sakhalin tourism

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Sakhalin Island

El Dorado for present-day businessfolk and ‘hell’ to Anton Chekhov in 1890 (not to mention the thousands and thousands of prisoners shipped here from the late 19th century), Sakhalin Island these days is defined by its booming oil and gas hub, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. But there's much more to this often beautiful island, which is filled with a wild terrain of forests, islands of seals, streams full of fish, slopes for skiing and lots and lots of bears. Relatively cheap flights can get you here, but prepare to open the purse strings once you’ve arrived: Sakhalin is no place for shoestringers.

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Attractions

Must-see attractions.

Cathedral of the Nativity

This extraordinary new addition to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's otherwise ho-hum architectural ensemble is a staggeringly impressive golden-domed cathedral, which…

Museum of Sakhalin Island: A Book by AP Chekhov

Based on Chekhov’s seminal account of his few months working as a doctor on Sakhalin in the 1890s, this museum provides insight not only into life on…

Sakhalin Regional Museum

The pagoda-roofed Sakhalin Regional Museum has a strong exhibit (sadly in Russian only) exploring the Japanese/Soviet overlap of the city’s history,…

This museum has a modest permanent collection of pre-Soviet Russian oil paintings and Korean and Japanese textiles upstairs, and changing exhibits…

Chekhov Statue

This attractive statue of Anton Chekhov, whose visit to Sakhalin in the late 19th century put the little-known penal colony on the map, shows the great…

Gagarin Park

This large park is full of rides and amusements, but there are some very pleasant parts for strolling away from the crowds, and even an attractive…

Lenin Statue

This looming statue of the revolutionary leader still stands in pride of place in front of the train station.

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Get to the heart of Sakhalin Island with one of our in-depth, award-winning guidebooks, covering maps, itineraries, and expert guidance.

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Sakhalin: Your Essential Guide to Russia’s Enigmatic Eastern Island

• January 14, 2024

A Journey Through Giant Burdocks, Wild Bears, and the Echoes of Ancient Japanese Temples

From the most dreaded place of exile in the Russian Empire to a Japanese industrial base and one of the most attractive and inaccessible places for domestic tourism in Russia.

Table of Contents

An island that was Russian, then Japanese, and then Russian again

From the 17th to the mid-19th century, it was believed that Sakhalin was a peninsula. This misconception firmly established itself on the maps of the time, as navigators failed to circumnavigate the island. The proximity of Sakhalin’s southern tip to the mainland created a false impression of being impassable for ships. An additional complexity arose from the fact that the route taken by ships from the Russian Empire involved passing through a narrow strait, which Nevelskoy managed to navigate only in 1849.

For a long time, people did not believe Nevelskoy, but he insisted that he had discovered a route through the strait, for which he became something of a hero in Primorye. Monuments and plaques dedicated to him can be found in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Vladivostok, and Khabarovsk. The H4H creative association created a graphic novel based on this story, which won a cultural initiatives contest and became part of the interior of the Khabarovsk Airport. By the way, the Sakhalin region is the only Russian entity entirely located on islands.

The remote and isolated location of the island during the Russian Empire was used as a natural barrier, and it became the site of penal colonies for hard labor prisoners. Its geographical position led to Sakhalin’s hard labor being regarded as particularly cruel.

During the period of the island’s development, Russian ships followed the Amur River and reached the island from the north, where the oldest port, Alexandrovsk, was founded. The Japanese attempted to develop the island from the south, entering through the Kuril Islands (part of the Sakhalin region) and Aniva Bay. For a long time, the Kurils were inhabited by the Ainu, representatives of a small indigenous people. The very word “Kurils” comes from the Ainu: “kuru” means “man.”

In the 17th century, Japan conducted its first expeditions towards the islands and began their development. Russia reached them later. The first mentions of the islands in Russian language date back to the late 17th century. For a long time, Russian, Dutch, Japanese, and Anglo-French navigators studied the islands, landed on them, and disputed their territorial ownership. However, only Russia and Japan managed to establish a foothold. To end the territorial disputes, the governments of the two countries signed an agreement under which the Kuril Islands went to Japan, and Sakhalin to Russia, which continued to develop the island mainly from the north. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which ended in Russia’s defeat, the southern part of Sakhalin became part of Japan as the Karafuto Prefecture.

Until the second half of the 20th century, the island was owned by Japan and was quite successful in developing its resources. A huge number of mines were opened, several cities and lighthouses were built. In particular, the current regional center, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, was the former Japanese city of Toyohara. The famous Aniva lighthouse, now considered a symbol of Sakhalin, was built by Japanese engineers. After Japan’s defeat in World War II, the island passed to the Soviet Union. Contrary to history, the main life of the island moved from the north to the south. Alexandrovsk, which was convenient to reach by water, lost to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with its infrastructure built by the Japanese, connections to neighboring cities, and airport. Interestingly, before leaving, the Japanese buried and hid the mining sites, and locals say that not all the old mines have been found yet, and they are sometimes stumbled upon during walks.

Because the island belonged to three different countries in just over a hundred years, it did not have time to develop any significant urban infrastructure. The cities lack outstanding architectural monuments and unique museums. However, some unusual Japanese architecture has remained. Meanwhile, Sakhalin compactly houses incredible natural attractions. Here, one can climb through forests and bamboo thickets to breathtakingly beautiful mountains as if outlined in graphite, and through a mountain pass reach the sea, into which clear mountain rivers flow with fish splashing in them.

The Ainu and Nivkh: Inhabitants of Sakhalin

For a long time, the island was mainly inhabited by the Ainu and Nivkh peoples. These ethnic groups are very different, making their coexistence as unusual as the neighboring of birch and bamboo on the slopes of Sakhalin’s mountains. Both are isolate peoples . However, the Ainu belong to the Australoid race, while the Nivkh are Mongoloids (the main population of Asian territories). It’s fascinating how representatives of different races have coexisted for ages on a small piece of land at the edge of the world.

There is no single version regarding the origin of the Ainu, leading to a multitude of theories — both scientific and conspiratorial. One theory suggests that the Ainu are the ancestors of the indigenous population of Australia, remaining in the north after continental migration. Some researchers write that the Ainu are the forebears of the Japanese. This theory is supported by the fact that before Japanese expansion, the Ainu mainly inhabited the Japanese island of Hokkaido. However, the Ainu suffered greatly from Japanese imperialism, and their culture and language were almost completely destroyed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Now, there are just over two thousand Ainu living on Sakhalin.

The Nivkh are among the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the north. They suffered less from Japanese rule. However, during the Soviet era, they experienced a difficult phase of literacy development, destruction of tribal communities, and relocation to cities. About 2,200 Nivkh live in the Sakhalin region and another approximately two thousand in Khabarovsk.

During the Karafuto period, Japan brought captured Koreans to Sakhalin for hard labor. By the mid-20th century, the Korean population of the island was about 45,000 people. For comparison, the current population of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is 180,000. This large number of people, deprived of their homeland, was forced to adapt to life first under Japanese and then Soviet rule. In the USSR, Koreans were issued passports, and there were national kindergartens and schools. However, Sakhalin Koreans did not feel part of the larger community of Soviet Koreans (Koryo-saram) and struggled to integrate. Moreover, they were considered members of an ‘unreliable nation’ because they had lived in the Japanese Empire.

In the late 1990s, three countries – Russia, South Korea, and Japan – began a repatriation campaign for the first generation of Sakhalin Koreans (born before August 15, 1945) to their historical homeland. Now, about 3,500 repatriates from Russia live in South Korea. Under the program, the Korean government provides medical insurance and a monthly allowance to the repatriates. The Japanese government, in turn, buys housing (apartments up to 40 m²) and covers transportation costs. Additionally, every two years, Sakhalin Koreans who have moved to their homeland have the right to visit Sakhalin for free, funded by the Japanese government. Most Sakhalin Koreans settled in the city of Ansan , where 500 apartments were specially built for them.

Korean influence is weakly traced on Sakhalin: many Sakhalin Koreans no longer know the language and do not associate themselves with Korea. However, there are several authentic restaurants (for example, “Koba” ) on the island where you can try traditional dishes.

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk — the capital and base for exploring the island

The city is predominantly characterized by typical Soviet architecture, with almost no remaining Japanese buildings. This is because during the Soviet period, the city was radically rebuilt after being liberated from ‘imperialist Japanese rule.’ Many buildings were demolished, and from the few that remained, some were turned into museums. Perhaps the main thing that has been preserved from the Japanese period is the layout. The city was founded from scratch near the Russian village of Vladimirovka, and Chicago was chosen as the model for its layout. Toyohara was divided into four parts by two main streets, O-dori (now Lenin) and Maoka-dori (Sakhalinskaya).

Japan established itself thoroughly on the island. In Toyohara, trade routes converged, new bays were developed, and roads were built. The city’s population grew steadily. Initially due to the military garrison, and later due to a paper mill, a sugar and distillery plant. Now, the buildings of the former Japanese factories are abandoned. Many of them can only be accessed with rare tours, while others are completely closed. However, their presence is still recalled by street names, such as Paper Street.

Another building in the Neo-Japanese style is the Karafuto Governorate Museum built in the 1930s (29 Communist Avenue). It now houses the Sakhalin Regional Museum . And in the former bank of colonial development, there is the Art Museum (137 Lenin Street).

Several other iconic buildings constructed by the Japanese have been preserved: the central hospital of Toyohara (41 Chekhov Street), the conference hall of the Karafuto Governorate (30 Dzerzhinsky Street), and the Toyohara City Hall (41 Communist Avenue). The Sakhalin Railway Museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is distinct from many similar museums in Russia due to its exhibits. This is because the island long maintained the Japanese standard of railway gauge, which differs from the Russian standard. Accordingly, the rolling stock was entirely different.

If in Vladivostok everything is named after the Far Eastern explorer and writer Vladimir Arsenyev, then in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, mentions of Chekhov are everywhere. At the end of the 19th century, Sakhalin was both the most dreaded place for exile to hard labor and one of the most tempting corners of Russia, which was not so easy to access. Chekhov received an editorial assignment and embarked on a ship along with prisoners, military personnel, and sailors to the most remote point of the empire. In his notes, which Chekhov compiled under the title ‘The Island of Sakhalin,’ the writer talked about many things: the geography and climate of the island, the life of the convicts, and ordinary residents. This book caused a great resonance at the time, and even now it was very interesting to read it while traveling to Sakhalin: some things have changed drastically, while others have remained the same. Now in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, there is even a museum dedicated to this one book, which turned out to be so significant for the island.

GoSakhalin is the website of the Sakhalin Tourist and Information Center. And in their official Telegram channel , you can find announcements of affordable excursions shortly before they start.

In any case, for travelers, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk remains primarily a hub and a place of rest. Here they return for the night and dinner, and it seems that real adventures begin outside the doorstep.

Surrounding Area

10–20 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

The main reason people visit Sakhalin is for its unique nature. Mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and the sea, all on a small piece of land. In one day, you can travel from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Sea of Japan, cross several climate zones, see bamboo groves, birches, and spruces in one place, spot a running fox and a swimming orca. The island’s landscapes can boldly compete in Instagram appeal with Iceland or Norway.

Within Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk alone, there are about 30 kilometers of marked ecotrails, with brief descriptions and routes available on the official tourism portal. I also found an ecotrail in Nevelsk, which is not mentioned on the official website.

The ecotrails in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk start from the ‘Mountain Air’ ski center on the sopka (a term for mountains in the Far East) Bolshevik. There are five in total: ‘Children’s’ (2.7 kilometers), ‘Eight’ (8 kilometers), ‘Northern Ring’ (9 kilometers), ‘Russian’ (3.2 kilometers), and ‘Yelanka’ (5 kilometers). You can take a cable car to the start of the trails and then slowly descend through the forest and park to the city. However, the lift does not operate in rainy and windy weather.

