Dohoku: Ororon Line/Soya/Okhotsk Line
Although there are few famous tourist spots in Dohoku area, it must be a great experience for you to enjoy driving on the straight roads along the ocean and find your favorite scenery on the way. In addition, there are many comfortable and inexpensive campsites and roadside stations to spend the night in a car so that you can enjoy nature in Hokkaido with a simple outdoor equipment in summer. Let me introduce some scenery I found during my trip.
Photo
My recommendation
Ororon Line
It is the straight road along the western coast of Dohoku area. Heading north on the road, Mt. Rishiri appears over the sea on your right hand. It was great experience for me to enjoy unique scenery such as the windmills of wind power plant and the monument of latitude 45 degree north and to spend the night in a car at a roadside station while driving to the most northerly point of Japan. You will be able to enjoy more beautiful scenery on a clear day. “Ororon” comes from the name of bird which lives in Teuri Island near the coast. I hope to visit this island when I have a trip in Dohoku next time.
Cape Noshappu, Cape Soya and Soya Hill Periglacial Landforms
You should visit Cape Noshappu while driving to the city area of Wakkanai. If it is fine, you can see Rishiri Island, Rebun Island and Sakhalin Island in Russia from the cape if it is fine. It is also famous for its beautiful sunset view.
Cape Soya, the most northerly point of Japan, is a popular tourist spot in Dohoku. After taking photos of the monument with the triangular design, you should visit Cape Soya Park on the hill. It is known for the good view, and there are some monuments and the old navy watchtower. I would like to recommend Mamiyado as well, a delicious ramen shop in the park.
The gentle hills located on the south side of Cape Soya are periglacial landforms formed about 20,000 years ago, and now registered as the Hokkaido Heritage.
Lake Kuccharo
The road along the eastern coast of Dohoku is called Okhotsk Line. Lake Kuccharo located near the Okhotsk Line is famous for the swans migrating to Japan, and about 20,000 swans come to the lake from autumn to spring.
There is an inexpensive campsite and you can drive a car into the lakeside. It is my favorite campsite where I enjoyed walking along the lake, having dinner with the great sunset view, taking a hot spring bath and sleeping in nature. There is a hot spring facility “Hamatonbetsu Onsen Wing” near the campsite.
Access
You can take a rental car at Asahikawa Airport to travel around Dohoku. You can also begin the travel from New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, but it is a little far from Okhotsk Line.
Travel Route
Although it is not impossible for you to take a round trip to Wakkanai for two days and one night, I would like to recommend you spend more to find your favorite scenery in Dohoku. It must be also a great experience for you to stay at a comfortable campsite or roadside station with hot spring. The campsite at Lake Kuccharo is really nice to stay where you can enjoy not only the wonderful sunset view but also very good hot spring. In addition, if you have enough time, I strongly recommend you visit the fascinating remote islands such as Rishiri and Rebun.
Below I show you my travel route in the summer of 2015. I hope you refer to it for planning your own travel. I liked Rebun Island so much and stayed there for 4 nights.
| Day | Move | Sightseeing | Stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hakodate -> Haboro (car) | (None) | Haboro |
| 2 | Haboro -> Wakkanai (car) Wakkanai -> Rebun (ferry) |
Ororon Line Cape Noshappu |
Rebun |
| 3 | around Rebun (car) | Rebun | Rebun |
| 4 | around Rebun (car) | Rebun | Rebun |
| 5 | around Rebun (car) | Rebun | Rebun |
| 6 | Rebun -> Rishiri (ferry) | Rebun, Rishiri | Rishiri |
| 7 | Rishiri -> Wakkanai (ferry) | Rishiri, Wakkanai | Wakkanai |
| 8 | Wakkanai -> Soya -> Lake Kuccharo (car) | Cape Soya, Soya Hills, Lake Kuccharo | Lake Kuccharo |
| 9 | Lake Kuccharo -> Abashiri (car) | Kitami Kamui Misaki Park, Usutaibe Senjoiwa Lake Saroma |
Abashiri |
Accommodation
Since we traveled with our dog, we stayed at campsites and roadside stations to spend the night in a car. Most of them have a hot spring facility nearby and we felt so comfortable. Of course there are also some hotels and pensions in Wakkanai and other towns, and you will be able to find your favorite one on the travel reservation websites.
Roadside Station Hot Haboro
It is the roadside station with a rose garden. It has “Haboro Onsen Sunset Plaza” nearby, where you can find a restaurant and hot spring. You can also stay there if you do not like to spend the night in a car. There is a convenience store within walking distance.
Soya Fureai Park Campsite
It is the campsite in the suburbs of Wakkanai. You can not only have a shower but also use a free WiFi here.
Lake Kuccharo Campsite
It is the campsite at Lake Kuccharo which is famous for the swans migrating to Japan. It costs only 200 yen per person and you can see a wonderful sunset here. There is a hot spring facility “Hamatonbetsu Onsen Wing” nearby, where you can not only relax in a natural hot spring but also stay overnight.
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