See

Noshappu Cold Water Aquarium

稚内市立ノシャップ寒流水族館

Next to the Science Center. Fittingly for Japan's northernmost aquarium, it's centered around 2 large outdoor tanks with seals and penguins. The indoor area is rather smallish with the two main tanks containing species from the oceans south and north ecosystems respectively - the balloon fish is kawaii! Feeding shows twice per day in the outdoor pools.

family

Address: 2-2-17 Noshappu (ノシャップ 2丁目2-17)
Getting there: take the Soya bus from the station about 15 min N to the 'Noshappu 2-chome' stop
Hours: Closed · opens 9 am
Weekly hours
Mon 9 am–5 pm
Tue 9 am–5 pm
Wed 9 am–5 pm
Thu 9 am–5 pm
Fri 9 am–5 pm
Sat 9 am–5 pm
Sun 9 am–5 pm
Price: ¥400
Website: city.wakkanai.hokkaido.jp (opens in a new tab)

Mon	9 am–5 pm
Tue	9 am–5 pm
Wed	9 am–5 pm
Thu	9 am–5 pm
Fri	9 am–5 pm
Sat	9 am–5 pm
Sun	9 am–5 pm

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Wakkanai, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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Wakkanai Youth Science Center
稚内市青少年科学館
Inadvertently cute museum, it opened in 1974 - and it shows - since many of the exhibits are really retro. The science section set up to teach kids about the "latest" progress in science you can skip, it's out of date, and any kids won't understand the Japanese anyway. More interesting is the Arctic section with details of Japanese exploration of Sakhalin and the Arctic regions. A whole hall is dedicated to the famous (in Japan) Taro and Jiro (See the Wakkanai park entry). Also of some interest is the Planetarium with shows 2-3 times per day.
Apr-Oct 09:00-17:00, Nov-Mar 10:00-16:00, closed on Mon¥150 (¥50 for just the planetarium)
See
Wakkanai Kōen
稚内公園
It is a large park spreading over the grassy hills west of the town, offering some commanding views over the area. The rope-way has been closed, but it is only a short walk to the top beginning at the Hokumon Shrine (北門神社). There are some nice walking trails to explore, and over 4,000 wild cherry trees grow in the park if you are here during Hanami (mid-May). To get an even better view you can ascend the 70-m-high Motoe Hiraku Centennial Memorial Tower (開基百年記念塔・北方記念館) 09:00-17:00 (Jul-Sep until 21:00) for a 360° panoramic view of the cape, the expansive Sarobetsu Plain, the Rishiri Volcano and even sometimes to Sakhalin in Russia. Below is the two-story Northern Memorial Hall, which has a collection of documents relating to the local area and Sakhalin. In the weird, small Ice House (ゲストハウス氷雪) you can take a footbath in ice, if that tickles your fancy.
See
Breakwater Dome
港北防波堤ドーム
Built in the 1930s, this odd-looking breakwater is a 427-m (1,401-ft) arched hallway supported by 70 Roman-style pillars. It rises over 13 m up in the air to provide some protection for the strong winds in the area. It looks entirely out of place, but makes for some good photographs. In the summer months (Jul-Aug) it's sometimes converted to a lively market with BBQ and karaoke.
Free
Do
Komadori Ski Center
稚内市こまどりスキー場
A small ski resort in the Wakkanai kōen makes use of the lift here - 3 relatively short runs with just 50 m elevation difference and the longest at 300 m (985 ft).
Dec-late Mar 10:00-17:00 (sometimes night-skiing until 21:00)¥1000 per day