290px, Wakkanai City Hall 290px, Shore of Wakkanai is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Sōya Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Its population is estimated to be 77,500 as of July 31, 2004 and its area is . It is the northernmost subprefecture of Japan. Wakkanai Airport is located in Wakkanai. Rishiri Airport is locat ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Wakkanai is the capital of

. Situated approximately 1,100 km north of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and 270 km north of

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

, it is the northernmost municipality under Japanese administration following the loss of

Karafuto , was established by the Empire of Japan in 1907 to govern the southern part of Sakhalin. This territory became part of the Empire of Japan in 1905 after the Russo-Japanese War, when the portion of Sakhalin south of 50°N was ceded by the R ...

(present-day

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

) and the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

, with Benten-jima being the northernmost point under Japanese control. Wakkanai started as the

Matsumae Domain file:Matsumae Nagahiro.jpg, 270px, Matsumae Nagahiro, final daimyo of Matsumae Domain The Matsumae Domain (松前藩), a prominent domain during the Edo period, was situated in Matsumae, Matsumae Island (Ishijima), which is currently known as M ...

's trading post with the

Ainu people The Ainu are an Indigenous peoples, indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Ku ...

in 1685.

Edo-period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

explorer

Mamiya Rinzō was a Japanese Exploration, explorer of the late Edo period. He is best known for his exploration of Karafuto, now known as Sakhalin. He mapped areas of northeast Asia then unknown to Japanese. Biography Mamiya was born in 1775 in Tsukuba Dist ...

set sail for his famous Karafuto expedition from the settlement. After Japan regained Karafuto following its victory in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

in 1905, Wakkanai rose to prominence as a gateway to this reclaimed territory. Two railway lines, the Tempoku and Sōya lines, extended to Wakkanai, and the

Chihaku ferry The or (稚泊航路 ''Chihaku kōro'') was a ferry service in operation from 1923 to 1945 between Wakkanai in north Hokkaidō, Japan and Ōdomari, now Korsakov, in what was then Karafuto Prefecture, South Sakhalin. In November 1922, the Minist ...

carried passengers further north to Ōdomari in Karafuto. This improved transport network enabled the commercial digging of local coal mines, which had remained untouched due to their remote location. After the Second World War, Wakkanai lost its status as the gateway to Japan's northern frontier. All coal mines in the area were closed by the 1970s, and Wakkanai's primary industries shifted to fishing, dairy farming, and tourism. The city's population peaked at 55,464 in 1975. The Tempoku Line, which connected Wakkanai to Otoineppu via the coastal town of Hamatonbetsu, was discontinued in 1989. In 1995, the ferry route between Wakkanai and Sakhalin was reestablished for the first time since 1945 but ceased operations in 2015 due to low demand. Today, ferry routes connect the city to the islands of Rishiri and Rebun. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 30,590 in 17150 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 40 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Toponomy

The name Wakkanai originates from yam-wakka-nay''' in the

Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu (), is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isola ...

, meaning 'a stream of cold drinking water'. It is said to refer to a stream that once flowed between the present-day

Wakkanai Station is a railway station located in the city of Wakkanai, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by JR Hokkaido. It is the northernmost railway station in Japan. The station is numbered "W80". Lines Wakkanai Station is the northern terminus of the S� ...

and Minami Wakkanai Station.

History

Wakkanai was originally home to an Ainu population. A Japanese settlement was established in 1685 by

as a trading post and key point for guarding northern Japan and the exploration of

. The settlement came under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate from 1807 to 1821, and again from 1859, when

Akita Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita, Akita, Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governe ...

was assigned to provide a garrison. The Akita garrison was replaced by Kanazawa Domain in 1870. After the

Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875) The Treaty of Saint Petersburg (; ) between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire was signed on 7 May 1875, and its ratifications exchanged at Tokyo on 22 August 1875. The treaty itself went into effect in 1877. Its terms stipulated tha ...

, which exchanged Japanese claims on Sakhalin with the

, 841 Japanese settlers in Sakhalin were relocated to Wakkanai. A county office and headman's office established in Soya in 1879, which is regarded as the official foundation of the village of Wakkanai. In 1897,

was established and Wakkanai was elevated to town status in 1901. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

used the harbor and port as a

submarine base A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel. Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, N ...

. Wakkanai was far enough north to be outside the range of American bombers and was safe from air attacks. Until the early to mid-1960s, the northern portion of the harbor remained divided by concrete sub-mooring pens. The large breakwater structure (which still exists) was actually a sub-repair facility. At the shore end there was a huge winching mechanism capable of hauling subs up into the partially enclosed structure where they could be repaired while completely out of the water. Built into the hills above the city there were several

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

bunker-type caves where (anecdotally) they were used either to store ammunition and armament, or as air raid shelters for the civilian populace. History would suggest the former use, rather than the latter. During a re-build/renovation of the harbor sometime during the 1960s or 1970s, the harbor was cleared of the concrete pens and the machinery was removed from the breakwater structure which was reconfigured. Wakkanai was elevated to city status in 1949. In 1955, Wakkanai annexed neighboring Soya village.

