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Cape Sōya 宗谷岬
Cape
Aerial image of the cape, 1977
Cape Sōya Cape Sōya Show map of Hokkaido Cape Sōya Cape Sōya (Japan) Show map of Japan
Coordinates:45°31′22″N141°56′11″E / 45.52278°N 141.93639°E /45.52278; 141.93639
Location	Wakkanai,Sōya Subprefecture,Japan
Offshore water bodies	Sea of Japan,Sea of Okhotsk

Cape Sōya (宗谷岬,Sōya-misaki) is the northernmost point of the island ofHokkaidō,Japan. It is situated inWakkanai,Sōya Subprefecture. The Monument of the Northernmost Point of Japan (日本最北端の地の碑) is at the cape, although the truenorthernmost point under Japanese control is the small deserted island ofBenten-jima, 1 kilometre (3,300 ft) northwest. Since the cape is just 43 kilometres (27 mi) away acrossLa Perouse Strait fromCape Crillon,Sakhalin Island, it is possible to see the island of Sakhalin from Cape Sōya on a clear day.

There are more than ten monuments at Cape Sōya, including the Monument of the Northernmost Point of Japan, the Tower of Prayer (a memorial toKorean Air Lines Flight 007, shot down in 1983), a statue ofMamiya Rinzō, the Monument of Peace (a memorial to the sunken submarineUSS Wahoo, and others).^[1] Sōya Misaki settlement, east of the cape, has many facilities known to be "the northernmost in Japan", including the northernmost lighthouse (Cape Sōya Lighthouse), the northernmost filling station (Idemitsu Cape Sōya SS), and the northernmost elementary school (Ōmisaki Elementary School).

Cape Soya is callednotetu in theAinu language, wherenot means chin or cape, andetu means nose.^[2]

The name Soya is theorised to come fromso ya in Ainu, meaning "Rocky shore".^[2][3]

On the site of Cape Sōya stands the Monument of Peace, a memorial to theUSS Wahoo, sunk with 80 men aboard on October 11, 1943, as well as 5 Japanese merchant ships sunk with 690 people, attacked by Wahoo. The inscription on the memorial reads in part:^[4]

When the Wahoo was lost it was the highest-scoring submarine in theU.S. Navy. Eighty Americans sleep in the Soya Strait 12 miles northeast of here. Many Japanese sleep in the Sea of Japan from Wahoo attacks. This monument was erected by the members of the Japanese Attack Group and relatives of Americans lying in the Wahoo. Old enemies met as brothers to ensure that our countries will have lasting peace and war will never again destroy the friendship we enjoy today.

— George E. Logue

The exact position ofWahoo was confirmed by a dive team from the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd in July 2006.

Cape Sōya is the location of another memorial, the Tower of Prayer. The monument, which is 19.83 metres tall and constructed fromgranite, stands in remembrance of the 269 people that were killed duringKorean Air Lines Flight 007 on 1 September 1983. In the incident, the aircraft operating the flight was shot down by aSoviet Air ForcesSukhoi Su-15 interceptor nearMoneron Island, roughly 98 kilometres to the north of the cape.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCape Soya.

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  Sunset
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  Monument of the northernmost Point of Japan
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  A view from a hill nearby
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  The "Music Monument" which automatically plays the songSōya-misaki each time a visitor stands in front
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  The Tower of Prayer, a memorial ofKorean Air Lines Flight 007
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  Cape Sōya Lighthouse
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  The observatory, used by theImperial Japanese Navy to monitor the strait during theRusso-Japanese War
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  Idemitsu Cape Sōya SS, the northernmost filling station
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  Sōya Junior High School, the northernmost junior high school
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  Ōmisaki Elementary School, the northernmost elementary school
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  Vista of "northernmost" shops
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  The Tower of Prayer
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  Old Navy Watch Tower (June 2006)
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  La Perouse monument
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  Satellite image of Cape Sōya (October 2009)

• Extreme points of Japan

• Headlands of Hokkaido
• Extreme points of Japan
• Tourist attractions in Hokkaido

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