Weekend Trip to Wakkanai and Rebun Island

Last Friday morning we packed up the car and headed out for a weekend adventure. 

 

We drove six hours to get to the northern part of Hokkaido (and Japan), a place called Wakkanai, where we were only about 25 miles from Sakhalin Island, Russia.

 

We drove along the coast most of the way and stopped for a picnic lunch at one of the beaches. We saw many lighthouses and giant wind mills, in addition to the beaches.

 

We had a great camping spot, with some curious deer watching us. It was much cooler and windier than I thought it would be.  Being farther north and at the coast makes a difference in the temperature. Ted cooked a delicious dinner.

 

After a quick breakfast in camp the next morning, we met some friends and friends of friends at 6:50 am to take the ferry (three hours each way) to Rebun Island. What a great day!  Even though it was a little rainy, we still saw many interesting things, including some seals!

 

 

We had a three hour ferry ride back to Wakkanai, where we camped again. One interesting thing in Wakkanai is that the signs are in Japanese, English, and Russian.

 

After breakfast and packing up, seven of us headed to the onsen! I never need an excuse to go to the onsen, but I really appreciated it after two days without a shower.

The others went their own way after the onsen.  Ted and I headed for home, stopping for lunch (udon with scallops for Ted and cold soba with tempura for me) and at the Hokuryu Sunflower Farm.

 

Japan has so many great places!