Geography

Wakkanai is at the northern tip of Hokkaido, and faces the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

to the west,

Sōya Bay is a bay on the north coast of Hokkaidō, Japan. It is demarcated by Cape Sōya to the east and Cape Noshappu to the west, with Wakkanai file:Wakkanai city office.JPG, 290px, Wakkanai City Hall file:Wakkanai shore.jpg, 290px, Shore of Wakkana ...

and the

Sōya Strait Soya may refer to: Food * Soya bean, or soybean, a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean * Soya sauce, see soy sauce, a fermented sauce made from soybeans, roasted grain, water and salt Places * Sōya District, ...

to the north, and the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

to the east. Japan's northernmost point,

Cape Sōya is the northernmost point of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. It is situated in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Wakkanai, Sōya Subprefecture. The is at the cape, although the true List of extreme points of Japan, northernmost point under Japanese control ...

, is located in Wakkanai, which is on a peninsula jutting towards

Sakhalin Island Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, which is 43 kilometers (27 miles) away. The city has a length of approximately 39 kilometers from north-to-south and 38 kilometers from east-to-west. The northernmost point is Benten-jima (45°31′35″N, 141°55′09″E), located northwest of Cape Sōya. This is the northernmost point of the land area currently under the effective control of Japan. The topography of the city consists of two hilly mountain ranges running north-to-south, and lowlands in between and at both ends of these. The eastern mountain range is called the "Sōya Hills" and is a periglacial landform that has been selected as a "Hokkaido Heritage Site". The lowlands between the western hills and the Sea of Japan are sand dunes and wetlands, and are part of the

Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park is a national park on the Rishiri Island, Rebun Island, and a coastal area from Wakkanai to Horonobe at the north-western tip of Hokkaidō, Japan. Areas of the park cover . The park is noted for its alpine flora and views of volcanic moun ...

. * Rivers:

Koetoi River is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk ...

* Lakes: Ōnuma Lake

Surrounding municipalities

* Sarufutsu *

Toyotomi The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primar ...

Souya hill.JPG, Sōya Hills Oonuma swamp.JPG, Onuma SoyaCapeView.JPG, Cape Sōya 宗谷岬弁天島.JPG, Bentenjima

Climate

Wakkanai has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfb'') typical of

but with strong influence of the ocean as island portions near the great land masses (such as the smaller islands of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

), with cold winters, warm summers and generally heavy precipitation from the

Aleutian Low The Aleutian Low is a semi-permanent low-pressure system located near the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea during the Northern Hemisphere winter, driven by warm sea water compared to cooler land. It is a climatic feature centered near the Aleu ...

, whose winds hit the city direct from the Sea of Japan but with strong oceanic influence (46 °F). The winter is cold enough not to fall in a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...

(''Cfb'') and the summers although very mild for typical climate is warm enough not to fall into a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(''Dfc''), both in the classification of Koppen. The mean annual temperature, at , is the second lowest for a significant population centre in Japan after Nemuro. Snowfall at , the third highest for a big city in

after

Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...

and

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

and one of the highest anywhere in the world. For comparison, Nain in Canada receives of snow. The Aleutian Low also makes the sunshine hours the lowest of Japan's major population centres and in the winter the wind speeds are the highest in Japan with an average of , which adds to the cold of a typical winter day. The highest temperature ever recorded in Wakkanai was on 29 July 2021. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 30 January 1944. Wakkanai Russian sign

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Wakkanai is as shown below. As of today, most of Wakkanai's residents are ethnic Japanese and can speak

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. However, smaller fractions of them tend to have Russian ancestry, due to the proximity between Wakkanai and Russia, who can speak

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

depending on how well Russian is taught in different households. Additionally, in even smaller numbers, there are also Ainu people or individuals of partial Ainu ancestry living in Wakkanai (see History above).

Government

Wakkanai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city council of 18 members. Wakkanai contributes one member to the Hokkaido Legislative Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Hokkaido 12th district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Wakkanai city's core industries are fisheries, agriculture, and tourism. As the largest city north of Asahikawa, it is home to regional branches of national institutions such as the

Japan Coast Guard The is the coast guard responsible for the protection of the Geography of Japan#Composition, topography and geography, coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It consists of about ...

, the Self-Defense Forces, the local tax office, the courts, and the district prosecutor's office, as well as the Soya General Bureau. Tourism is facilitated in the local area via fisheries and monuments, as well as with ferries to the nearby offshore islands (see Seaports below). There are multiple fishing ports which specialize in deep sea fishing and marine products. Marine products are sold in the Kita Market and Fukko market located in the city.