Hiking the ‘Eight’ trail took me no more than three hours, including stops to catch my breath and take photos. Every kilometer and a half along the route, there are benches. From the top of the mountain, there is a view of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and it seems you can see a piece of the Sea of Okhotsk.

Chekhov Peak

The route to Chekhov Peak is a high-mountain trekking path that requires a certain level of physical fitness. Chekhov Peak has an elevation of 1045 meters, with an absolute altitude gain of 752 meters. The trail is narrow and slippery in places, hardly suitable for children or people with limited mobility.

Chekhov Peak is part of the Susunai Range, which supports Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk from the southeast. You can exit from Gagarin city park to the foothills in about half an hour. The ascent to the peak itself cannot be missed: a marked trail and informational signs lead to it. On particularly steep ascents, ropes are hung for safety, but it is possible to walk up the slope without them.

In late spring, the forest trail has many streams, as well as May primroses and butterflies. The foothills are scattered with rare, incredibly large, and wonderfully fragrant marsh callas. Halfway to the peak, bamboo thickets are encountered, through which birches break through. This is also a kind of magic because, as a biologist friend explained to me, birch and bamboo are not supposed to coexist in the natural environment, but somehow they manage to do so. Occasionally, spruces are encountered — not tall, but very fluffy. Closer to the top, the vegetation becomes sparser, and the impressive views of the sea, mountains, and lakes open up from the height.

• The entire hike takes five to six hours.
• Even in summer, there is snow on the summit. In the afternoon, it starts to melt, making it more difficult to walk.
• Don’t forget to bring food and water.
• Wear boots with covered ankles, a jacket, and a head covering.
• Inform your family and friends, and someone living in Sakhalin, before setting out on the route. If you’re traveling alone, you could notify, for example, the hotel receptionist or roommates in a hostel.
• Snakes and bears are found around the trail. Watch your feet and try to make as much noise as possible. For example, play music on your phone and sing along occasionally.
• The ascent to Chekhov Peak can be the start of a journey to the village of Lesnoye on the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk. The distance to the village is 27 kilometers. With good preparation and an early start from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, this distance can be covered in one day.

Mud Volcano in Klyuchi

A mud volcano is an eruption on the earth’s surface of clay masses, mineralized waters, and gases. The mechanism of formation of these volcanoes is not fully understood. According to the existing theory, such volcanoes are formed near oil fields.

The mud volcano in Klyuchi consists of a mud field about 200 meters in diameter. There, you can see about 20 points of activity, resembling miniature volcano craters. This mud volcano became active in 1959, 1979, 2001, and 2011 (the last time due to a strong earthquake in Japan). During these eruptions, mud columns reached several tens of meters in height. Bus 189 goes to Klyuchi from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The distance from the village to the top of the volcano is nine kilometers and takes about two and a half hours to walk.

Ecopark in the Vestochka area: Frog Rock, Aikhor Waterfall, ‘Sunny Glade’ Recreation Park

Not far from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, there is a fairly large ecopark, known primarily for the Frog Rock outcrop. An outcrop is a remnant of harder rock around which softer rock has eroded over time. Outcrops are often known for their unusual shapes and are natural monuments. Frog Rock is part of a series of rocks standing one behind the other. This was once the seabed of an ancient sea, and fossilized shells can be found in its vicinity. From the top of the rock, amazing views of the Aniva Bay, Tunaycha and Changeable Lakes open up. This place was sacred to the Ainu, the indigenous inhabitants of the island.

The trail to the ‘Sunny Glade’ ecopark begins behind the ‘Electron’ culture house. Despite its name, it is not a city park, but a full-fledged forest with laid-out paths. There are houses, glades with tables for rest where you can cook barbecues, and wooden walkways leading to various attractions. These are all paid services.

The path to Frog Rock outcrop goes along the Komissarovka River. In areas of spring flooding, callas bloom and bamboo grows. The outcrop is located on a hill, with a total elevation gain of about 300 meters. The road is quite challenging, usually taking from an hour to an hour and a half. The higher you climb, the more you can see: the sea, the mountain gorge, the road to Vestochka. In the same park is the Aikhor Waterfall, which is also a short climb away, but along a less well-maintained trail. You can plan a whole day to visit Vestochka and even spend the night, without returning to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Vestochka is three high-rise buildings on one side of the road and a cottage settlement on the other. It is part of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, though located 15 kilometers from the main part of the city. A taxi there costs about 1000 rubles and takes 40 minutes. About a kilometer after turning off the main road, the asphalt ends and a terribly dusty dirt road begins. If you’re lucky, you can catch a bus that runs three times a day.

What else to see on the island

40 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

The oldest city in the south of Sakhalin, founded by Nevelskoy’s expedition. Here you can find a huge number of monuments dedicated to sailors, naval battles, and ships. The most significant monument in the city in recent decades has become the stele dedicated to ‘Koreans interned by the Japanese in Sakhalin, who never returned to their homeland,’ located on Mount Sorrow, created through the efforts of three countries’ governments (Russia, Japan, and Korea).

In Korsakov, some Japanese heritage has been preserved: the former building of the Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, a colonial development bank (Sovetskaya Street, 3), trade warehouses in the port, a document storage facility ‘Bunsyoko’ (Krasnoflotskaya Street, 1), a couple of rusty fire hydrants, and remnants of Shinto temples in the form of pillars with hieroglyphs. One of the local nighttime entertainments is watching the lights of the gas processing plant.

How to get there. Three electric trains a day, the journey takes just over an hour, and the ticket costs 75 rubles (0.75 euros).

Bird and Giant Capes

90 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Two capes, recognized as natural monuments in 1990, along whose coasts are many wind and wave-carved grottoes, caves, arches, and columns of various sizes and whimsical shapes, among which colonies of sea birds reside.

The place is not very close, but it’s very picturesque at any time of the year. In the area of one of the rocks, there is a pool where, during the salmon spawning period, you can observe a fascinating spectacle — a huge gathering of pink salmon.

Many tourists stay on the coast overnight to witness the sunset and sunrise. Near Cape Giant, there is a toilet, parking, and a rest area with benches.

How to get there. The journey from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk goes through the village of Okhotskoe, where you can buy fresh crabs, and takes about three hours one way. The road is fully passable only by high vehicles like Mitsubishi Pajero, Suzuki Jimny, as the last ten kilometers of the route have deep puddles, potholes, small cliffs, and rivers.

Nevelsk and Steller Sea Lions

Nevelsk is nestled between mountains and sea. The rocky mountains and the coast, which consists of small stone needles and shells, in every way explain why Chekhov so often mentioned in ‘The Island of Sakhalin’ how harsh the land of Sakhalin is.

Steller sea lions are the largest of the eared seals. One of their habitats is the breakwater in Nevelsk. As soon as you arrive in the town, the smell from the Steller sea lions’ haul-out site hits you. ‘They eat there, live, give birth to their young – that’s why it smells,’ the locals explain. Another feature is the noise. Steller sea lions are very loud!

You can view the sea lions from the central square, where binoculars are installed. However, tourists usually hire a boat and approach the haul-out site to get a closer look at the seals. You can see how the Steller sea lions bark, lie in the sun, jump into the sea and, most interestingly, try to jump back. The views from the square through binoculars are not as detailed and impressive. A place on the boat will cost 1000–1500 rubles (9.99 – (14.99 euros). You can also buy a tour from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk for 3500 rubles (34.98 euros). The most animals are present in spring and early summer. In autumn, there may be a couple of dozen individuals left.

From the embankment, you can observe the huge kelp laminaria floating in the sea. Some travelers catch them themselves and eat them. Although dishes made from seaweed are found in cafes and also sold in stores. Signs are installed on the shore indicating where to run in case of a tsunami. The last major earthquake with waves was recorded in 2007. Many houses were destroyed and two people died. The most famous Sakhalin tsunami was the 1952 tragedy , when the aftermath of the earthquake almost completely destroyed Severo-Kurilsk.

How to get there. From the bus station (Karl Marx Street, 51b) in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, buses go to Nevelsk, the ticket costs 300 rubles (3.00 euros), and the journey takes about an hour. Tickets can be purchased at the bus station ticket office or from the driver (cash or transfer). It’s not possible to board the bus somewhere in the city, as the bus does not make stops. It’s better to buy a return ticket immediately upon arrival in Nevelsk at the Nevelsk bus station ticket office (Lenina Street, 1). The bus is popular with locals, and there may simply be no seats left.

Remnants of structures from the Karafuto period include the Maoka-Jinja temple with a Japanese-style garden and an abandoned railway built by the Japanese. It used to connect Kholmsk with Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Tourists usually come to see two photogenic bridges – Devil’s and Witch’s – and a tunnel in the mountain that makes a full circle inside it. The trail passes along the old rails, and there are many vipers, so one needs to watch their step.

How to get there. The bus to Kholmsk takes two hours, the ticket costs 450 rubles (4.50 euros), with 14 trips a day.

Slepikovsky Cape and Lighthouse

120 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

At Slepikovsky Cape, there is the only relic grove of Korean cedar on Sakhalin. Also located here is the functioning Slepikovsky Lighthouse, which is a 27-meter tall round tower, connected by corridors to utility and residential buildings.

The cape and lighthouse are named after the commander of the Russian partisan detachment Bronislav Grotto-Slepikovsky, who operated in Southern Sakhalin during the 1904–1905 war. The route to the lighthouse goes through the villages of Yablochnoe and Sadovniki, where some of the best beaches on Sakhalin are located — with the cleanest water and white sand.

How to get there. The cape is located 29 kilometers north of Kholmsk. From Kholmsk to the turn towards the lighthouse, there is asphalt with dirt sections. From the turn to the lighthouse, there is first a dirt road, then beach sand, which is recommended to be driven on with deflated tires. Visiting time is from spring to autumn, as the road to the cape is not cleared in winter.

110 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

In 1891, when the island had a penal colony, this was the Russian village of Siraroko, named after a nearby Ainu settlement. In 1905, the south of Sakhalin was given to the Japanese, and the village was renamed Higashi Shiraura. Here there were a railway station, a brick factory, and a coal mine. 40 years later, the settlement was renamed Vzmorye.

During the Japanese times, there was the Shinto shrine Higashi Shiraura Inari-Jinja. Only the torii gates remain — P-shaped gates without doors that are placed on the path to a Shinto shrine. These are the only torii on Sakhalin. On the torii, there is an inscription ‘In honor of the 2600th anniversary of the foundation of Great Japan’ — this mythological date was widely celebrated in 1940.

On the way to the torii, you can see the famous giant burdocks and bear’s garlic. Vzmorye is also known as a place where poached crabs are sold along the highway.

How to get there. Two electric trains and one train that start from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk stop in Vzmorye. Unfortunately, all three are in the evening. You can also get there on passing buses that go to the north of the island.

Tikhaya Bay

140 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

On one side, the bay is framed by Mount Smely, and on the other side, the majestic Zhdanko Ridge begins. To the left in the bay itself is an island-kekur, which can be reached during low tide, as well as the epic cliffs of Tikhaya Cape. By the way, behind this cape, there are waterfalls that become icefalls in winter. At the base of the bay is the mouth of the Tikhaya River, where during the season you can see the spawning of pink salmon and chum salmon. Bears are aware of this, so they are often encountered here.

How to get there. Buses going to Poronaysk stop in the village of Tikhoye, near which the bay is located. There are four trips a day.

Aniva Lighthouse

The lighthouse has a complex history: there were attempts to maintain it under Soviet rule, but Aniva was so remote from inhabited areas that it was not profitable. Eventually, the lighthouse was switched to autonomous mode, bringing in a radioactive isotope to sustain its operation, and then it was completely closed. To this day, you can find signs on the walls reading ‘Caution, radioactive’. But now this warning is outdated, as the radioactive isotope was removed when the lighthouse was decommissioned. The lighthouse is very beautiful, offering views of the island and sea, and inside you can explore the remnants of rooms and working areas.

