How Do You Get to Rebun Island and Get Around from Wakkanai?

Published 2026-10-04 · Sources checked 2026-10-04 · Treasure Hunting Co., Ltd.

This guide is for visitors who want to reach Rebun Island, off the northwestern tip of Hokkaido, and plan how to move around once they arrive. It uses the English pages of "National Parks of Japan" (run by the Japan National Tourism Organization with content provided by the Ministry of the Environment), JNTO's own pages and the Hokkaido Official Tourism Site "HOKKAIDO LOVE!". All pages were read on 2026-10-04. Ferry and bus timetables are not on these pages, so check them before you travel.

The short answer

Go through Wakkanai. The park's access page says "Make your way to Wakkanai to access the islands", and JNTO's page on Rishiri and Rebun says Wakkanai Airport "is the main access point to both Rishiri and Rebun islands". From Wakkanai a ferry takes less than two hours to each island.

From Tokyo

The park page says flying from Tokyo is the easiest way. Two-hour flights depart from Haneda Airport to Wakkanai Airport, where you can ride the Soya Bus Airport Line to the Wakkanai Port Ferry Terminal in 35 minutes. At the port, take a ferry bound for Rishiri Island's Oshidomari Port (1 hr 40 min) or Rebun Island's Kafuka Port (1 hr 55 min). One Hokkaido itinerary lists the Kafuka to Wakkanai crossing as about 120 minutes, and says it is about 25 minutes by car from the Wakkanai Ferry Terminal to Wakkanai Airport.

From Sapporo

From Sapporo you can reach Wakkanai Station by train (5 hr 30 min), air (1 hr) or highway bus (6 hr). JNTO adds that there are direct flights from both Tokyo (Haneda Airport) and Sapporo (New Chitose Airport) to Wakkanai Airport.

The ferry

• JNTO says there are two to three ferries per day, depending on the season.
• You can take a car, motorbike or bike on the ferry, but for a car you need to reserve at least a day in advance, and you can reserve a car berth up to two months before departure.
• To see both Rishiri and Rebun, ferries connect the two islands in 45 minutes each way.
• From November to February, JNTO says, the seasonal winds grow strong and the ferry service may be suspended.

Getting around Rebun

The park's access page says renting a car for the islands is expensive, costing "around 20,000 yen each way" to take one on the ferry. Its advice is to study maps and timetables for the infrequent buses, which it says were only available in Japanese as of November 2019, or to book a bus tour, an option preferred by many domestic tourists. Bus courses can be booked from the Soya Bus Company, which has a limited English-language website, and you can also explore the islands by bicycle rented at a shop. JNTO says the sightseeing buses follow the ferry schedule, "making everything easy". The Hokkaido itinerary, on the other hand, suggests renting a car at Kafuka Port to explore the flower-covered hills and coastline. Cost and timetables decide which of these suits you, so compare them before you go.

How long to stay

JNTO recommends a three-day stay if you want to see both islands in leisurely fashion and do some hiking and cycling, but says you can see a lot of both islands in just a day if you take a sightseeing bus. It also says that in winter, from December to February, the average temperature drops to around -7 degrees Celsius.

While you wait in port

JNTO's Wakkanai itinerary mentions public hot springs near the ferry terminal on Rebun, and fresh seafood markets in Wakkanai. The Hokkaido site also recommends visiting the Wakkanai Port North Breakwater Dome, five minutes by car from the ferry terminal, while you wait for your journey.

A sensible plan

1. Decide the season first. The ferry may be suspended from November to February, and the flowers run from late April to mid-September.
2. Book the flight to Wakkanai, then check the ferry timetable for the day you land, because there are only two or three sailings.
3. Choose between a bus tour, a bicycle and a car berth before you book. A car berth needs a reservation at least a day ahead.

What we could not verify, and therefore left out

• Ferry fares for passengers, and the current ferry and bus timetables.
• Whether the Soya Bus English page now lists the island bus routes. The page we read is dated November 2019.
• Bicycle rental prices and car rental prices on the island.

Related guides

• What is Rebun Island? The "floating island of flowers"
• How do you walk Rebun Island? Cape Sukoton, Cape Gorota and the Momoiwa Trail

Sources

All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.

1. How to get there, Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu (National Parks of Japan) — (flights, ferry times, car cost, buses)
2. Rishiri & Rebun (JNTO) — (ferries, car berths, winter, how long to stay)
3. Wakkanai, Rishiri and Rebun sample itinerary (HOKKAIDO LOVE!) — (crossing time, car)
4. Wakkanai, Rebun Island, Rishiri Island, Sapporo (JNTO) — (hot springs, markets)