The Port of Wakkanai (''稚内港'') is a major port located in the Municipality of Wakkanai,

Hokkaido Prefecture is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

, Japan.

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

lies about 62.81 kilometers (39.03 mi) to the north. Many ferries that go/come to/from

Rishiri Island is a high island in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan. Administratively the island is part of Hokkaido Prefecture, and is divided between two towns, Rishiri and Rishirifuji. The island is formed by the cone-shaped extinct vol ...

Rebun Island is an island in the Sea of Japan off the northwestern tip of Hokkaidō, Japan. The island sits off the coast of Hokkaidō. Rebun stretches from north to south and from east to west. The island covers approximately . Rebun Island is located ...

and stop in

in Russia. It is also a distribution center for industrial materials and essential items for residents in the North of Hokkaido. Otherwise, the port is a base for inshore and offshore

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

, and the port plays a role in Sakhalin-III. In 2007, the port was registered as Minato Oasis (''みなとオアシス''), and it was named "Minato Oasis Wakkanai" (''みなとオアシスわっかない'') by the

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法 ...

Lanes

These lanes depart from Wakkanai International Ferry Terminal (also known as Wakkanai Ferry Terminal). It is located in the Port of Wakkanai.

History

Wakkanai Port originated when the Matsumae Domain Lords established facilities for paying taxes during the

Edo era The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteri ...

of Japan. In the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...

, the port was regarded as an example of the cultivation of Hokkaido. Moreover, the port helped in developing the neighboring city of Wakkanai, which provided access to

Karafuto Karafuto Prefecture ( ja, 樺太庁, ''Karafuto-chō''; russian: Префектура Карафуто, Prefektura Karafuto), commonly known as South Sakhalin, was a prefecture of Japan located in Sakhalin from 1907 to 1949. Karafuto became t ...

after the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

Sakhalin lane

In 1989, the lanes, was commenced operating for the first time after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, were bound for

Kholmsk Kholmsk (russian: Холмск), known until 1946 as Maoka ( ja, 真岡), is a port town and the administrative center of Kholmsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located on the southwest coast of the Sakhalin Island, on coast of the gu ...

where is known as "Maoka" (''真岡'') in Japanese. In 1991, the lanes exclusively for tourists departed for

Korsakov (town) Korsakov is a town and the administrative center of Korsakovsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located south from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, at the southern end of Sakhalin Island, on the coast of the Salmon Cove in the Aniva Bay. The town ...

where is known as "''Ōtomari" (大泊)'' in Japanese. However, the lanes have not been operated since 1995, and was discontinued in 2015. A new public-private sector ferry company was established by

Wakkanai ' meaning "cold water river" is a city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. It contains Japan's northernmost point, Cape Sōya, from which the Russian island of Sakhalin can be seen. As of ...

and the

Sakhalin Shipping Company Sakhalin Shipping Company (SASCO) (russian: Сахалинское морское пароходство) is a Russian shipping company. Headquartered in Kholmsk, on Sakhalin Island's west coast, the company was created in 1945, and privatized in ...

in 2016. That ferry lane has been operated between August and September.

Ground transportation

There is a bus stop located in front of the Wakkanai Ferry Terminal, connecting it to the rest of Hokkaido.Ferry Terminal
/ref>

Surrounding area

Wakkanai Station is a railway station on the Sōya Main Line in the city of Wakkanai, Hokkaido, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). It is the northern terminus of the Sōya Main Line, and is also the northernmost railway station in Japan. Lines ...

It takes about 7 minutes to travel from the port to

on foot.

References

External links

Wakkanai-ferry-terminalFerry Terminal
{{Authority control

Water transport in Japan 1948 establishments in Japan