Japan
Rishiri Island
A solitary volcanic cone rising from the Sea of Japan like a misplaced Fuji.
The mountain rises from the sea without preamble. No foothills, no approach — just 1,721 metres of volcanic cone climbing straight from the waterline into the clouds. Rishiri sits twenty kilometres out from Hokkaidō's northern cape, and its peak is a compass point for fishermen across the strait and a challenge for climbers who want their summits earned.
A national park protects the island and the cold waters around it, where kelp forests feed some of Hokkaidō's finest sea urchin. The summit trail from Oshidomari is a full day up and down, climbing from forest through alpine meadow and loose scree onto the crater rim with the Sea of Japan on every side. The island's two towns, Rishiri and Rishirifuji, live on kombu kelp and uni — Rishiri kombu is graded so highly that Kyoto's kaiseki kitchens build their dashi on it. Some 5,000 islanders live in its shadow, and the mountain is in every view.
Solo
The summit takes a full day of effort. Solo climbers earn a crater-rim view that feels like the last place on the map.
Couple
Sea-urchin dinners, wildflower walks around the mountain's base, and the peak reflected in harbour water every morning.
- A textbook volcanic cone rises 1,721 metres sheer out of the sea, plain from the Hokkaidō mainland.
- The summit trail is a full-day climb through alpine meadows, scree and wind.
- Rishiri kombu is the kelp Kyoto's finest kitchens choose for dashi, and the uni fed on it is prized across Hokkaidō.
- No chain stores — just fishing ports, wildflower meadows and the mountain.
Rishiri kombu dashi, the broth Kyoto's kaiseki chefs prize, tasted at its source in a bowl of island ramen.
Sea urchin prised open on the harbour wall in summer, fed on Rishiri kelp and eaten minutes from the water.
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