It was a 3-day holiday in Japan, and we decided to do a road trip to Wakkanai. The weather was getting a bit cooler, but the road is still clear so we drove all the way to Wakkanai to Sapporo. Wakkanai is a small town located in the northern most point of Hokkaido island, and there is a cape which is also the northernmost point of the entire Japan. The drive took around 6 hours, so we departed really early in the morning at 6 am. There are many places in Hokkaido that are waiting to be explored, do not forget, If you need help arranging private tour in Hokkaido, you can use our trip planner!

Road Trip to Wakkanai: First Rest Stop

Driving for 6 hours can be really tiring, so we took turn driving to make sure the trip is safe. The first one to drive was my sister in law. She first picked us up at exactly 6 am. After driving around 1 hour, we stopped in Yurikago Rest stop. It was still early in the morning, so all shops were closed, except the public toilet area. After taking a quick toilet break, we continued our journey, and this time, it was me who took the driving responsibility.

Road Trip to Wakkanai: Lunch in Teshio Road Station

After driving for around 3 hours, we decided to take a quick lunch in Teshio Road Station. It was almost lunch time so the road station was quite crowded. During our trip from first road station in Yukikago to Teshio, we actually stopped in various convenience stores for quick toilet break and coffee, but I did not take any picture. Teshio Road Station is actually located only around 1 hour drive to Wakkanai Town, so we have covered more than half of the distance. We rewarded ourselves with nice scallop ramen lunch in this road station.

Road Trip to Wakkanai: Windmills in Road 106

After enjoying lunch in Teshio Road Station, I continued to drive along the scenic route along the seaside. Route 106 is part of the [Ororon Line], route really famous for its seaside scenery along the road. Not only the seaside scenery that captured my interest, but also the giant windmills built in the middle of lush green grass field, making the scenery even more breathtaking. The windmills look even bigger up close! There were some bikers and cyclists who stopped just to take pictures of the scenery, so make sure to drive slowly along this line.

Road Trip to Wakkanai: Cape Noshappu

After driving for almost 6 hours, finally we arrived in Wakkanai town. Our first destination was Cape Noshappu. There is also an aquarium here, but we did not have time to visit the aquarium. There is a cute dolphin statue which is perfect for photoshoot spot. The weather was clear, so we were able to view Russia in a distance (Sakhalin Island). Cape Noshappu is also famous spot to view sunset. So in the evening, we actually returned here to view the sunset. We were planning to just spend 30 minutes here during day time, but my wife and sister in law needed more materials for their instagram, so we spent almost 1 hour in here during day time.

Wakkanai the Northernmost Point of Japan: the Town

After staying in Cape Noshappu for a bit, we proceeded to Cape Soya, in which the northernmost point of Japan is located. On the way to Cape Soya, we drove through the downtown of Wakkanai. Wakkanai is a small town with its own charm. One interesting thing I noticed is some of the road signs have Russian Cyrillic written on it.

Road Trip to Wakkanai: Cape Soya

Cape Soya is literally the northernmost point of Japan, and it is located around 45 minutes driving from downtown Wakkanai. You can also see Sakhalin Island (Russia) more clearly from this place. My wife’s grandparents actually lived in Sakhalin Island for a bit and returned to Hokkaido Island after the World War 2 ended. There is a triangle-shaped monument that marks the northernmost point of Japan, and there were a long line of visitors trying to take pictures.

Cape Soya: Deer

I was expecting Cape Soya to be a small area with some shops and restaurants around, but I was surprised that this place also have many wild deer! I wonder why in Japan, only Nara is really famous for its deer. In my honest opinion, the deer in Cape Soya are more well-behaved, they are not trying to “harass” tourists for some snacks. Deer in Cape Soya appear to be used to humans, but not too-friendly to ask for foods. There is also a small temple inside the area. Not only in the Cape Soya area, but we also spotted some deer in the downtown area of Wakkanai, so make sure you drive safely; look out for deer that jump out suddenly to the road.

Road Trip to Wakkanai: Hotel Sakhalin

After enjoying some sceneries in Cape Soya, we drove back to downtown Wakkanai to check in into our Hotel. Yes, the name of the Hotel is “Hotel Sakhalin”. The accommodation in this hotel is not bad, our room is big enough for four of us and the wifi is quite fast. The room itself is a Japanese style room with tatami floor and futon-style beds, but it was comfortable enough for 1-night stay.

Road Trip to Wakkanai: Watching Sunrise in Wakkanai Observation Deck

We woke up at around 5 am and drove 5-minute to Wakkanai Observation Deck to watch the sunrise. There are a monument (Monument of Nine Maidens) commemorating some Japanese people who needed to left their houses in Sakhalin Island after World War 2. We could see most of Wakkanai downtown and combined with the sunrise, it was a breathtaking scenery and it was definitely worth it to wake up really early in the morning! One of my greatest photoshoot is probably the second picture below, in which the Sakhalin Island is visible behind the Nine Maidens Monument.