Wakkanai Travel Guide, Japan

The city of Wakkanai is situated in the northernmost region of Japan. It is actually the capital city of Sōya Sub – prefecture, part of Hokkaidō, the second largest island of Japan and amongst the 47 different prefecture level divisions of Japan.

Wakkanai is famous for Cape Soya, the northernmost point of Japan. Although the actual northernmost point of Japan is Bentenjima (which is a tiny deserted island), situated at 1 kilometer from Japan, Cape Soya is considered officially to be the country northernmost point.

It contains around 10 monuments including the monument built to mark the country northernmost point. Other monuments built here are the Tower of Prayer (which is actually the memorial for Flight 007 of the Korean Air Lines), the Monument of peace (which acts as the memorial for the US Wahoo), the Statue of Mamiya Rinzo (the famous Japanese explorer), and others.

Wakkanai is famous for the variety of sea food offered to its tourists. Some major industries in Wakkanai are seaweed drying and fishing (crab, fish, and octopus). This food industry complements the tourism industry of Wakkanai thus helping its economy.

Wakkanai has many hotels of which the best ones are Dormy Inn, Wakkanai Sun Hotel, and ANA hotel. The presence of many Russian tourists is the reason why the room charges in various hotels is sky rocketing.

As per 2007 census, the population of Wakkanai was around 41,000 inhabitants with the approximate density of 54 locals per kilometer square. The total area of Wakkanai is 761 kilometer square.

Wakkanai has its own international airport which connects the city with many other major neighboring cities thus making it easy for the tourists to hit Wakkanai without facing any serious problems. This airport is around 20 minutes away from the heart of the city. Wakkanai has two railway stations and is connected to Asahikawa by the Soya Honsen railway line.