) and trails of Cape Tour Course (島巡りコース) can be viewed. Especially, the Cape Sukoton from here is a superb view. Seasonal wild flowers can be savored along a trail to the mountaintop, and here is also known as a good place to see the sunset. Tourist facilities such as a souvenir shop or a restroom are not built. Admission free. A parking lot is free of charge. Read More
Cape Sukai
Cape Sky (澄海岬) is a lookout point in the northwestern part of Rebun Island (礼文島), and is well-known for having an atmosphere such as a beach of a southern country with transparent blue sea, and is one of most popular toursit attractions to enjoy relatively easily a superb view in the Rebun island. Its name of the sky has a double meaning. The one is clear sea in Japanese (澄 means clear in Englsih, and 海 means sea in English), and the another one is the kanji (澄海) with a reading for sky in English. Unfortunately, the beach is off limits. The cape is nearby Nishikamidomari Fishing Port (西上泊漁港), and Sukaimisaki Souvenir Shop (澄海岬観光売店), a parking lot, a public restroom and Nishikamidomari Shrine (西上泊神社) are built near here, too. It is said that the sunset and the starry sky from here are also beautiful. Admission free. The parking lot is free of charge. Read More
There are some means of transportation for the island tourism, for example, a sightseeing bus and a fixed-route bus managed by the Soya bus (宗谷バス), a sightseeing taxi, a rental car, a rental motor scooter and a rental bicycle. I went around the Rebun Island by the rental motor scooter, and it was very comfortable. The Rebun has a lot of slopes, so I think that the bicycle is tough. By the way, if tourists raise their hand in the case of fixed-route bus happening to pass, they can get on the bus without a bus stop, and can get off the bus without a bus stop.
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Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park
Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park (利尻礼文サロベツ国立公園) located in the northern Hokkaido between Rishiri Island, Rebun Island, Toyotomi Town and Horonobe Town is the northernmost national park in Japan, and has been designated as the national park since 1974. The area is 24,166 ha. It consists of 2 islands, wetlands and the coast, and beautiful nature such as the sea, mountains, wild flowers and wetlands is highlight. Because the Northern Hokkaido has few famous tourist attracsions, the national park is one of the most famous nature tourist attracsions. The Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park is divided into 4 areas, Rishiri Area (利尻), Rebun Area (礼文), Coastal Sand-dune Area (海浜砂丘) and Sarobetsu Area (サロベツ), and the Rishiri Area (利尻), the Rebun Area (礼文) and the Sarobetsu Area have a lot of highlights. Read More
Sukotonmisaki Observation Deck
The Sukotonmisaki Observation Deck is a lookout point built at the tip of the Cape Sukoton, and is located on a rocky place at about 18 m above sea level. The distance is about 60 m away from the end edge of a road to the observation deck. The observation deck surrounded by fences has no tourist faclities. The Todo Island, Manju rocks (マンジュウ岩 * The Manju means "A bun with a bean‐jam filling" in English), Tataki Island (タタキ島) and Cape Kaneda (金田ノ岬) at the opposite of the Cape Sukoton can be seen. When visitors look over the beach, rotted houses and rocky places come in insight, so I suppose that they feel like coming the furthest reaches of the Japan.
The Todo Island is an uninhabited island at 1 km away from the north side of the Cape Sukoton, and the circumference of the island is about 4 km. Marine mammals and seabirds such as Harbor Seal and Slaty-backed Gulls inhabit there. Because dozens of Sea Lions have gathered for passing a winter from November to April, and those were ever hunted, the island was named as the Todo Island. Mr. Shizuo Tawara (俵静夫), a master of the sea lion hunter, featured on A Passionate Challenger (情熱大陸), a popular Japanese TV program, used to live there.
Atmosphere of Cape Sukoton Can Be Watched on Youtube
Movie of Cape Sukoton
| Admission fee | Free of charge |
|---|---|
| Parking lot | Free parking is provided (26 cars) |
| Business hour | Open 24 hours |
| Regular closing day | Winter season |
| Telephone number | +81-163-86-1001 |
| Home page | Home page is here |
| Mapcode | 854 761 229*21 |
List of Accommodations
Refer to following websites for the accommodations in the Rebun. You can get information regarding online reviews and photos.
A page of Rebun Island is here
Rebun Island
By the way, Club Tourism (クラブツーリズム), a Japanese tour travel agency, provides various types of tours such as day trip tours or ordinary tours. In the case of bus tours, tourists do not drive their cars themselves, so they can savor alcohol. Choosen tourist attractions are national parks such as Rishiri and Rebun, Shiretoko, and popular tourist places such as Furano and Biei, and some activities such as hiking and fruit picking are also enjoyed depending on seasons. If you are interested in tour trips, you should visit the club tourism's website for details.
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