On the return trip, tourists are also taken to Mramornaya Bay, where you can also climb a mountain and view the jagged coast of Sakhalin from above. Orcas and whales are often encountered in these areas, most frequently in summer. I would also recommend taking a combined tour in summer to Aniva Lighthouse, the Blue Lakes, and Busse Lagoon, where you can see the amazingly blue waters and try sea urchins.

A kilometer from Novikov is Cape Tri Kamnya (46.320342 143.373006), which can even be reached by car. Four kilometers from the cape is the small Strelka waterfall , which requires a walk. If you stay in the village overnight, you can take a hike to the Blue (turquoise) Lakes (46.359603, 143.471909). On the way, there’s an abandoned Japanese power station. You can extend your route by another 15 kilometers and reach the opposite shore of the peninsula – to Cape Evstafiya. The road from Novikov to Cape Evstafyeva through the Blue Lakes can be driven in a jeep, if there hasn’t been prolonged rain before. But it’s better to ask in advance those who have recently been there, and get the phone number of a local tractor driver in Novikov, so that if something happens, he can pull you out.

How to get there. Getting there independently is almost impossible. The lighthouse is located on a rocky outcrop in the sea, and the nearest land is a high cliff. However, some people do reach Novikovo (the nearest village) by bus or car, and then walk 44 kilometers on foot to Aniva (the name of both the lighthouse and the bay). It takes about one and a half hours to drive from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Novikovo. And then another two hours of rough dirt road to the boat dock. A tour from the company ‘Friends-Hikers’ costs 6000 rubles (59.97 euros) in May (in summer – 7000 rubles (69.96 euros)).

Klokovsky Waterfall

190 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Klokovsky Waterfall is one of the highest waterfalls on Sakhalin Island. Its height is variously reported to be 48–49 meters, with a width of up to nine meters. The waterfall is accessible year-round, but is most full in late spring and early summer.

Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky

The ‘Tri Brata’ (Three Brothers) rocks are definitely a symbol of Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, and perhaps of the entire island. They are located in the Alexandrovsk Gulf almost opposite Cape Zhonkiyor. From the cape, there is a stunning view of the vast Tatar Strait and the Three Brothers. At low tide, it’s possible to calmly explore all the attractions of the gulf, collect seaweed and shells, see hermit crabs scuttling along the seabed with their shells on their backs, or watch the leaves of laminaria sway. At the strongest low tide, you can even walk to the Three Brothers through the water.

In the 19th century, convicts carved a 90-meter tunnel through Cape Zhonkiyor to service the lighthouse. To reach the tunnel by land, you need to come at low tide. Otherwise, you’ll have to climb the rocks. The tunnel is lined with logs, but there is almost always water at the bottom and a strong wind howls through it. If you pass through the tunnel, you will see the ‘Tri Sestry’ (Three Sisters) rocks and an old lighthouse from the end of the 19th century. All these places are described by Chekhov in ‘The Island of Sakhalin’: ‘Most often we went to the lighthouse, which stands high above the valley, on Cape Zhonkiyor. During the day, the lighthouse, if looked at from below, is a modest white house with a mast and lantern, but at night it shines brightly in the darkness, and then it seems that the penal colony looks at the world with its red eye. The road to the house climbs steeply, winding around the mountain, past old larches and firs. The higher you climb, the freer you breathe; the sea spreads before your eyes, thoughts gradually come, having nothing to do with the prison, the penal colony, or the exile settlement, and only then do you realize how dull and difficult life is down below.’

How to get there. From Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, there is one bus trip per day – at 12:10. The ticket costs 2200 rubles (21.99 euros), and the journey takes nine hours.

600 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

The main transit point on the way to the oil refineries. The village might be of interest to those curious to see a harsh northern town living off production: low-rise buildings made of siding and unexpectedly bright murals on the walls of five-story buildings. There is a local history museum in the village (Sovetskaya Street, 3) – it is praised for its excellent exhibition of the Nivkh culture and a monument to Nevelskoy. Also, one of the longest rivers of Sakhalin, the Tym (which translates from Nivkh as ‘spawning river’), flows through the town.

How to get there. A night train goes to Nogliki every day, taking almost 12 hours. The cheapest ticket in a seated carriage costs 1100 rubles (10.99 euros), a compartment – 4100 (40.98 euros). There is even a luxury (SV) carriage for 12600 rubles (125.93 euros).

Where to Stay

Hostels in the Far East are divided into work and tourist types. The former will also accommodate tourists, but the atmosphere there is like a dormitory where their own rules are already established, and you may feel like an uninvited guest. To avoid such a hostel, it’s important to carefully read the reviews, not book the cheapest hostels, not stay on the outskirts or near airports and train stations.

In the Islander hostel , mainly travelers stay, it’s very cozy, with convenient kitchen and showers with toilets. A double room costs 3000 rubles per day, and dorms – from 900 rubles (8.99 euros) per night. If you book directly through the website and for a long term, you can get a good discount.

The ‘Moneron’ hotel is located near the railway and bus stations. It’s a classic budget hotel with small clean rooms. The ‘comfort’ class rooms have a bath, and the hotel provides a complete set with slippers, towels, and a hairdryer. Prices start from 2800 rubles (27.98 euros) per night for a single economy room, while ‘comfort’ costs 4900 rubles (48.97 euros). Breakfast is included in the price.

The ‘Belka’ hotel building is made using Finnish technology in a wooden style from milled timber. The cost of large rooms with wooden walls and huge beds starts from 5800 rubles (57.97 euros). Breakfast is also included in the price. The hotel complex includes a sauna, spa, tavern, and gym.

Near Bussé Bay is the island’s only dome-shaped glamping site. A night for two costs 8000-10,000 rubles (79.95 – 99.94 euros). An extra bed is 2000 (19.99 euros). Each dome has a shower, toilet, and electricity. On cooler days, you can light the stove and sit by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa.

In other towns, apart from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the choice of hotels is quite modest and usually limited to one or two hotels, which cannot always be booked online. They have to be found on the map and booked by phone.

Transport on the Island

Car. If you’re only traveling between cities, there won’t be any problems – the roads between them are mostly paved, and the dirt roads are of more or less good quality. It gets more complicated with natural attractions. Almost all of them are accessed by dirt roads, which not every car can navigate.

In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, ‘Yandex.Taxi’ and ‘Maxim’ operate (also in Korsakov and Kholmsk). A trip within the city limits will cost a maximum of 300 rubles (3.00 euros).

Railway. From Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, about 30 electric trains depart daily. Most of them go to nearby areas like Dalnyaya, Khristoforovka, and Novoaleksandrovka stations – 8–23 minutes travel time.

To other cities, there’s only one electric train per day. It takes an hour to Korsakov and the ticket costs 80 rubles (0.80 euro). To Tomari, it’s four hours and 300 rubles (3.00 euros). To Poronaysk, it’s five hours of travel and 500 rubles (5.00 euros) for a ticket. Long-distance electric trains depart in the evening, as these routes are used by residents of the province who return from work in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to their homes.

There is also one train on the island – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Nogliki, 12 hours of travel and 1100 rubles (10.99 euros) for a ticket in a sitting carriage.

Buses. It seems you can reach even the most remote settlements by bus. Often there’s only one trip per day, but at least it exists. To Kholmsk, Nevelsk, and Korsakov, the journey takes about an hour and a half, with tickets costing around 300 rubles (3.00 euros); to Poronaysk and Uglegorsk, it’s four to five hours and 1200 rubles (11.99 euros) for a ticket. You can check the current schedule on avtovokzaly.ru . But it’s always better to double-check by phone: +7 (4242) 72-25-53. The address of the bus station is Karl Marx Street, 51b.

Airplane. Sakhalin has a quite extensive network of airports, and you can fly from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Okha, Zonalnoye, Shakhtyorsk, Poronaysk, Smirnykh, Yuzhno-Kurilsk, and Iturup. Flights are operated by the Far Eastern airlines ‘Aurora’ and ‘Taiga’ . These routes are served by small propeller planes Bombardier and Mi-8 helicopters. Such a flight is an interesting experience in itself. Moreover, some flights are quite inexpensive. For example, to Zonalnoye, Shakhtyorsk, and Poronaysk, tickets cost 2000–3000 rubles (19.99 – 29.98 euros) one way. To Okha and the Kurils – from 6000 rubles (59.97 euros).

Ferry. From Korsakov, ferries run to different settlements in the Kurils every three to four days. The ferry to Kurilsk takes about 22 hours, to Yuzhno-Kurilsk – 22–30 hours, and to Malokurilskoye – about 40 hours. Interestingly, a ticket to any of these settlements costs from 2800 rubles (27.98 euros), available on the website of the ferry company.

How to get there

By plain. To travel to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk from Europe, passengers typically fly through major transit hubs. Common routes involve flying from a European city to one of the major Russian airports offering direct flights to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, such as Moscow’s Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo airports. In 2023 it is only possible to fly to Moscow from major transit hubs such as Istanbul or Erevan. From there, travelers can catch one of the direct flights to the island. Some routes might also include stops or transfers in other large cities in Russia or Asia, depending on the airline and the flight itinerary, for instance, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Sovetskaya Gavan, and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. There is even one international flight from Harbin, China.

In good weather, on approach to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, you can see the Tatar Strait, the Western Ridge, and the city itself. The airport is located within the city limits, and from there, you can easily reach any point by public transport (buses 63 and 3) or taxi.

Ferry. Vanino (Khabarovsk Krai) to Kholmsk (Sakhalin) . Passenger tickets for the ferry are sold at the Vanino railway station or at the ticket office in Kholmsk (Lenin Square, 5). They can also be reserved by phone: +7 (42137) 74088 (Vanino), +7 (42433) 50880 (Kholmsk). The ferries run daily, with a journey time of 18–20 hours. A seat costs 650 rubles (6.50 euros), while the cheapest cabin spot is 1400 rubles (13.99 euros). There is a dining room on board.

I was on the island in early May, and this has its pros and cons. On one hand, it’s already not very cold in Sakhalin at this time, and you can walk around in a light jacket or sweatshirt, and sometimes even just in a T-shirt. At the end of spring, you can catch the largest number of Steller sea lions in Nevelsk (closer to summer they migrate towards Avacha Bay). Also at this time, you can see the forest awakening: streams penetrate it from all sides, in their floodplains swamp callas bloom, meadows fill with primroses, and the hills are covered with bright green bamboo shoots. On the other hand, there is still snow in the mountains, in which you can get stuck while climbing, and the sea, which is not very warm in these areas, is completely unsuitable for swimming.

In summer, Sakhalin is not very hot, the coast blooms with wild roses, the sea warms up a bit, and there is less chance of bad weather when visiting remote attractions. Also, it’s precisely at this time you can see orcas (June – July) and whales (July – August), as well as the salmon spawning.

In winter, snowboarders and skiers come to Sakhalin. The mountains on the island are not high, so they are suitable even for beginners.

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Plan Your Trip to Sakhalin: Best of Sakhalin Tourism

Essential sakhalin.

Sakhalin Is Great For

Eat & drink.

Art & history

Understand [ edit ]

History [ edit ].

Sakhalin has been inhabited by several indigenous tribes since the stone age, The Ainu people, also present on Hokkaido in Japan and the Kuril Islands , populated the southern half of the island, and while a small group of Sakhalin Ainu is still present on the island, most were repatriated to Japan after the end of World War II. The largest group of the island's original population is the Nivkh tribe of the northern taigas.