Education

Wakkanai has nine public elementary schools, five public junior high schools and one combined elementary/junior high school operated by the city government and one public high school ( Hokkaido Wakkanai High School) operated by the Hokkaido Board of Education. There is also one private high school. The Hokkaido government also operates one special education school, the Hokkaido Wakkanai Special Needs School. Ikueikan University, formerly known as Wakkanai Hokusei Gakuen University, is located in the city.

Transportation

Airport

Wakkanai Airport is located east of central Wakkanai near the beginning of National Route 238. There are flights operated twice a day to

New Chitose Airport is an international airport located south-southeast of Chitose, Hokkaidō, Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By both traffic and land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō. It is adjacent ...

near

as well as a single daily flight

Tokyo Haneda Airport , also known as and sometimes abbreviated to ''Tokyo-Haneda'', is the busier of the two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary domestic base of J ...

, both operated by ANA. During particularly strong winter months if the weather is unfavorable, flights will often be diverted to nearby Asahikawa airport 155 miles (250 km) south of Wakkanai.

Railway

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

Sōya Main Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) in Hokkaido. The line connects Asahikawa Station in Asahikawa and Wakkanai Station in Wakkanai, and is the northernmost railway line in Japan. The name c ...

: - - The Soya Main Line previous had , but it was closed in 2024. The '' Sōya'' limited express runs once a day to and from Sapporo, while the '' Sarobetsu'' runs twice a day to and from Asahikawa, with a change of trains to either a ''

Lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly ...

'' or '' Kamui'' limited express service at Asahikawa required to reach Sapporo.

Highways

* *

Seaports

Heartland Ferry operates seasonal ferry service to

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

Rishiri Island is a volcanic 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 ...

. Ferry service to Korsakov on

was terminated on September 18, 2015. Wakkanai mayor Hiroshi Kudo pledged to restore ferry service to

and in 2016, the route resumed operation between the months of June and September of each year and is commercially operated by the

Commonwealth of Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

flagged vessel Penguin 33, which is a

High-speed craft A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popu ...

owned by Penguin International Limited and operated by Sakhalin Shipping Company.

Sister City and Friendship Cities

Sister City

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

, Philippines (since 1973)

Friendship cities

Domestic

Ishigaki, Okinawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It includes Ishigaki Island, Ishigaki island and the Senkaku Islands territory. The city is the political, cultural, and economic center of the Yaeyama Islands. New Ishigaki Airport serves ...

(since 1987) *

Makurazaki, Kagoshima 290px, Makurazaki City Hall 290px, Makurazaki Osakana Center 290px, Tategami Rock is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 19,006 in 10,377 households, and a population density of 250 persons ...

(since 2012)

International

Nevelsk Nevelsk (; , ''Honto'') is a port town and the administrative center of Nevelsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located on the southwest coast of the Sakhalin Island, from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Pop ...

, Russia (since 1972) * Korsakov, Russia (since 1992) *

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (, , ) is a city and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, north of Japan. Gas and oil extraction as well as processing are amongst the main industries on ...

, Russia (since 2001) *

Hengchun Hengchun is a Township (Taiwan), township located on the southern tip of the Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County, Taiwan. It is the southernmost township in Taiwan. Hengchun is also the only urban township in the southern part of Pingtung Coun ...

Pingtung County Pingtung () is a County (Taiwan), county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(since 2023)

Sister Port

* Port of Anchorage, United States (since 1982)

Local attractions

* The

Daisuke Matsuzaka is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, who pitched professionally for 23 seasons, 16 of them in NPB, 7 in MLB. He is currently a baseball color commentator, critic, Sports journalism, reporter, and YouTuber. Daisuke is nicknamed i ...

Museum, dedicated to the baseball pitcher "Dice-K" and opened in 2008, is located in Wakkanai, which is his father's hometown.ESPN.com article
/ref> *

Wakkanai Park was established in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Wakkanai, Hokkaidō, Japan in 1961. Covering some , when combined with the adjacent Forest Park, there is total area of approximately for "citizens to relax". Located on a hillside overlooking the La Péro ...

, home to the Centennial Tower, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the city, and the

Hoppo Hoppo or Administrator of the Canton Customs ( zh, t=粵海關部, s=粤海关部, p=Yuèhǎi Guānbù), was the Qing dynasty official at Guangzhou (Canton) given responsibility by the List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor for controlli ...

Memorial Museum *

, home to a monument to the northernmost point in Japan * Hokumon Jinja, a

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

* Wakkanai Onsen Dome, Japan's northernmost

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

Mascots

Wakkanai's mascots are and . *Rinzou-kun is a descendant of

who explored the

Strait of Tartary Strait of Tartary or Gulf of Tartary (; ; ; ) is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia (South-East Russia), connecting the Sea of Okhotsk ( Nevelskoy Strait) on the north with the Sea of Japan ...

in what is now Russia. *Dashinosuke is a green harbor seal who is Rinzou-kun's assistant. His flippers and his tail resemble kelp.

References

External links

* *
Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Hokkaido Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan