Japan's Far North
5 Day Hiking & Sea Kayaking Tour

1. Day 1 Ferry to Rebun Island & Hiking

   This tour kicks off in Wakkanai, the northernmost city in Hokkaido and Japan. Your group will meet at around 9:00 am in Central Wakkanai. You can fly directly from Tokyo Haneda to Wakkanai Airport with ANA, or alternatively take a JR (Japan Railway) train, which takes just over 5 hours from the Sapporo JR Station.

   Once everyone is together, we will hold a short meeting to introduce ourselves and brief everyone on our upcoming adventure. Then we catch a ferry to Rebun Island at 10:30 am and in just under 2 hours we will arrive at Rebun, nicknamed ”floating flower garden”.

   Japanese flower lovers flock to this island each June to admire the rare alpine flowers that can be sighted in lower altitudes. Later in the season we are still able to enjoy our island adventure without the crowds but the remnants of summer can still be felt in the warm water and long twilight.

   After getting off the ferry, we’ll walk along the Momoiwa Trail, which starts near the ferry terminal and will take us down to the southern tip of the island. This popular trail provides unique scenery combining the ocean, rugged coast, neighbouring Rishiri Island and the colourful flowers along the trail.

   After the trek, we’ll set off to our accommodation on the coast, where we’ll settle in for the night. (L, D)

   Hiking Distance – 6 km / 3.7 miles
   Elevation – 250m / 820ft
   Time – 3 to 4 hours

2. Day 2 Hiking on Rebun Island & Ferry to Rishiri Island

   Today we’ll explore the northern part of Rishiri Island starting from Cape Sukoton. The cape is the northernmost end of the Rishiri Island, which overlooks the small rocky islands dotted over the blue ocean extending to the north. On a clear day, you will be able to catch sight of Sakhalin Island of Russia over La Pérouse Strait.

   This is as far north as you can get! We’ll continue walking on the trail exploring Cape Gorota and Cape Sky where the area features an exotic look covered with low vegetation, due to being a subarctic zone.

   Once we complete the walk, we will travel by van to the ferry terminal to catch a late afternoon departure for Rishiri Island. The forty minute ferry ride takes us to a completely different landscape as Rishiri is literally an island volcano with a peak marked at 1,721m /5,646ft.

   After checking into our home for the next three nights, we will go out for a stroll to Cape Peshi, a little peninsula with a height of 90m/295ft, safeguarding the port. We will have dinner at our accommodation, prepared by our host using fresh seafood caught around the island. (B, L, D)

   Hiking Distance – 12km / 7.5miles
   Elevation – 280m / 920ft
   Time – 5 to 6 hours

3. Day 3 Sea Kayaking, Fishing & Hiking in Rishiri Island

   The host at our accommodation is a local outdoor guide who was born and raised on Rishiri Island and knows every corner of his territory! He will be our guide for our half-day sea kayaking & fishing experience, using his fleet of three double kayaks which have been customised for fishing.

   Today we will split into two groups, one group to sea kayak in the morning and hike in the afternoon, and another group to do the same activities in reverse order. The ocean life around Rishiri is rich in diversity as well as in volume, we won’t need to go far offshore to catch fish so we’ll stay close to the shore and explore the rocky coast.

   On land we will walk in the native conifer forest at the foot of Mt Rishiri-Fuji to the famous Himenuma, a little mirror lake which reflects the figure of Rishiri-Fuji on its surface. Tonight we dine out at a local izakaya bar restaurant to experience the island nightlife. (B, L, D)

   Sea Kayaking Time – 3 hours
   Hiking Distance – 6.4 km / 4 miles
   Elevation – 280m / 919ft
   Hiking Time – 3 to 4 hours

4. Day 4 Hiking to Mt Rishiri-Fuji

   If the weather permits, we’ll take on the challenge of climbing Mt Rishiri, also known as Rishiri-Fuji, marked at 1,721m/5,645ft. The island climate makes Rishiri-Fuji a difficult peak to reach as it can be extremely windy and cold at any time of year.

   Japanese hikers who are determined to conquer the peak often stay in the island for a week, waiting for the ideal weather conditions to hike the mountain.

   If the weather is not right for climbing Mt Rishiri-Fuji then we’ll set our goal to hike Mt Chokan just below the 1,200m/3,937ft mark and turn back without continuing onto the summit of Mt Rishiri-Fuji.

   Please be aware that depending on the weather and sea conditions, we may switch the programmes of Day 3 & 4. (B, L, D)

   Hiking Distance – 13 km / 8.1 miles
   Elevation – 1,430m / 4,690ft
   Time – 9 to 10 hours

5. Day 5 Ferry to Wakkanai & Farewells

   This morning we will board a ferry for Wakkanai just before 9:00 am, and say our goodbyes at Wakkanai Ferry Terminal at around 10:30 am. (B)

   No Hiking

Please note that the stroke on the map doesn’t indicate the actual hiking routes.