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Wakkanai Koen

Wakkanai Koen is a large park spreading over the grassy hills west of the town, offering some commanding views over the area. A short rope-way ascends the hill, claimed to be the shortest in the world; the two gondolas (named after Taro and Jiro, see below) leave every 10 minutes through the day and cost ¥180. 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 . To get an even better view you can ascend the 70 meter high Motoe Hiraku Centennial Memorial Tower 9AM-5PM (Jul-Sep until 9PM) 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  you can take a footbath in ice, if that tickles your fancy.

Breakwater Dome

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 meters 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.

Daisuke Matsuzaka Museum

Newly opened museum dedicated to the city's most famous offspring, Matsuzaka Daisuke, starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox - Baseball is huge in Japan, as this museum is a testament to. Videos, photos and other memorabilia. If you are not a fan, the interactive "Fastball LIVE" is probably the most interesting part, experience how it's like to have a 156km/h ball thrown right at you. ¥200.

Harbour Seal Observatory

About 300 seals have decided that the concrete boulders of this small fishing port was a good home. Surprisingly, they seem to get along fine with the fishermen. The city administration has put up a small rudimentary observation hut with windows and a video feed, so the many guests now pouring in don't disturb the seals. Self service tea is provided free of charge, nice touch. Free.

Lake onuma Bird Observatory

Lake Onuma, a small lake east of the city, is a migratory stop for the Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) on their way to or from Siberia, sometimes numbering tens of thousands. There is a Swan Festival (大沼白鳥まつり) held here in May. Other species that can be observed here include Herons and White-fronted Geese. The city has set up a log cabin with a large platform, an observation room and a small exhibition, and there are a free telescope and binoculars available to loan. Sometimes nature guides are present to answer questions, if you speak Japanese.

Noshappu Cold Water Aquarium

Located right 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. ¥400.

Wakkanai Youth Science Center

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, ¥150 .

Soya Misaki

Soya Misaki about 30 km (19 mi) northeast of Wakkanai across the Soya Bay, is the northernmost point of Hokkaido, and aside from a small inaccessible and uninhabited island it is also the northernmost point of Japan. Naturally the Japanese have gone out of their way to commemorate this fact with the largely uninspiring Northernmost Point Monument , a gray concrete triangle engraved with accomplishments. Right next to it is a Statue of Mamiya Rinzo, a Japanese explorer from the Edo period famous for his explorations and mapping of Karafuto (Sakhalin), and discovering it was an island. Nearby you also find an Old Naval Watchtower dating back to the conflicts over control of Sakhalin during the 1904 Russo-Japanese War.
 

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