Sakhalin has long been the scene of a power struggle between the major Asian powers: Russia, Japan and even the Qing China have put forward claims on the island. In the 17th century, Japan and Russia started colonizing the island from different ends, dividing the island into a northern Russian part and a southern Japanese part. Aside from a 25-year period at the end of the 19th century, the island remained divided until the waning days of World War II, when Soviet troops broke through the defensive line and invaded the Japanese half. After the end of the war, the Japanese and Ainu people were forcefully repatriated to Japan, while a sizable Korean minority – brought by the Japanese for forced labour – remained on the island and were denied repatriation until the last years of Soviet rule, though many still remain on Sakhalin.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sakhalin has experienced an oil boom with Russian and foreign oil companies pouring into the island, bringing investment in the island's infrastructure. This comes with a price though, as pipelines and logging pose a significant threat to the island's spectacular nature. There have been complaints that the oil boom's economic benefits aren't going to the island's population.

Climate [ edit ]

Because of the cold Sea of Okhotsk which surrounds the island, the climate on Sakhalin is generally cool and humid. In the depth of winter the average temperature ranges from a bearable –6°C in the south to a bone chilling –24°C in the north, while temperatures as cold as –54°C have been reported. In the summer temperature rarely exceeds +19°C, often much cooler and floating ice can be observed around the island, even in the height of summer. Generally the north is much colder than the south, in part due to a warm current running along the Tartar strait in the southern end, the winter is a full 2 months longer in the North (October-May). The annual precipitation ranges between 600-1200 mm, and snowfall can be heavy – in the mountains accumulation of 5 meter snow or more is not unusual.

Geography [ edit ]

At more than 70,000 km 2 , Sakhalin is Russia's largest island. From the 40 km La Pérouse Strait separating Sakhalin from the Japanese island of Hokkaido , the island stretches nearly 1000 km northwards in a long and narrow shape along the mainland's east coast. It's quite mountainous with two low mountain-ranges running parallel to each other separated by a valley tract. To the north the island flattens into a swampy taiga, while the central part of the island is densely forested.

These central forests are home to more than 2000 Sakhalin brown bears, which are often spotted even on the outskirts of the cities. Otters and sables are also common sightings. Up north there are numerous reindeer, many of them are herded by the indigenous Nivkhi tribe. Whales are also a common sighting along the east coast of the island, and Sakhalin is the only known feeding ground of the west pacific colony of the Gray Whales. Other whales spotted around the island include the Right Whale, the Bowhead Whale and the Beluga Whale, and up on the shores it's possible to spot Northern fur seals and sea lions.

Culture [ edit ]

The Nivkh are the only remaining significant indigenous ethnic group, of a population that used to include the Ainu and Orok people: around 5,000 live on Sakhalin, mainly in the northern taigas, with the village of Nekrasovska near Okha being the largest remaining community. They are traditionally a semi-nomadic people, living near the coasts in the summer and wintering inland along streams and rivers to catch salmon; but in no small part because of Soviet centralist policies, and pollution of their natural habitats and food sources, the Nivkhs now live in mixed population villages and have a fairly modern life style. Only a handful of principally anthropological factors have so far averted their total assimilation. Their unique language, which has not been proven to be related to any other language, is also under threat, and less than 20% of the Nivkh can speak it fluently.

It's not all doom and gloom as there was a revival of Nivkh culture in the 2000s, and many Nivkhs are active in the restoration of their cultural traditions and language, which is largely shamanistic and animist, with ties to Mongolian traditional beliefs. According to Nivkh legends, Sakhalin is a giant beast lying on its belly with the trees of the island as its hair. When the beast is upset, it awakens and trembles the earth causing earthquakes.

Read [ edit ]

• The Island of Sakhalin by Anton Chekhov is a rather shocking social science treatise based on the harsh living conditions the author witnessed on the island during the 1890s.
• Globetrotting for love and other stories from Sakhalin Island by Ajay Kamalakaran.

Talk [ edit ]

As elsewhere in Russia, Russian is the predominant language, but there are also an estimated 30,000 Koreans, although most do not speak Korean. They are mostly based in the island's capital, which also hosts a sizable minority of Azerbaijanis, especially, it seems, among taxi drivers. Due to the proximity to Japan, you may also find staff in upmarket hotels and restaurants in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with at least some understanding of Japanese .

The indigenous people of Sakhalin are the Ainu , but they have been thoroughly assimilated into the ethnic Russian community, and the Ainu language is now extinct in Sakhalin.

Get in [ edit ]

While Joseph Stalin attempted to construct a tunnel under the Tartar strait with forced labour from the Gulags in eastern Siberia, construction was abandoned after a few kilometres had been completed, and while there is intent to finish the project eventually, no money is forthcoming and for now the only options are to sail or fly.

By boat [ edit ]

There is a single passenger ferry route connecting the mainland with Sakhalin. Unless you possess time, patience, and Russian skills in abundance to explore wildcat alternatives, your choice is limited to this daily ferry service between Vanino on the mainland, and Kholmsk on the island's western coast. Vanino is linked with the rest of the Russian railway network by a daily service to Vladivostok , with stops in Komsomolsk and Khabarovsk en route. In the summer months another option is a Japanese operated ferry service linking Korsakov on the shore of Aniva Bay, at the southern tip of the island, with Wakkanai on the northern tip of Hokkaido .

• See Russia to Japan via Sakhalin itinerary for additional information on the ferry services

Get around [ edit ]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the main hub for all means of transportation. Local and regional buses, charter minibuses, and trains all depart from the Station in the city center,

Aurora , the island's carrier, operates daily flights from and to its main hub in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and around the island. Tickets can be booked online.

By train [ edit ]

Sakhalin has an extensive railway network, much of it built by the Japanese. All tracks still use the old Japanese gauge (1067 mm), although a push to replace these tracks with the standard Russian gauge of 1524 mm is underway. You will probably spot strange three-rail tracks that can accommodate both old Japanese trains and newer Russian cars. Old Japanese carriages are still in use as local trains.

Services are scattered and infrequent, but a daily train (#001/#002) connecting Nogilky and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk remains the main mode of transport between the south and north part of the island. You can check the current railway schedule at the Russian Railways website . Sakhalin railways operate exactly two night trains:

• #001/#002 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Nogliki. Sleeper cars with two-bed and four-bed compartments.
• #601/#602 (also known as #951/#952) Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Nogliki. Sleeper cars with four-bed compartments, couchette cars, and seat cars. Somewhat slower than #001/#002.

...and two trains that run during the day:

• #967/#968 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Tymovsk. One sleeper cars with four-bed compartments and one seat car. This train is very slow and delivers post rather than passengers.
• #121/#122 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Tomari. Open coaches.

Local train services are moribund. Although the trains operate 2-3 times a day in the suburbs of Kholmsk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, they are of little use for visitors. A direct railway line between Kholmsk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is in a sorry state and carries no traffic, although it remains interesting on its own and deserves a closer look. Railway enthusiasts wanting to continue their journey by rail after disembarking the ferry in Kholmsk need to catch a once or twice daily connection to Tomari (#1611) 80 km to the north, then take another once daily train (#121) from there to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, although unless you are a dedicated railway buff, this huge detour is probably not worth the effort.

By bus [ edit ]

While train is the mode of transport for longer trips, short trips are mainly done by bus. On the southern part of the island road conditions are fairly good, and many destinations can be easily reached from the bus terminal in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, offering departures for the ports of Korsakov and Kholmsk every 30-60 minutes throughout most of the day, Nevel'sk six times daily, Makarov once daily, and several other smaller cities at varying intervals. If you speak Russian, call (4242) 72-25-53 for details. Further north, buses bound for Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky and Okha connect to the daily trains in Tymovsk and Nogilki, respectively.

An alternative to the public buses are the many private marshruthkas (minibuses), which also do intercity trips. They cost around double of the buses and have no schedules and tend to be more crammed, although on the plus side they are usually faster, more frequent and more comfortable than the often worn out public buses. A simple "marshrutka City name ?" should suffice in getting locals pointing you in the right direction.

Itineraries [ edit ]

• Russia to Japan via Sakhalin . Sakhalin is connected to Hokkaido , Japan by a twice-weekly ferry during the summer - this itinerary tells you how to get there.

Do [ edit ]

Sakhalin has plenty of stunning natural scenery to offer. However, transportation out in the wilderness of Sakhalin requires patience, and a lot of careful and thoughtful planning. An easier alternative is shelling out the extra cost for enlisting the aid of a local tour operator.

• Diving - Moneron Island, close to the city of Kholmsk , is a marine park that offers some unique diving; there is a dive shop in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk that can help with arrangements. Most other location and dive sites are restricted by politics: because of the close proximity to and sometimes heated relationship with Japan, the border guard needs to approve diving elsewhere, in practice ruling out this option.
• Skiing - There is a alpine ski resort just east of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk , Gorny Vozdukh , which has seen some substantial upgrades lately.
• Rafting - Bykovsky Rapids on the Krasnoarmeyka River, near the city of Bykov some 50 kilometers north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk offers good class 4 or 5 rafting. There are no permanent facilities, so you need to go on a tour from the island's capital, where they bring rafts and safety equipment to the starting point with 4x4s. It's also possible to do rafting on the Lyotoga river, the starting point is the small village of Pyatirechye, just 35 kilometres due west from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on the P-495 road. Tours usually end in Petropavlovskoye, a few kilometres before the river flows into the Aniva bay. Rafting season for most of the island is mainly from early May to late June, when the rivers are awash with melting snow from the mountains.

Drink [ edit ]

The Kolos brewery in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk makes some excellent beers, particularly their Bir Rinzo and Pivzavod Sahalinskij . They offer 10 other brands in their own brewpub on the brewery grounds on Sakhalinskaya Street. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is not the only city with its own beer as almost every major town on the island, despite their modest size, has a local brewery.

Stay safe [ edit ]

As far as people go, Sakhalin is a fairly safe place when outside the capital, which has the highest juvenile crime rate in the entire federation. Much of Sakhalin is true wilderness, far from the nearest doctor and even further from an English speaking one. The arctic tundra in the north can even in the summer experience rapid temperature drops , especially when the sun sets, but even a change of wind direction can send sudden shivers through your spine, or much worse.

Bears roam the forests across the entire island, and always pose a danger. The most important thing in this respect is never to surprise a bear. Sing, call out in regular intervals or wear a bell. Save the odd lunatics, bears rarely seek confrontations with humans and will normally shy away when hearing one. If you do encounter one, make sure it sees you (it will smell you soon enough anyway), hold you hands above your head to make yourself as big as possible, and slowly back away while avoiding any sudden movements: and don't trip or run! Make sure any food is packed away in airtight containers or plastic bags.

If you require medical attention, head for Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, as there are many expat workers from the oil industry here, and the medical facilities that come with them. In an emergency in the northern part of the island, the oil processing plants in Nogliki and Okha are your best bets; they may not be very welcoming, but they are used to dealing with foreign staff and have airlift capabilities. Cash is king, but a medical/travel insurance certificate should also help.

Go next [ edit ]

• Kuril Islands — to see what few visitors see, catch a plane or the twice monthly ferry to Kunashir island, in the Kurils chain of islands. One of the world's most unique natural habitats, including flora and fauna native to Japan, but long lost in Japan's quest for industrialization.

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Sakhalin, Russia

Tours, Attractions and Things To Do in Sakhalin

Sakhalin is the largest island of the Russian Federation. It is located in the Pacific Ocean and is famous for seafood and picturesque places. And in the Sakhalin region there is the cutest island in the world - Tuleniy, a favorite place of seals and fur seals.

History of Sakhalin

Scientists confirm that the island was completely inhabited already 2.5 thousand years ago. People led a settled lifestyle and fished.

The first mention of Sakhalin dates back to 1640. At the same time, Russian Cossacks came here for the first time.

