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Friendly management and delicious dinners including a complimentary glass of local wine make Ikeda Kita no Kotan Youth Hostel (;572-3666; www11.plala.or.jp/kitanokotan, in Japanese; dm incl 2 meals from ¥5000; ) a real treat. The hostel is within easy walking distance of the Toshibetsu station, one stop west of Ikeda (¥200, five minutes). From the station take the main road south, turn left at the first intersection and the hostel is where the road ends.

Frequent futsū run on the JR Nemuro line between Obihiro and Ikeda (¥440, 30 minutes).

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ERIMO-MISAKI

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This remote cape is far off the beaten path, but with its windswept cliffs and dramatic ocean vistas, and kelp strung up to dry like giant shoelaces, it’s a good day trip for anyone with their own wheels and a little extra time.

The history of this unique place is something of an ecological miracle. Beginning in the Meiji era, the hills surrounding this kelp-farming community were gradually deforested, so by the 1950s it was nicknamed Erimo Desert. Sand blew into the ocean, destroying the kelp, and the community faced a stark choice: reforest or leave. Thanks to the locals’ perseverance and a vast number of seedlings, the hills now boast a Japanese black pine forest.

Those same great offshore winds and Pacific swell make for spectacular surfing breaks for anyone daring enough to bring along a board and wetsuit, but check with locals about rips and safety before paddling out into the waves. Across from the deserted JR bus stop there’s a small bluff that makes a good spot to take a snapshot of the fishing boats below. A lone post office and postal ATM is near the city hall.

Ten minutes’ drive further, at the cape itself, is an entire museum dedicated to wind, namely Kaze-no-Yakata (; 3-1133; www9.ocn.ne.jp/~kaze, in Japanese; 366-3 Tōyō, Erimo-chō; admission ¥1000; 8.30am-6pm May-Sep, 9am-5pm Oct-Apr, closed Dec-Feb). There are plenty of weather-related films and displays, though the highlight is being blasted by gale-force winds inside a manmade wind tunnel.

Kuril seals, which bask all year round on the rocks below, are called zenigata-azarashi (money shaped) because the white spots on their black bodies are reminiscent of old Japanese coins. Here, you can also pick out your own crab or conch and have it grilled at the restaurant-shacks beside the car park. Bring a windbreaker: outside feels just as gusty as the wind tunnel does.

When things warm up a bit outside the winter months, there is a camping ground (; 4-2168; camp sites per person ¥300; 20 Apr–20 Oct) on the beach at Hyakunin-hama, 8km northeast of the cape, right near the lighthouse.

At the tip of the cape, just around the corner from the wind museum, you will find Minshuku Misaki-sō (; 3-1316; www.goodinns.com/misakiso, in Japanese; Erimo-misaki Tōdaimoto, Erimo-chō; r per person with/without 2 meals ¥6300/4200; ). This place is a surprisingly homey option given its far-flung location.

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Shikoku

* * *

TOKUSHIMA-KEN

TOKUSHIMA

AROUND TOKUSHIMA

IYA VALLEY

SOUTHERN TOKUSHIMA-KEN

KŌCHI-KEN

TOKUSHIMA TO KŌCHI

KŌCHI

KŌCHI TO ASHIZURI-MISAKI

ASHIZURI-MISAKI

EHIME-KEN

UWAJIMA

UWAJIMA TO MATSUYAMA

MATSUYAMA

AROUND MATSUYAMA

KAGAWA-KEN

MATSUYAMA TO TAKAMATSU

TAKAMATSU

AROUND TAKAMATSU

* * *

For more than 1000 years, pilgrims have walked clockwise around Shikoku in the footsteps of the Buddhist saint Kōbō Daishi (774–835), who achieved enlightenment on the island of his birth. Known as the ‘88 Temples of Shikoku’, the 1400km journey is Japan’s best known pilgrimage and its oldest tourist trail.

In the days before guidebooks and reliable maps, pilgrims frequently disappeared forever in Shikoku’s rugged and mountainous interior. Today, hardship is not the factor it once was, with many pilgrims buzzing merrily around the island in air-conditioned vehicles. In recent years, however, growing numbers of people have been striking out on foot along the age-old