Sōya Misaki

宗谷岬

This is the northernmost point of Hokkaido, and aside from a small inaccessible and uninhabited island it is also the northernmost point of Japan. Naturally the Japanese have gone out of their way to commemorate this fact with the largely uninspiring Northernmost Point Monument (日本最北端の地の碑), a gray concrete triangle engraved with accomplishments. Right next to it is a Statue of Mamiya Rinzō (間宮林蔵の銅像), a Japanese explorer from the Edo period famous for his explorations and mapping of Karafuto (Sakhalin), and discovering it was an island. Nearby you also find an Old Naval Watchtower (旧海軍望楼) dating back to the conflicts over control of Sakhalin during the 1904 Russo-Japanese War.

Getting there

about 30 km (19 mi) northeast of Wakkanai across the Soya Bay