In 1855, the Treaty of Shimoda recognized Sakhalin as a joint possession of Japan and the Russian Empire. But already in 1875 Sakhalin was ceded to Russia, which, in turn, gave part of the Kuril Islands to Japan.

In the XIX century Sakhalin was a place of exile.

The largest city on the island is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It was founded in 1882.

About half a million people live on Sakhalin.

Sakhalin Sights

The Sakhalin State Regional Museum of Local Lore is located in a building that was built in 1937 in the teikan-zukuri style designed by a Japanese architect. Here you will get acquainted with the times when Japan owned the island and see how people lived on Sakhalin: what they wore, what they ate, what they produced.

Also in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk there is a museum of railway equipment, the Sakhalin Regional Art Museum, the Chekhov Museum, the exhibition hall of the Union of Artists of Russia, the Bear Museum, geological and archaeological museums.

The Victory Museum and Memorial Complex is dedicated to the Russian-Japanese and World War II wars. This museum is different from the usual museums of this subject. Here you will learn about the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, about the fighting in the Far East and much more.

The Resurrection Cathedral of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is young, it was built in 1995. People come here to bow to the deceased leaders of the Sakhalin Region, headed by Governor Igor Farkhutdinov.

Tikhaya Bay is one of the most famous attractions of Sakhalin. It is so called because it is always quiet and peaceful here. This beautiful place will not leave anyone indifferent. Next to the bay is the Zhdanko ridge, which looks like a dragon.

Cape Giant is considered the most picturesque on Sakhalin. Nature has created columns, arches and peculiar sculptures here - stones that have been polished by water for centuries.

Cape Columnar is also very beautiful. After the eruption of the volcano, basalt pillars appeared here. They look so neat, as if they were created by man.

Take a look at Cape Crillon with its old lighthouse, weather station and border outpost.

The “Mountain Air” resort, located on Bolshevik Mountain, is considered the pride of the island. It is also recognized as the best in the Far East. If you come here in winter, be sure to ski or snowboard, if in summer - look at the city from a height of 600 meters.

The Poronai State Nature Reserve is home to animals and birds listed in the Red Book. Red Book animals also live in the Noglika Nature Reserve.

The “Vostochny” State Nature Reserve, which occupies 66 thousand hectares, is known for the dark coniferous taiga and animals that are listed in the Red Book. Please note that visiting the reserve is possible only after receiving a special pass.

If you love mountains, then climb Chekhov Peak. It's not difficult to reach the top, and the stunning views will more than pay for a two-hour climb. Also go to the mountain called Frog. It is so named because the outlines of one of the mountain ranges resemble a sitting frog. Once this place was considered a temple of wisdom and a place of power. Do not ignore the Ostraya Mountain. Tourists climb to the top to see the wreckage of the IL-114 plane, which crashed in 1976.

The lighthouse on Cape Slepikovsky, built by the Japanese, looks very picturesque. You can climb to a 28-meter height and take beautiful photos.

The 30-meter lighthouse at Cape Aniva was also built by the Japanese in the 1930s. In the 1990s, it was converted into a nuclear one, and now it is abandoned. You can get to the lighthouse only by sea.

The rocks of the Three Brothers will surprise you with their panorama. It is said that once three brothers stole the sorcerer's treasures, and for this he turned them into stones. By the way, Chekhov wrote about these rocks.

The beaches in Okhotsk, Yablochny and Starodubsky will appeal to lovers of lazy recreation. For example, the beach near the village of Yablochnoye is considered one of the best on Sakhalin. There is fine sand and a warm sea. And on the beach of the village of Starodubskoye, you can find reddish Sakhalin amber.

Lake Busse is worth a visit, if only to collect oysters that appear on the shore at low tide. We also advise you to go to the lakes Gorachee, Kipyashee, Tunaycha and Vavay lakes, Bird waterfalls, Cheremshansky, Ilya Muromets and Klokovsky.

The port of Korsakov is one of the largest ports in the Far East. People come here to admire the panorama and see the big ships, because the port has the status of an international one.

The seaside thoriums of the Higashi Shirauda Jinzda Temple - the gate left over from the Shinto temple – is one of the most photographed points of Sakhalin. There are also remains of the Temple of the Sun on the island.

Pugachevsky mud volcano is not a classic volcano. It is a perfectly round clay desert with a diameter of 4 kilometers. There is a swamp around the perimeter. Every few years, the volcano spews thousands of tons of mud, and the fountain can reach 50 meters in height. Another mud volcano is located near the Novoderevenskoye station. There are several constantly bubbling craters here.

If active recreation is not enough, you can go to the caves of Mount Vida. Pay attention to the cave of Bear tragedies, it is considered the most interesting.

Moneron Island is very small, but very beautiful. There are amazing views here. You can only get here with an excursion group.

The Tuleniy island is one of the cutest islands of the Sakhalin region. Seals and sea lions (big-eared seals) like to lie on a small island with a length of 636 meters.

Dagin thermal springs are almost 60 hot springs that gush out of the ground at a rate of three liters per second. The springs are considered healing and attract the attention of not only tourists, but also local residents.

Sinegorsky mineral springs are located near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. They are famous for the fact that the water contains arsenic. This mineral water cures many diseases. Therefore, two health resorts were built on the springs, where people come not only from Russia.

Be sure to visit the Kuril Islands. The state Nature Reserve "Small Kuriles" includes the islands of Zeleny, Storozhevoy, Shikotan, Rifovy, Anuchin, Signalny, Polonsky and Tanfilyev. Here are the famous Tyatya volcano, the Kuril Reserve and much more.

What to bring from a trip to Sakhalin?

Take a bigger suitcase with you because you will not leave without gifts and souvenirs. Be sure to bring seafood from the trip: fish, caviar, Sakhalin crabs, seafood. Grab the national unts as well. Girls will love the jewelry of indigenous peoples. Music lovers will be pleased with the musical instrument harp. Also take syrup from a local berry called klopovka, chocolate with squid and algae and traditional amulets.

GoNOMAD Travel

Inspiration and links to plan your trip.

Sakhalin Island, Russia: Visiting a Hidden Place Few Will Ever See

Sakhalin island is a battleground between russia and japan.

By Joshua K. Hartshorne

“Are you looking for a ride North?” asked a voice in Russian.

I turned around from a map of Sakhalin Island’s railways. The speaker was a middle-aged woman.

“We’re hiring a car to Nogliki,” she continued.

Nogliki sounded fine. I had three days and nowhere particular in mind to go. It’s hard to plan ahead in Siberia . Information is scarce, phone numbers change as rapidly as transportation schedules.

An acquaintance on the train here had regaled me with stories of her travels about Sakhalin , finishing each tale with, “Of course, you have to know somebody local to go there.”

Meeting Olga and Greg

I didn’t know anyone local yet. The woman, Olga, was traveling with an American by the name of Greg who didn’t appear to speak Russian. “So what brings you to Sakhalin?”

I asked Greg. What brings anyone to Sakhalin? I came nominally because it was “on the way” to Taiwan from the Arctic port of Tiksi, but mostly because it was an island. Ever since I saw it on the map, I’d wanted to go.

“We are paleoglaciologists,” Greg explained, which I gathered meant the study of glaciers that no longer exist. “We are doing a pilot tree-ring study.”

According to Olga, the governor of the region lives in Australia and has no interest in what becomes of the island.

That sounded more interesting than my original plan, which was to track down a discharged soldier I’d met on the train, so I accepted the offer. We piled into the car.

I looked out the window. Sakhalin certainly has plenty of trees. It’s not a heavily-populated island. 600 miles (1000 km) long, it has just over 600,000 residents. Most are pines. The most distinctive, though, are the larches – scraggly and solemn, with crooked horizontal branches just begging a vulture to perch.

Studying Climate Change in Sakhalin Island

“We study climate change ,” Greg continued. “Trees grow at different rates depending on the temperature. You look at the rings and you can estimate what the weather was like that year.”

We drive down the road for a bit, watching the forest pass. “What’s wrong with the trees here?” I asked.

Within a few hours, the tundra appeared, showing up in breaks between the forests. What exactly is tundra? It’s something like an arctic savanna. The trees are solitary or in breathy groves or entirely nonexistent. The ground, however, is not grassy but covered by deep moss.

It would take a geologist to tell you how far down the moss goes. I’ve dug with a shovel but never hit the dirt.“Well, tree growth is affected by a lot of things, including how close the tree is to other trees. What you want is a healthy old tree, well-spaced from its neighbors, faithfully putting down rings each year. The best place on this island is the tundra, which is still a bit north.”

Old Peat Bog

“Actually, most of this is growing on an old peat bog,” Greg explained after I told him that story. “That’s why when you look at the patches of forest here that has burned down, nothing is growing. Some of these burns are years or decades old, but there’s nothing green coming up.”

I spotted some solitary figures out in the mossy expanse. I asked Olga what they were doing.

“Picking berries. Lots of berries grow in the tundra.”

The driver dropped us off at some particularly choice tundra. We hid our gear in a dry spot, got out the tools of the trade, and set off into the tundra.

Coring trees is probably not so much fun if it’s what you do all summer, but it sounded novel to me.

Rather than tromp around Nogliki , which the Lonely Planet said was a dump anyway – and it is! – I asked if I could spend a day or two with them. They had room in their tent, and the deal was sealed.

The moment foot hit moss, the mosquitoes found us. There’s no question as to where they came from; the tundra is wet, as Olga soon found when she stepped into a moss-covered puddle over a foot deep, and it wasn’t long before Greg and I both had wet boots as well.

Ignoring the Mosquitoes

Greg and Olga ignored the mosquitoes, but I didn’t have the veteran’s indifference to the exoskeletal buzzards. Despite the summer heat – yes, even Sakhalin gets hot in the summer – I had on long pants, long sleeves, a hat and my mosquito net. Even so, with dozens circling around me, plenty found their way past my armor.

The compensation for the mosquitoes was the berries.

It was the height of the blueberry season, and we picked and ate as we walked. There was another berry, shaped like an over-large raspberry, which Olga said “probably isn’t poisonous” as she popped one into her mouth.

When she wasn’t dead after a few minutes, I tried one. I survived the next few minutes, and the berry was good, so by the end of the day, I was eating every one I saw.

Blueberry Season in Sakhalin Island

Of course, neither the mosquitoes nor the puddles nor the berries were what brought us out in the tundra. Once we found a tree to core, we had a cork-screw-like contraption that we used to bore a hole into the trunk.

Ideally, you go straight through to the core, but it’s hard to guess exactly where that will be in the tree. Once you’ve gone at least halfway through the tree, a very low-tech bit of metal helps you draw the wood out. If the tree is old enough, you stick the core into a sort of clear straw to help preserve it.

I asked Greg if we were hurting the trees. “Not much,” he said. “I’ve been to patches I’ve cored years later and all the trees were doing fine. The healthy ones sap over pretty quickly and that’s about it.”

After a day of gallivanting about the tundra, we camped along the river Tim, near Nogliki. During the night, the rain began to pour. I hadn’t really expected to be camping and so my backpack wasn’t really rain-proofed.

I woke in the morning to drizzle and soaked belongings. Picking a tree turns out to be harder than one would think. “The big ones are often not that old,” the geologists explained. “They’re often sick and rotting. The only way to really know is core it and take a look.”

Camping Along the River

We spent the morning trying to warm ourselves around the campfire. We talked about movies. Greg had loved The Day After Tomorrow . “Are you kidding?” he said. “A paleoglaciologist saves the world. I loved it! Too bad they didn’t run it by someone, though. The science would have made more sense.”

When it was clear that it wasn’t going to stop raining, I decided to hike back to the closest town, find a hotel, and dry my things. A little after noon, I said my goodbyes and set off.

