This 'little brother' of the famous Eight-hour course offers stunning contrasts in landscape, passing along rough but green cliffs, several capes, remote beaches, and fishing villages. The icing on the cake for me was a large group of seals closed to the beach at the end of the trail—something I’ve never seen before!
The trail starts at the northernmost point of Rebun Island, Cape Sukoton. Although Cape Soya on 'mainland' Hokkaido is officially the most northern point of Japan, Cape Sukoton comes very close to that. Look at the map, and you will know what I mean! There is a souvenir shop, with a restroom which is apparently the most northern toilet in Japan—at least that is what is claimed. No toilet at Cape Soya then?
To reach the trailhead, walk along the road in a southern direction, for maybe 10 minutes or so. After that you’ll see the trail going off to the right, signposted ８時間コース(Eight-hour course). The first 3 hours of both hikes are exactly the same, so you just follow this sign. In the beginning the route goes along the top of the cliffs, but after passing Cape Gorota you descend and continue along the beach. There is a path parallel to the beach, and keep your eyes open for the perforated shells closer to the water. It seems, that other creatures (like mollusks or snails) drill those holes while searching for food. This produces extraordinary effects as the shells often look so very deliberate and circular.
After passing the remote fishing village of Teppu, the path leads up again over the hill to Cape Sukai. Make sure to have a look at this nicely shaped bay. I found this cape actually prettier than Cape Sukoton at the beginning of the trail.
While the Eight-hour course continues further along the coastline, head inland now to follow the Four-hour course. The walk along the road here is nothing special; however, it takes only about 20 minutes until you reach the area with lots of Rebun-atsumori-so, a rare type of orchid that apparently grows exclusively in this part of the world (best visited in June).
After another 20 minutes you get to Hamanaka, which is officially the end of this trail. However, we continued on the beach towards Funadomari—what a great decision! Right there in front of us was this amazingly large group of seals—I could not believe my eyes! The seals were relaxing there on a sandbank not so far from the shore. Some of them got a little excited when they heard or saw us: they jumped into the water and swam around. It was so nice to watch this. We stayed there for quite a while before continuing to Funadomari, from where we took the bus back to Kafuka.
A few useful hints:
Although it is called Four-hour course, you should allow at least 5 hours, including a lunch break and photo stops. Take sufficient water and some lunch. There are English trail maps and bus schedules available at the ferry terminal. Make sure you take a sweater and a windbreaker even in summer.
For a trail at the southern end of the island check out the Momo-iwa trail.
