The Northern Cape

Japan's northernmost point is windy and empty. In the short summer season tiny alpine flowers bloom in coastal grasslands and on rocky outcrops overlooking the sea. In winter the Arctic ice floes lock the land for months of darkness. This is only a place to come when you've already seen Daisetsu and Shiretoko. Long-term residents and repeat visitors come this far north for the hiking, the flowers, and the peace found in such edge-of-the-world places.