Though I spent a week on the island and saw many more picturesque places, nothing was quite so memorable as the soggy, gloomy tundra and its burnt neighboring forests. Next time I want to see the Russian wilds, I will find a team of geologists.

How to Get to Sakhalin Island

Sakhalin requires patience, a love of exploration, and a good command of Russian… or lots of money. You can fly to the capital, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk , from mainland Russia or Japan, though I arrived and left by ferry.

I arrived on the twice-daily ferry runs from Vanino , the terminus of the Baikal-Amur Mainline railway in Russia, to Kholmsk. Tickets (under $100) can supposedly be reserved by phone (7 421 37 57708), though that only marginally shortens the 11-hour-long line at the station.

I left on the infinitely more comfortable ferry from Korsakov to Wakkanai, Japan . Tickets can be reserved from $170 at Sakhalin Fantastic (7 4242 420917, 7 4242 744163in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Ulitsa Lenina 154).

Locals travel around Sakhalin by hitchhiking, but others may want to use the buses or trains, though neither has much coverage outside the several major cities. There are hotels in larger cities. In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, it pays to have reservations as the hotels are numerous but frequently books out.

If you travel to Nogliki, do not stay downtown. Use an infinitely cheaper hotel by the train station.

Joshua K. Hartshorne writes freelance from his base in Taipei, Taiwan.

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2 thoughts on “ Sakhalin Island, Russia: Visiting a Hidden Place Few Will Ever See ”

I worked in Sakhalin Island for over 2 1/2 years on a rotation doing Cybersecurity assessments. I loved coming over to Yuzhno and that overnight train to Nogliki after a 14 plus hour flight(s) was always a challenge. The Russian people I met were terrific and I have wonderful memories of my time in Sakhalin.

Ksamil islands are a hidden treasure of Balkans. They are in Albania and without doubt are a pearl of the Mediterranean.

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Young Pioneer Tours

Sakhalin Island Guide

Sakhalin Island is one of the most interesting and controversial constituents of the Russian Federation. Formerly a part of Japan, during World War 2, tens of thousands of Korean laborers were taken to the island to work for the Japanese Empires war effort. Sakhalin truly is one of the most off the beaten track and unique islands on earth.

Following World War 2, Sakhalin became a spoil of war and was given to the USSR along with the Kuril Islands, leaving the Koreans on the island stuck in a limbo that many remain in today.

During Soviet times, many people were exiled to what was at the time the most remote part of the Soviet Union.

The status of Sakhalin Island and, to a greater extent, the Kuril Islands has dominated relations between modern Russia and Japan. While its future remains unclear, it is now an integral part of Russia.

Today Sakhalin Island is one of the least visited parts of the Russian Federation, boasting amazing nature, Japanese historical relics, Soviet history and a “pure” Korean population. It does not get much more off the beaten track than visiting Sakhalin.

Getting to Sakhalin Island

Apparently, Stalin tried to create a tunnel from mainland Russia to Sakhalin, but it ended up in complete failure. Currently, there are no plans to rejuvenate the project, so you will have to make do with either the ferry or flying.

Previously a special permit was required to visit Sakhalin, but now it is the same as visiting any other part of the Russian Federation.

Sakhalin island – Ferry From Vanino to Kholmsk

The ferry is, without doubt, the most fun way to get to Sakhalin, but alas, it is not all that practice if you have time constraints. There is a timetable for the ferry, but unfortunately, the reality is that it can leave anytime between its scheduled departure and the next 40 hours. We used the ferry on or first-ever tour to Sakhalin but now do the flight option.

How long does the Vanino to Kholmsk take? It takes 12-16 hours for the ferry to get from Vanino to Kholmsk. The worse the weather, the longer it takes.

In the summer there is a ferry linking Korsakov at the southern tip of the island, with Wakkanai on the northern tip of Hokkaido. This is particularly interesting if you are trying to travel around the world without flying.

Flying to Sakhalin Island

Before the advent of coronavirus, there were numerous flights from across Russia, South Korea and Japan to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Quite how readily available these will be after normal play resumes is anyone’s guess.

Taking the Train to Sakhalin Island

The train network shows you how bing Sakhalin is. Getting from one side of the island to the other will set you back 13+ hours. Trains tend to be unreliable and a little infrequent. Check out the Russian Railways website here.

Getting Out of Sakhalin Island

Getting out works pretty much the same as getting in, ferry, or flight. There are ferries to Japan for those wishing to extend their journey, or it is possible to fly or ferry to Vladivostok and then onto Rason in North Korea. YPT can, of course, arrange to help with this.

If you are interested in travelling to Sakhalin check out Soviet Wastelands .

About Post Author

Gareth Johnson

Gareth Johnson is the founder of Young Pioneer Tours and has visited over 180+ countries. His passion is opening obscure destinations to tourism and sharing his experience of street food.

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Sakhalin – Visiting Russia’s largest island

• Gepostet am 20. July 2021
• last updated 27. July 2023
• , in: Russia

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Many of you will probably never have heard of Russia’s largest island Sakhalin. Yet it is an exciting place not only in terms of its nature, but also in terms of its history, which is also very important for Russia’s gas and oil supply. Japan and Russia are still arguing about who owns the island. As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to take a closer look at Sakhalin Island.

This is Sakhalin island

Sakhalin is an island in the southern Sea of Okhotsk, a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It lies north of Japan and east of the Russian mainland, and at one point only 10 km from the Siberian east coast. The distance to Japan’s Hokkaido in the south is only about 45 km. With an area of 72,000 km², Sakhalin is the largest Russian island and about the size of Bavaria or Ireland. With its gas and oil deposits, the island is of outstanding strategic importance for Russia. The deposits are transported to the mainland via a pipeline. Although Sakhalin is still quite untouched in many places, the exploitation of the resources has left clear traces here. Until now, the island has been a shadowy tourist destination, but this could soon change thanks to new infrastructure projects.

The history of Sakhalin

Sakhalin has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Originally the Oroks, Ainu and Nivchen lived here, all of whom also settled and still live on the island of Hokkaido. In the Middle Ages Sakhalin was subjugated by the Mongols, later the island was controlled by the Chinese Empire. In the course of Russia’s eastward expansion in pre-modern times, Russian explorers soon reached the island, but Japan also began to take an interest in the island. Russian soldiers or Cossack expeditions came across the island almost automatically, as it is located exactly opposite the mouth of the Amur River into the sea.

Not of particular interest for a long time

Despite its size, Sakhalin remained of minor interest for a long time, with only a few Japanese fishermen settling on the southern coast during the summer months and then wintering on Hokkaido. Formally, however, China retained sovereignty over the island. In the 19th century, as Russia and Japan increasingly emerged from the shadow of a weakening China, a conflict between the two great powers began to emerge. Japan occupied the island in 1806, but gave it up only 15 years later. Sakhalin seemed to sink back into insignificance before large gold deposits were discovered on the Amur River and Russia built several settlements on the island in the 1850s.

Joint administration and transfer

Meanwhile, China was so weakened by the appearance of the Europeans and the Japanese expedition that Russia was able to strike and bring the island and parts of Manchuria completely under its control. An agreement with Japan then ensured that Sakhalin was administered by both powers. In 1875, an agreement was reached that gave Russia control of the island in exchange for the Kuril archipelago east of Sakhalin. However, Japanese already living on Sakhalin were allowed to continue living here and were even given their own consulate. Russia subsequently maintained a penal colony here before the island was captured by Japan during the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905).

Japanese control

Russia lost the war, which led, among other things, to the 1905 revolution. In a peace treaty, Japan was granted the south of Sakhalin. In the chaos of the Russian Civil War, which followed the October Revolution at the end of World War I, Japanese troops captured the entire island and were to control the area until the end of World War II. A few days before the end of the war, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and, with heavy losses, captured the entire island, which has been under Soviet and Russian control, respectively, ever since. The Japanese population was forcibly resettled in the course of the Soviet Union’s capture.

Sakhalin – an object of dispute between Japan and Russia

It was not until 1951 that a treaty was negotiated between the Soviet Union and Japan, which dealt with Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. However, this treaty was not clearly formulated and was not signed by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union – just like Japan – considered the island as its territory and even shot down a Korean airplane in the airspace of Sakhalin in 1983, killing almost 300 people. Until 1991 Sakhalin was treated like a fortress, civilians were strictly forbidden to enter the island.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the situation has eased somewhat, people are trading and trying not to let a possible conflict over the island boil up, but Japan has never given up its claims at least to the southern part of the island with reference to the unsigned agreement. Partly because of the conflict over Sakhalin and the southern Kuril Islands, there is still no peace treaty between Russia and Japan today. China, the EU, and the U.S. currently tend to support Japanese claims to the island.

Sights on Sakhalin island

Sakhalin is not only an object of dispute between Japan and Russia, but also a beautiful island with many sights. We would like to introduce the most important ones to you here.

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

With 180,000 inhabitants, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is by far the largest settlement on the island. A Russian village founded in 1882 and named Vladimirovka was developed by the Japanese under the name Toyohara into the administrative seat of Karafuto Prefecture. Today, the only thing that remains from the Japanese period is the regional museum, which used to be the seat of the Japanese administration. If you visit Sakhalin, you will most likely stay here in the south of the island. In addition to the regional museum, there are several other attractions in the city, including a large zoo, the Yuri Gagarin Park and a railroad museum, where you can also see several Japanese trains.

From Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk you can take the cable car to the ski resort Gorniy Vozduch (“Mountain Air”). The modern resort offers you all amenities, in addition, nationwide competitions are held here again and again.

Neftegorsk Memorial

In 1995, an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 occurred on the island. The town of Neftegorsk, inhabited by about 3,500 oil workers and their families, was leveled to the ground, and nearly two-thirds of the residents died. It was decided not to rebuild the small town and resettled the survivors. Today you can walk through the destroyed ghost town and see the cemetery with the graves of the victims. There is also a small memorial here. In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, an impressive monument commemorates the tragic event.

Lake Tunajcha

45 kilometers southeast lies this popular lake, the largest on the island. It is a popular breeding ground for rare birds, which is why it is protected. The lake is especially popular with birdwatchers, but it is not easy to get here.

Vayda Mountains

Approximately in the middle of the island, i.e. where the Japanese-Russian border used to be, stretches the Vayda Massif. This once heavily forested part of the island has unfortunately lost many trees due to the logging industry, but still has its charm. This is mainly due to the many caves that you can explore here, if you dare. But you should look for an experienced guide in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, because the whole thing is not without danger. If you just want to hike through the mountain landscape with its lakes, you can also take the train from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Smirnich. There, it is best to ask a local to drive you to Izvestkoviy, from where you can start your hike.

Zhdanko Mountains

Perhaps the most popular tourist destination on the island is the Zhdanko massif north of the village of Tikhaya. The 13 km long ridge is made of volcanic rock and offers spectacular views of the island and its sandy coastline. The contrast of volcanic rock and the lush green of the trees provides wonderful photo opportunities. The best thing to do here is to look for a guide in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. You can then hire one and explore the massif in a three-day tour including camping.

Aniva lighthouse

In the south of the island is the long Aniva Bay with the small town of the same name. Aniva lives mainly from fishing, but is known for its lighthouse all over the island. The Aniva lighthouse on a small rock off Sakhalin was built by the Japanese in 1939 and was one of the most modern in the empire at the time. In the 1990s, it was equipped with a mini-reactor, which has gone out of power. And so the lighthouse has been empty for several years and has become one of the most popular tourist destinations and one of the landmarks of the island, although it is considered one of the most difficult to access lighthouses in the world.

Moneron is a 30km² island west of Sakhalin. With its cliffs and over 150 species of seabirds, Moneron is a natural paradise, protected by the government in 2007. Unfortunately, you need a special permit to enter Moneron. This is not because of the nature conservation requirements, but because it is a strategically sensitive area for Russia.

