Hokkaido 2019: Cape Sōya (宗谷岬)

At the very northern tip of Hokkaido is Cape Sōya. This is the northernmost point in all of Japan and I arrived there after several hours of driving from Daisetsuzan National Park. A big concrete monument marks the spot where you can say that you’ve stood at the northern edge of Japan. Across the water I could barely see Sakhalin, which is a large island north of Hokkaido that belongs to Russia. When I first arrived at Cape Sōya there was hardly anyone there so I figured I would use a nearby restroom and then grab a few quick photos before leaving. Unfortunately for me, two tour buses showed up while I was in the restroom and I had to wait a while for people from those buses to clear out before I could get a clean shot of the monument. Once I had my photos I got back in my car and sped towards to Wakkanai to catch the ferry to Rebun Island.