Japan`s Most Beautiful Island: Rebun in Hokkaido
Rebun Island, located off the northern coast of Hokkaido, is the most picture-perfect island, if not the place, that I have been to in Japan. It offers the kind of effortless beauty one experiences in world-famous nature destinations like New Zealand, Norway, or Switzerland, the kind of beauty I was not even sure existed in Japan.
Home to 2,500 residents, tiny Rebun Island requires some effort to reach but immediately rewards you for the inconvenience. Given its remote northern location, the island is best visited in the summer months when the weather is more reliable, transportation is more secure, and the hiking trails are not only free of snow but also covered by thousands of alpine flowers.
After multiple attempts, all of which had to be suspended due to weather events, I finally visited the island in July 2024 on a four-day trip during which I hiked three of Rebun’s most popular hiking trails: the Momo Iwa Course, the 8-Hour Course, and the Cape Course. I recently wrote about Rebun Island for my monthly Letters from Japan newsletter, sharing my impressions, and this post complements that with more guide-style writing and some practical tips.
How to get to Rebun Island?
Rebun Island is a faraway destination, even for those based in big cities in Hokkaido, and even more so if you are departing from Honshu, Japan’s main island, home to Tokyo. However, Japan’s excellent transportation infrastructure offers travelers multiple options for getting to the island.
Due to my work schedule, which did not allow me to leave Tokyo early in the day, I chose a rather cumbersome method to get to Rebun Island. I first flew from Haneda to Asahikawa on the 5 p.m. flight, then took the Soya Express train, which took me to Wakkanai, Japan’s northernmost city, in a little less than four hours. This required an overnight stay in Wakkanai at the convenient, well-managed Stay Hostel across from the train station. The next morning, I took the first ferry out of Rebun, which left the port at 6.30 a.m. You can check out the Rebun ferry schedule here and book your ticket online.
Alternatively, you can fly directly to Wakkanai from Tokyo (but no late afternoon or evening flights; the route is served by ANA). Another option is to fly to Rishiri Island, which is next to Rebun, via Sapporo New Chitose Airport and catch the ferry from there.
If you fly to Sapporo as your entry point to Hokkaido, you can also take the overnight bus to Wakkanai. The bus operated by Soya Bus Company drops you at the ferry terminal before the first ferry to Rebun leaves in the morning. This is the link to book your ticket online. I took this overnight bus on the return trip after flying out of Sapporo. The bus was not uncomfortable, and the overnight trip allowed me to spend one extra full day in Rebun.
When to visit Rebun Island?
Even though I am very tempted to experience the utmost isolation the island seems to offer during Hokkaido’s harsh winters, I hear it may not be an ideal option. Besides the unavailability of the hiking trails, unless you are equipped for and experienced with extreme winter hikes (I am not), the ferry portion of the trip may also be a (not always welcomed) adventure on its own in the winter.
Summer is the best and the only option for hiking, but one should keep in mind that the island has a relatively short summer season, with July and August being your best bet for good weather. As a result, the accommodations get booked quickly since most people visit the island during the same limited two-month period. So, advance booking with a free cancellation option is a good idea.
Where to stay?
Most of the accommodation facilities on the island are within walking distance of Kafuka Ferry Port. This area is also home to several izakaya/fish restaurants, a large onsen facility, a cafe, and mid-sized and small grocery stores. As I have not stayed in this area, I cannot comment on the hotels, but they all seemed like the island version of standard business hotels of Japan (nothing fancy but always clean and convenient), with likely better food.
I was lucky to find a room at Revonies, a minshuku (Japanese-style guest house) located at Cape Sukoton, the northernmost point of Japan`s northernmost island. While it is far (one hour by bus) from the center, where most eateries are located, staying at Cape Sukoton worked better for my hiking plans, with the trailheads for the 8-hour course and Cape Course within walking distance. The only downside of Revonies is the need to arrange your own food (and/or cook it in their kitchen with ingredients bought at the adjacent Rebun goods store; you can also have it delivered before your arrival). But the views and the location (and simple but lovely Japanese-style rooms) were worth the inconvenience for me.
On a subsequent visit, I stayed at Rebun Shiri, which – while lacking greatly the rather romantic atmosphere of the Revonies – served very well in terms of the location – just a few steps away from the onsen facility – and the size of the room.
Rebun Island hikes
On this trip, I did not have time to visit both the Rebun and Rishiri Islands, so I had to pick one. The reason I picked Rebun Island over the nearby Rishiri Island was the diversity of the hiking experiences that the island offers. While Rishiri is also a very popular destination for hikers, even more popular than Rebun since it is home to one of the hundred famous mountains of Japan, Mount Rishiri, the trail and the scenery diversity of Rebun allowed me to do multiple hikes on a four-day trip, each rewarding me with a different landscape.