Moneron is home to numerous sea lions. This is even more true for Tyuleni, which is often simply called Seal Island in English. Tyuleni is located south of a small headland on the eastern side of Sakhalin. For a long time Tyuleni was popular with fur hunters, at one time even a hotel was maintained here. In the meantime, interest in seal fur has fortunately waned. A special permit is also required for Tyuleni, although Russian cruise ships sometimes stop here.

How to get to Sakhalin?

In the future, a tunnel will connect Sakhalin with Hokkaido. Until then, a ferry runs twice a week between Hokkaido and Sakhalin. Japanese can visit the island without a visa, all others need such a certificate. In our Russia travel tips we show you what you need to consider. If you are traveling from Russia, you can easily take a plane. The airport Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (UUS) is well connected to the Russian flight network, direct flights to Moscow, Novosibirsk or Vladivostok are offered almost daily. The whole of Sakhalin is designated as a special border zone, so you should expect increased controls on arrival.

Book recommendations

• Anton Cechov (Author)

The famous Russian writer Anton Chekhov made a trip to Sakhalin at the end of the 19th century and gained a comprehensive insight into the penal camp system there. In a travelogue, the writer processed his impressions and created a depressing picture of the Russian camp system.

• Dalos, György (Author)

This book focusses on the conflict between Russian and Japan.

• Bodo Thöns (Author)

This international bestseller is a true masterpiece and gets very close to what people reffer to as the “Russian soul” by focusing on the cultural history of the country.

• Brammerloh, Susanne (Author)

Wanna see more of the country? The Lonely Planet guide describes the country in all its varieties.

* – this link is an affiliate link. If you buy or order something here, we will receive a small commission. It won’t cost you a cent extra and we can continue to write new articles for you. Thank you for your support!

Markus Bingel

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EXPLORER: SAKHALIN

Sakhalin: Change Comes to a Wild Island at Russia's Edge

By James Brooke

• Oct. 30, 2005

LAST fall, a Russian hunter emerged from the forests of southern Sakhalin with a tale of finding English words finger-painted into crumbling cement. Could it be the remains of a long-lost Japanese camp that once held American and British prisoners of war? A search party bounced off in four-wheel drive vehicles. A few days later, they returned, empty handed. Once again, it seemed, Sakhalin's wilderness had won, swallowing up an entire prison camp.

Mystery has long shrouded this dagger-shaped island on Russia's eastern edge. Until 1990, all foreigners were banned from Sakhalin, whose existence was briefly, if starkly, highlighted in 1983, when a Soviet jet took off from a base on Sakhalin and inexplicably shot down KAL 007, a South Korean commercial jet filled with passengers. But now that the island's offshore energy riches have attracted the largest foreign investments in Russian history, Sakhalin is open for tourists, and not just for the snowboarders who want to shred Bolshevik Mountain, an island draw for young thrill seekers from around the Pacific Rim.

The billions of dollars in oil and gas investments have brought the essentials of tourism to this onetime prison island, with more to come. A series of hotel openings planned for 2006 will double hotel rooms, and new direct flights from Seoul and Tokyo are making Sakhalin far more accessible than it was in the czarist and Soviet days when primary access was often by prison ship. In fact, so many Americans, Britons and Europeans now go to Sakhalin that American Express has moved beyond Moscow and St. Petersburg to open its third agency in Russia, in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the island capital with a population of 165,000.

Yuzhno, an incongruous mix of wooden cottages, gloomy Soviet structures and sparkling modern office buildings, greets visitors with a spiffy new international airport terminal. Rubber conveyor belts have replaced the old Soviet system of tossing bags through a hole in the wall. Bilingual flat-screen monitors display arrivals and departures. But the island's wild side has not been entirely washed out -- last summer, for instance, a family of brown bears wandered across the tarmac.

For my recent visit to Sakhalin, I went by ferry -- on the Eins Soya, a clean orange-striped boat, which left from Wakkanai, on Japan's northern tip. Most of my fellow passengers on the five-and-a-half-hour trip were elderly Japanese who had lived on southern Sakhalin until August 1945, when it was overrun by Soviet troops. On a cabin wall, a 1932 map of the island showed hundreds of Japanese place names, now largely forgotten.

"I feel it is my destiny to come back," Takako Takeuchi, a Tokyo artist, said as the ship crossed the international strait separating Japan and Russia. "It is the place where I was born. But it is also the place where my family lost its fortune."

For the 100-mile ferry ride, I paid $185 for a second-class ticket, 10 times the $19 second-class fare a Russian ferry charges for the 160-mile ride from Sakhalin to Vanino Port on the Russian continent. Large bay windows flooded sunlight into tatami mat sections. At one point, passengers gathered on a starboard deck to watch dolphins.

Our arrival was heralded by rusty cranes frozen above the docks of Korsakov and skinny boys with shaved heads diving off concrete blocks into the Sea of Okhotsk.

Customs and immigration were slow, but everyone got through, including Dan Hilton, a Canadian traveler, and his wife, Hiromi, who had come to explore Sakhalin's mountainous back roads in their four-wheel-drive Isuzu Trooper. Sakhalin tends to attract adventurous travelers like the Hiltons; they come to Sakhalin to push the edge, to hang glide over abandoned Soviet bases, ride dirt bikes on abandoned logging roads, fish for salmon or snowboard on Bolshevik.

Snowboarding is one of Sakhalin's most popular attractions. The Web site of the Sakhalin Snowboarding Federation, www.snowboard.katorga.ru, tries to present the 1,972-foot mountain as the ultimate challenge. An X-ray of a broken arm precedes the English-language section, which warns: "Riding in Sakhalin is really very risky and dangerous, so if you are a beginner, you should better start in Aspen or Alps " But "boarding Bolshie" simply involves taking a city bus from Victory Square in Yuzhno up to Gorniy Vozdukh, or Mountain Air, the municipal area that overlooks the city. A T-bar takes riders up through poplars and Sakhalin firs to a moderately challenging run.

At dawn on my first morning, I opened the curtains of my room at the Gagarin (named after the Soviet cosmonaut) to behold an unexpectedly beautiful view. Rolling out like a green carpet, the landscape progressed from Gagarin Park to miles of thickly forested mountains. The sun pierced a notch between Chekhov and Bolshevik Mountains. In October, the foliage turns scarlet, a phenomenon known locally as Red Sakhalin.

Later, I asked if the 10-mile dirt road from Gagarin Park to the sea was passable. Giving an un-P.C. response, a local travel agent said the track "had not been maintained properly since the time of the Japanese" and was littered with abandoned Soviet vehicles.

One afternoon, while walking in the park by the construction site of a nine-story Korean-owned hotel, I jumped aside as two dirt bikers screamed out of the mountains. The black mud on their white plastic face masks spoke of making it through a wilderness so deep that snowboarders get lost only three miles from the city.

For visitors from staid Japan, Sakhalin's big attraction is its wildlife, night and day. When the salmon are running, big fat fish can be picked up by hand.

"O.K., it's not sport fishing, it's like fishing in an aquarium," said Alexander L. Dashevsky, who has a license on the Tambovka River, about two hours south of Yuzhno.

Alexander, who is known as Sasha, is an English speaker, whose round, animated Khrushchev visage is now a fixture on the expatriate scene in Yuzhno. He owns a Ural truck, maintains a June-to-October fishing camp and has a good track record for wangling fishing permits for foreigners in a semiclosed border area. Sasha also guides bear hunters. Sakhalin, the size of Maine, has an estimated 3,500 bears, or one for every 150 human inhabitants. Every year, a few bears end up in the pot.

Doctor Zhivago, a wooden cottage restaurant on the paved road to the port of Kholmsk, with a moth-eaten bear pelt for décor, offers for 355 rubles ($12.70) a piping hot bowl of bear stew, seasoned, as the waitress said, "with wild berries that bears like."

On Friday evening, Sasha and his friends were drinking at Gagarin's basement bar. Earlier, I had stopped by and ordered a glass of white wine. The bill was 900 rubles, or $32. I protested.

"This is elite bar," explained a friendly hostess in a low-cut evening dress with an interesting snake tattoo on her leg.

On my return visit, I asked Sasha to double-check the prices. Early in the evening, he said, drinks are in the $5 range. But there are no ladies with tattoos.

That Friday night, Sasha had to peel off early to prepare for his four-wheel drive down the beach to his fishing camp, so Sergei Vostorgov, his business partner at Sakhalin Travel Group, volunteered to lead a tour of Sakhalin's urban wildlife. Our ambitious itinerary was to include such night spots as 777, Holiday, Moonlight and Dive. We never got beyond the first stop.

According to my cash register record of the evening, we arrived at 777 at 10:55 p.m., early enough to get a free table in the upper-level bar area. With foreign companies in Sakhalin discouraging dating among employees, Triple Sevens is where the mixing takes place.

"This is like a washing machine -- everyone is tumbling around," observed one Russian man at our table.

Out of a three-hour blur, one scene stands out. About 1 a.m., the steady roar of male accents from Aberdeen to Anchorage lowered a few decibels. The Princess had walked in. Cellphone pasted to her right ear, she was tall and sleek. Downstairs, the band in T-shirts sang: "I'm getting excited, excited, excited." But the Princess looked bored.

She wore white skintight hip-hugger pants, made of a nearly translucent material. Above the pants stretched about 18 inches of midriff, to a small bikini top.

The jostling crowd parted. She blew air kisses to friends. She pirouetted a few times. Then, with a calculated look of boredom, she made a well-watched march to the exit, signaling that there was a hotter joint in Sakhalin at 1:15 a.m. Maybe there was.

'BOARDING BOLSHIE,' SALMON FISHING AND BEAR STEW

GETTING THERE

The conventional way to fly to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is from Seoul on Asiana Airlines, which now departs three times a week (about $1,140 plus tax, round trip). Round trip from Seoul on Sakhalin Air Trans, which flies twice a week, is cheaper at $525. Tokyo flights on Vladivostok Air leave on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons; coach round trip is about $1,800.

American Express in Sakhalin handles bookings for all three airlines; (7-4242) 49-96-45; [email protected].

The ferry, www.kaiferry.co.jp, leaves Wakkanai, Japan, April to mid-December on Tuesday and Thursday for Korsakov, returning the next day; round-trip tickets about $270 to $360. The country and city codes for numbers below are 7-4242.

WHERE TO STAY

The Gagarin's new eight-story tower offers 64 rooms, many with spectacular views of Gagarin Park and the hills beyond; 49-84-04; [email protected]; www.gagarinhotel.ru. Doubles are 4,000 rubles, or $142 at 29 rubles to $1. For years, business travelers have competed to get rooms at the 74-room Sakhalin Sapporo Hotel, 72-15-60, at 181 Lenin Street, with rates from 4,450 to 5,040 rubles. But there are now many other options downtown. Around the corner from the Gagarin, at 2 Sakhalinskaya Street, stands the 80-room Tourist, 46-78-00, [email protected], a renovated Soviet-era hotel; 3,000 to 5,300 rubles.

A five-minute drive from the airport is Strawberry Hills, 2 Sunlight Street, 70-00-20, [email protected], an airy, ski lodge-style hotel, with 80 rooms on the site of a former collective. It offers 36-channel TV, a fitness center, pool, high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi, and a room rate of 4,500 to 6,600 rubles.

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK

With bilingual menus more common and Uzbek, Russian and Indian fare to choose from, eating out in Yuzhno is increasingly varied and enjoyable. One block from the Gagarin, on the edge of the park, Elite Park, 131A Komsomolskaya, 42-21-47, offers upstairs dining, with sofas below a faux grape arbor, and the flat-screen TV set to a fashion channel. The crab breezol (420 rubles) was delicious. Knyaz Bagration, 72-26-32 or 74-26-86, 44A Djerzinskovo Street, serves food from Georgia and the Caucasus. Herring with braised fruit, 75 rubles; chicken soup with dried apricots, 65; grilled halibut, 160. Lunch for four cost 2,020 rubles, one of the highest bills in a week of dining.

