Rebun Island (Rebunto) Travel Guide

Rebun Island (�當��, Rebuntō) is a longish island, about 10 kilometers north of Rishiri Island and 50 kilometers off the northern tip of Hokkaido. Together with Rishiri Island, Rebun belongs to the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park.

Rebun Island is most famous for its rich flora, which features many alpine flowers, some of which cannot be found anywhere else on the world. The flowers are in bloom from around June to August, the best time to visit Rebun. Not many tourists come to the island during the long and harsh winters. The alpine flora, the beautiful natural scenery of Rebun and views of nearby Rishiri can be enjoyed from a network of pleasant walking and hiking trails.

Cape Sukoton (Sukoton Misaki)

Cape Sukoton is the northernmost point of Rebun Island. Besides the fine views and a souvenir shop, there is not much to be found. Cape Sukoton is a trailhead of the island's beautiful 4-hour and 8-hour hiking courses.
Cape Gorota (Gorota Misaki)

Cape Gorota is a beautiful cape in the northern part of the island. A scenic walking trail, part of the 4-hour and 8-hour hiking courses, connects Cape Sukoton via Cape Gorota with Gorota Beach.
Gorota Beach (Gorotahama)

Gorota Beach is a sand beach on the western coast of Rebun, popular among wind surfers. It offers beautiful views of nearby Cape Gorota. The 4-hour and 8-hour hiking courses pass along the beach.
Rebun Usuyukiso Area

This is an area with a relatively high number of Rebun Usuyukiso, the Rebun version of the Edelweiss. The Rebun Usuyukiso is one of the island's protected, very rare kinds of alpine flowers.
Motochi

Motochi is the name of the island's southwestern region, which is characterized by a scenic, steep coastline. A small village with ryokan and distinctively shaped rocks resembling a cat's head and a Jizo statue, can be found along the coast.
Momoiwa

Momoiwa ("Peach Rock") is a roundish hill in the Motochi region. Alpine flowers in combination with views of nearby Rishiri Island can be enjoyed from the Momoiwa observation deck and the hiking course that leads along the ridge of the hills to Shiretoko.

Access

Click here for details on how to get to Rebun Island.

Orientation

Rebun's largest town and transport hub is Kafuka in the south of the island. Kafuka Port is the arrival and departure point of all ferries from/to Wakkanai and Rishiri. Rebun Airport in the north of the island, is not currently served by any scheduled flights.

Getting around Rebun Island

Buses connect Kafuka to Cape Sukoton at the island's northern tip (60 minutes, 1240 yen one way), Shiretoko at the island's southern tip (10 minutes, 320 yen one way) and Motochi (10 minutes, 460 yen one way); however, they operate only every 2-5 hours. A 1-day pass is available for 2000 yen.

Many of the Japanese tourists visiting Rebun explore the island by sightseeing bus tours. Typical tours of the island take between two and four hours and cost around 3000 to 4000 yen per person. Tours are held in Japanese.

It is also possible to rent a car on Rebun, but note that fees are much higher than on the "mainland". The typical cost for a 24-hour rental is around 15,000 yen for a small car and over 20,000 yen for a larger one. Yet, this is still likely to come cheaper than bringing a car onto the island by ferry, which costs around 18,000 to 25,000 yen one way depending on the car's size.

How to get to Rebun Island