Monday, July 27, 2015

Lighthouse of the Week, July 26-August 1, 2015: Cape Kamui, Hokkaido, Japan


I decided that the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido must have lighthouses.  In this I was correct.  And it was easy to determine the first best choice of lighthouses on Hokkaido -- the lighthouse on Cape Kamui.

The lighthouse itself is not really that impressive:

























Here's an edited version of what the UNC lighthouse site has to say about it:

1960 (station established 1888). Active; focal plane 81 m (266 ft); white flash every 15 s. 11 m (36 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, rising from a 1-story equipment building. Lighthouse painted with black and white horizontal bands.

This cape is at the tip of a blunt, mountainous peninsula and marks the southern side of the entrance to Ishikari Wan and the important port of Otaru. The point of the cape is a knife-like volcanic ridge similar to the famous Pointe du Raz in Brittany. The scenery is spectacular, and the cape is a popular tourist destination.

As you might surmise from the above, it's the setting that makes this lighthouse stand out.  See below.  First picture from Flickr by Colin Leong.


































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