For drinks and pub food, Mishka is the favorite after-work haunt of expat oilmen. Run by an American, with clouds of cigarette smoke and a male-female ratio of about 4 to 1, it is downstairs in the Rubin Hotel, 85 Chekhov Street; 42-18-10.

One block down the street, 777, a two-level music and dance hall, packed with expat men and Russian women who want to meet them, gets going around midnight and closes at 5 a.m.; 71 Chekhov Street, 42-94-62. Entry: Monday through Thursday, 150 rubles for men, 100 for women; Friday and Saturday, 500 and 300, respectively; closed Sunday. Drinks range from 35 rubles for a Coke to 97 to 250 rubles for a Japanese beer to 175 rubles for a gin and tonic. JAMES BROOKE

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Tourism capabilities

Landmarks and sights, main routes, hotel sector, useful facts and numbers.

History and nature of Sakhalin present a great interest. In the southern part of the island, many monuments of the Karafuto period have survived: Japanese buildings, the remains of factories, temple buildings, lighthouses. Of special interest is the Japanese-built railway: a narrow gauge railway and a number of bridges and tunnels. Parks and city buildings, in which eastern architectural styles can be seen, also remind of the Japanese period of Sakhalin.

Many things on the island remind of the Great Patriotic War. There were practically no active military operations on Sakhalin, but the contact line passed through the middle of the island.

The nature of Sakhalin deserves a special mention. The region’s guests will be amazed by the astonishing combination of landscapes: sea beaches, fresh and salt lakes, mountain ranges, passes, plains... All this sis very compactly located, and you can often go down from the mountain straight to the beach!

Another advantage of Sakhalin is its year-round attractiveness for tourists. In winter, the island has one of the most modern ski resorts in the Far East - "Mountain Air". Athletes and amateurs come here to ski and snowboard from other Russian regions, as well as from other countries - China, Korea, Japan, Germany, Australia, the USA and India.

Visit the "Mountain Air" ski resort

"Mountain Air" ski resort - a business card of the region. It rightfully claims to be the best in the Far East. Every year in winter, 95,000 tourists visit "Mountain Air". On the slope of Mount Bolshevik there are 16 tracks of various difficulty levels, for both tourists and athletes, the Dopelmayer company’s suspension cableway operates.

• Located in the center of the island capital - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk;
• Transport accessibility - the complex is a 10-minute drive from the airport;
• All hotels are located in the city in the immediate vicinity of the resort (42 hotels with a one-time capacity of 2665 people);
• Accessibility and proximity of entertainment infrastructure (365 catering points, 33 shopping centers, 2 theaters, regional museum of local lore, zoo and botanical garden and more).
• The height of the mountain "Bolshevik" is 602 meters;
• The best skiing in the Far East - 16 tracks of various levels of difficulty, including 5 certified for international competitions;
• Three ski areas - tracks for both beginners and professionals;
• The total length of the tracks is more than 25 km;
• The best ropeways in the Far East - 1 two-section gondola-chairlift, 3 - chairlifts, 1 - ski-lift;
• Stationary and mobile snow formation system (73 snow rifles and 2 snow cannons);
• Evening skiing is availble - an artificial lighting system on the West track (2550 m) and South-West serpentine (4200 m);
• Ski season - from mid-December to the end of April;
• Mild winters and plenty of snow - the depth of snow cover is more than 2 meters;
• The number of customers during the winter period is over 95,000 people;
• Sports events and traditional recreational activities are held.

Tour to Moneron Island

Moneron Island is located just 49 km off the southwestern coast of Sakhalin. Moneron is the first marine natural park in Russia. It is located on an island of volcanic origin. For about 2 million years, the volcano has been sleeping. But earthquakes still happen. In 1971, the Moneron earthquake even changed the relief of the island, but since then everything has been relatively calm. There are plants listed in the Red Books of the Russian Federation and Sakhalin Region. There are almost no trees on the island, but there are impassable thickets of bamboo: up to two hundred trunks can be counted on one square meter.

There are rare animals, birds and insects on the island. For example, Moneron is the only nesting site for rhino deadlock in our country. In spring and summer you can admire the huge emerald-blue butterflies with the romantic name Maak Sailboat - their wingspan reaches 13.5 cm. Also on Moneron you can see rookeries of huge sea lions and seals. The most amazing thing in the marine park is the crystal clear water, which allows you to peep into the depths of the sea for 30-40 meters. This is what divers and also underwater photography and video enthusiasts who come to the local diving club for an unforgettable experience use. Water in the summer warms up to +22° C. Thanks to the warm Tsushima current, on the path of which the island is located, subtropical species of marine life that are not typical for Russian territories live here. For example, Moneron is the only place in Russia where haliotis mollusks can be found, which are often called abalone. In addition to them, you can see trepangs, Kamchatka crab, different types of sea urchins and starfish, shrimp and various types of salmon. On the island of Moneron a recreation center is located, surrounded by beautiful nature with views of the sea bay. During a tour you can get acquainted with the island’s rich flora and fauna, its history, see the most famous ancient attraction of the island “Sanctuary” - a temple founded in honor of the god Ebisu, one of the seven gods of happiness, patron of travelers, sailors and merchants.

"Mountain Air" Ski resort

+7 (4242) 51-11-10, +7 (4242) 51-11-20

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Gorny vozdukh, letter B (administrative building)

Visit the museum of A.P. Chekhov's book "Sakhalin Island"

It was to Sakhalin that Anton Chekhov made his difficult journey, which resulted in the book called "Sakhalin Island". The book is rightly called the encyclopedia of Sakhalin life. Book Museum of A.P. Chekhov's "Sakhalin Island" is a scientific, educational and cultural institution designed to preserve Chekhov’s traditions and heritage on Sakhalin, to popularize the book "Sakhalin Island" and to reveal its significance in the world.

8 (4242) 43-66-36

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Prospekt Mira, 104

BELKA HOTEL

(4242) 461761, 461771 fax

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Khabarovskaya, 29-B

rooms from 5795 rubles

(4242) 498400

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Komsomolskaya, 133

rooms from 7000 rubles

STRAWBERRY HILLS

(4242) 450700 reception

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Solnechnogo Sveta, 2

rooms 6500 rubles

MEGA PALACE HOTEL

(4242) 450 450

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Detskaya, 4

rooms from 6545 rubles

(4242) 454500

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Prospect Mira, 25

rooms from 6840 rubles

MITHOS HOTEL

(4242) 495000 reception

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Tisovaya Alley, 5

rooms from 5000 rubles

PACIFIC PLAZA SAKHALIN

(4242) 455000 reception

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Prospect Mira, 172

rooms from 6090 ruble

Hotel "RUBIN"

(4242) 424220

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Chekhov, 85

rooms from 6668 rubles

SANTA RESORT HOTEL

(4242) 511000, 505150

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Venskaya, 3

rooms from 5456 rubles

Hotel "Tourist"

(4242) 467800

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Sakhalinskaya, 2

rooms from 3500 rubles

Hotel "Yubileinaya"

(4242) 498300, 224809, 498343 fax

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Altaisky lane, 10

rooms from 8200 rubles

Tourism portal of the Sakhalin region

8 (4242) 240-335

e-mail: [email protected]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Kommunistichesky prospect., 18, office 14

Department of Tourism of the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Sakhalin Region

+7 (4242) 67-15-25

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Dzerzhinsky, 23, room 501

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Moscow metro to be more tourist-friendly

A new floor sign system at the Moscow metro's Pushkinskaya station. Source: Vladimir Pesnya / RIA Novosti

For many years now, Moscow has lagged behind St. Petersburg when it comes to making life easy for tourists, especially where getting around the city is concerned. Whereas the northern capital installed English-language maps, signs and information points throughout its subway system in the late 2000s, the Russian capital’s metro remained a serious challenge for foreign visitors to navigate.

Recent visitors to Moscow may have noticed some signs that change is afoot, however. In many stations of the Moscow subway, signs have appeared on the floor – with large lettering in Russian and English – indicating the direction to follow in order to change lines. Previously, foreign visitors using the Moscow metro had to rely solely upon deciphering the Russian-language signs hanging from the ceilings.

Student volunteers help tourists find their way in Moscow

However, this new solution has a significant drawback. “The floor navigation is visible only to a small stream of people – fewer than three people per meter. During peak hours, this navigation will simply not be noticed,” said Konstantin Trofimenko, Director of the Center for Urban Transportation Studies.

One of the biggest problems for tourists in the Russian capital remains the absence of English translations of the names of subway stations in the station vestibules and on platforms. The Department of Transportation in Moscow has not commented yet as to when this problem will be solved. However, Latin transliterations of station names can already be found in the subway cars themselves.

Finding the right exit

At four of the central stations – Okhotny Ryad, Teatralnaya, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Lubyanka and Kuznetsky Most – the city authorities have now installed colorful stands at the exits with schematic diagrams of the station’s concourse and surrounding area, which provide information about the main attractions and infrastructural facilities.

The schematic diagrams are the work of British specialists from the City ID and Billings Jackson Design firms, who have already implemented successful projects in New York and London.

According to Alexei Novichkov, expert at the Design Laboratory at the Higher School of Economics, the design of these information booths raises no objections: The color solutions, font, layout and icons are consistent with international standards.

However, the stands do have some shortcomings. “Many questions are raised about the fact that the developers of these maps did not apply orientation to the north, and have provided layouts of the surrounding areas with respect to the exits,” says Novichkov. “A system like that is used for road navigators, but most of the ‘paper’ guides and maps are oriented strictly to north. The subway map is also oriented to north, so people may become confused.”

Muscovites and foreign visitors are generally positive about these navigation elements, with most of them citing the numbered exits from the subway as the most useful feature.

The fact is that many Moscow subway stations have several exits. One of the busiest central stations of the Moscow subway in particular, Kitay-Gorod, has more than a dozen exits. Previously, these exits were differentiated from each other only with signs in Russian referring to the names of streets and places of interest to which they led – making it easy for tourists and those with poor navigation skills to get confused.

Now, when making an appointment to meet a friend, instead of struggling to find the right spot when they tell you: “I'll meet you at the exit to Solyanka Street,” you can just propose to meet under a specific exit number.

“I’ve lived in Moscow for seven years,” says Angelika, a designer from Voronezh, “but I still don’t always know where to go to find the place I need, so the new schematic diagrams will be very useful. Previously, some subway stations had maps, but not with so much detail.”

Teething problems

Foreigners, meanwhile, focus their attention on other elements. “It is good that the new information boards have QR-codes, which can be ‘read’ by smartphones,” says Florentina, a writer from Vienna. But there are also shortcomings. “The English font of the information on posters and in the captions to theaters and museums is too small – you have to come very close to see it well,” she says.

Pleasant encounters on the streets of Moscow

Florentina was also dissatisfied with the fact that such posters are not provided at all subway stations: “When I was trying to find Tsaritsyno Park (a museum and reserve in the south of Moscow) at a subway station with the same name, it turned out to be quite difficult,” she says.

“There are no maps with landmarks for other areas, such as those already in the city center. There were no clear pointers in the English language, and the passers-by I met did not speak in English, so they could not help me,” she adds.

Officials say that the navigation system is gradually being redeveloped and improved. According to Darya Chuvasheva, a press representative for the Department of Transport of Moscow, the introduction of a unified navigation system will take place in stages.

“By the end of 2014, the system will first appear on the first subway stations on the Circle Line. By the end of 2015, we plan to install the system at all major stopping points, subway stations and transport interchange hubs,” says Chuvasheva.

All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

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