Hokkaido Day 10 - Rebun’s 4-Hour Trekking Course

Travel Reports by Aaron Chong

Note: The opinions and views expressed in this user report are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of japan-guide.com.

July 11, 2016 - Hokkaido Day 10 - Rebun's 4-Hour Trekking Course

It was Day 10 in Hokkaido and I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for some serious action. I look out at the window and just as the weather forecast predicted, the dark rain clouds had cleared to give way to some bright sun and beautiful blue skies.

I started the day with a hearty breakfast, played around with the inn's pet corgi Hana-chan and hung around at the beach with two lovely ladies from Kyoto before I set off to start one of Rebun's many trekking courses. I planned to attempt Rebun's 4-hour course, recently renamed as the Cape Excursion course.

The weather is so much different that yesterday's

From Minshuku Kaido, I walked to the nearby local hospital to catch the next bus to Cape Scoton, the starting point of the 4-hour trek. At Cape Scoton, there's a souvenir shop where you can buy some drinks and food to prepare for the trek ahead.

I was almost dragged into the tour group photoshoot

The northernmost point of Rebun Island, Cape Scoton

Some much needed energy and konbu goodness for the trek

After finishing some sightseeing around Cape Scoton, it's time to hit the road into the wilderness of Rebun Island.

Choose between the arduous dirt path or the easy but boring tarmac road

As mentioned in the trekking map (which I got for free from Minshuku Kaido), be prepared for lots of steep uphill and downhill climbs and there will be lots of wildflowers to be seen at the top of the hills. I really recommend bringing some hiking poles. Without them I had to cling onto the poor grass to carefully make my descent and prevent from slipping and tumbling down the hill like Jack and Jill.

In other words, this trek will literally and figuratively take your breath away.

We're pretty far away from where we started

This looks like an endless climb to heaven

Furry wildflowers that look like they're going to wilt very soon

You can be assured that you are not alone

I took a detour from the hiking trail to check out this place

OK enough of strange rock formations. It's time to head back to the hiking trail

I'm already getting sick and tired of hills!

Finally I had completed the challenging part of the courses and from this point it was nothing but a flat tarmac road all the way to Hamanaka.

The 8-hour trekking course was up ahead and I could understand why the trekking course was revised to start from Hamanaka instead of Cape Scoton via Cape Gorota.

Along the way to Hamanaka, I passed by the place where Rebun's representative flower, the Rebun Ashimoriso, grows in the wild. Unfortunately it was already the end of the blooming season and apparently the only place to see it was Rebun's botanical garden.

Too bad the Rebun Ashimoriso season is over

I eventually reached Hamanaka and this marked the end of the 4-hour trek! Although it was mentioned that this course would take 4 hours to complete, I actually took 6 hours because of all the time waste taking photos, videos and selfies and the struggles with the downhill portions of the trek.

From here I could take the bus back to Minshuku Kaido but I would have to wait for another 2 hours for the next one to come. Instead of waiting for the bus, I decided to use up the remaining energy that I have to walk all the way back to Minshuku Kaido.

It was undoubtedly the best decision ever! Along the way I could hear some strange loud animal noises coming from the beach. I set my camera to full zoom to find a large herd of seals floating on the water! I also get to see the peak of Rishiri-Fuji at Lake Kushu.

Lake Kushu and Rishiri-Fuji hidden behind the forest up ahead

This was before Pokemon Go was released and went viral

After an hour, I reached Funadomari and relaxed at a cafe for a caffeine boost before heading back to Minshuku Kaido to relieve myself from the sunburns on my arms. With some time left before dinner, I headed out to the nearby beach to pick up some seashells to bring home as souvenirs.

Once again, I was served crab, sashimi and sea urchin again for dinner. Since the weather had been wonderful today I was hoping to see an even more beautiful sunset than yesterday. Unfortunately to my dismay, the sunset was obscured by the low-lying clouds in the distance. The guests who had just checked-in today were really unlucky to miss yesterday's beautiful sunset.

I ended the day with all smiles, thinking to myself that this was the best day so far in Hokkaido. Even though I was in pain from the sunburns around my arms, I kept thinking back of that wonderful feeling of owning the entire island but without any dread of being completely alone during the trek.

I would definitely come back here in the future and I strongly recommended anyone to visit Rishiri and Rebun. Unfortunately, this would be my last night on Rebun as I would be going back to the mainland the next day.

Visit my Flickr album for more pictures of this trip!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124829205@N08/albums/72157671270024795

list all posts