As you will see on this official hiking map of Rebun Island, there are seven marked trails on the island, in addition to many road walks that offer magnificent scenery. During my four-day visit, I hiked (some multiple times) three of the island`s most popular courses: the Momo Iwa Trail (or Momo Iwa Observatory Course), the Cape Tour Course, and the 8-Hour Course.
Momo Iwa Trail: the winner
In summary, while I usually prefer long hikes, multiple days even if possible, with the sense of disconnection they allow one to feel, in the case of Rebun, the shortest and easiest hike turned out to be a winner in every respect by offering the most spectacular nature scenery that I have ever experienced in Japan.
Momo Iwa trail is also one of the most accessible trails on Rebun Island. An infrequent bus connects the Kafuka Ferry Terminal to the trailhead, but there is no need to wait for it. You can walk to the trailhead in less than 15 minutes from the terminal. Be careful not to miss the Momo Iwa trail shortcut sign leading to a forest trail that gently climbs to the viewpoint. I highly recommend that you pack your lunch, as there are a few large benches at the Momo Iwa viewpoint, ideal for a long break to extend the enjoyment of Japan’s finest landscape.
From the Momo Iwa viewpoint, you can follow a narrow but easy trail that leads to Motochi Lighthouse in a little over an hour, with plenty of photo stops. On a good weather day, you will have the iconic view of Mount Rishiri on one side and the mesmerizingly blue ocean on the other.
Once you reach the end of the trail, you can take the bus to Kafuka. But if you have time and energy, walking back to the town is also a wonderful option. Along the way, you can stop at the Canary Park, a filming location for the famous Japanese movie Canaries of the Park, and enjoy the views of Mount Rishiri.
The Cape Course: all the ocean you want
The Cape Course is another wonderful hike on Rebun Island. The hike starts at Cape Sukoton in the northern part of the island and takes around four hours. It blesses the hikers with fantastic views of the ocean and the island’s three capes: Cape Sukoton, Cape Gorota, and Cape Sukai.
I hiked part of the Cape Course on my last day on the island to benefit from the sunny weather forecast. Thanks to the sunrise, which rises before 4 a.m. in Rebun in July, I had an early start, right around the same time the island’s fishermen were leaving the bay.
Cape Course was my second favorite hike on the island, and I wish I had time to finish the whole course. The trail requires a little climbing, which is not too difficult but taxing enough to be avoided on a very humid day. So, the early start worked for me perfectly.
The 8-hour Course: adventurous hike
I have mixed feelings about the 8-hour course, which does not take 8 hours but is more like 6 to 7 hours. This “very imaginatively” titled course took me to the remote parts of the island via trails that passed through dense forests and very narrow coastal sections.
Much of the trail goes through the forest with many overgrown sections before opening up to coastal scenery that you might enjoy on a sunny day if the too-narrow trail does not make you nervous. I hiked the trail on a cloudy day. I am sure the coastal scenery would look much more impressive on a sunny day, but the scenery did not feel as exciting as the one offered by the two hikes I mentioned above.
This is also a trail that I would definitely avoid hiking on a rainy day, as some sections are very exposed, and there is a very steep downhill section on which you have to negotiate relentless scree. I had my hiking poles with me, but I still sat on my back and let myself gently slip through the section, as standing up felt too scary. This rather frightening section takes you down to the beach from a cliff and leads to Uennai.
Japan`s most beautiful island
I feel confident in writing that, on a sunny day, Rebun is easily the most beautiful island in Japan, which is home to thousands of islands. It has this heavenly, picturesque beauty with minimal scenic distractions that are otherwise common even in most nature-dominated places in Japan.
As I also wrote in the July edition of Letters from Japan, in addition to its picture-perfect beauty, Rebun also struck me as surprisingly vibrant in terms of local life and the amenities that it offers. The island, fully aware of its unparalleled beauty, knows how to delight visitors to the fullest with several atmospheric izakayas and seafood restaurants, cozy cafes, and a modern onsen—perfect amenities for a bit of self-pampering after a long day of hiking.
If you can find the rare weather window that does justice to Rebun Island`s heavenly beauty, with thousands of flowers posing against the background of impossibly green hills and mesmerizingly blue ocean, I would say you may want to take advantage of that rare opportunity.
For more islands in Japan, you can check out the following posts:
Islands of Japan worth ditching the mainland for
Sadogashima Island off the coast of Niigata
Yakushima Island, the land of moss
Tokashiki and Zamami Islands of Okinawa
