Guide to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the surrounding area: TOP 10 most attractive places for tourists

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is quite young - it is only 135 years old. But this does not prevent him from being proud of the turbulent history of formation, which was influenced by two cultures - Asia and Europe. Traces of it in the form of architectural monuments, buildings, sculptures, places of worship have been preserved in the regional capital to this day. Having been in the hands of Japan and Tsarist Russia, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, recreated from scratch by the USSR, miraculously incorporated the heritage of those times, and in modern times has also multiplied its greatest strengths, becoming, for example, the center of ski tourism in the Far East. SakhalinMedia news agency has prepared the TOP 10 most interesting places in the city and its environs, where a tourist who arrives on the island should definitely go.

Ski resort "Mountain Air"

In first place is the pride of South Sakhalin residents - “Mountain Air”. This is the only ski resort in Russia located within the city limits. It was founded by the Japanese at the beginning of the last century on Mount Asahigaoka, now Mount Bolshevik. A tourist and ski base was built where ski jumping competitions were held. These traditions continued during Soviet times. A center for training skiers for the XI Olympic Games in Sapporo was established here.

Now “Mountain Air” is an all-season tourist complex. In summer, the resort becomes a place for active recreation for islanders and guests of the regional capital. The complex has a network of hiking and cycling routes, each of which offers a variety of landscapes: green valleys covered with lush vegetation, dense forests, pure mountain springs, magnificent panoramas of the regional center. In addition, “Mountain Air” is a center of mass leisure: the complex’s grounds host sports competitions and cultural events, music festivals and art exhibitions, children’s and youth parties almost every weekend. In 2022, the complex hosted the first gastronomic festival “Taste on Heights” and the live music evening “Whisper of the Stars,” which collected thousands of positive reviews from visitors.

In winter, “Mountain Air” is a modern ski complex with 16 slopes of varying difficulty levels, including 5 of which are certified for international competitions, 3 ski areas for beginners and for professionals. There is a training slope, a ski cross track and a snow park. The total length of the trails is 25 kilometers. There are five cable cars on the slopes of Mount Bolshevik; the existing infrastructure of the sports and tourism complex is being modernized and a new one is being built. Favorable weather conditions – mild and snowy winters – allow the season to be extended until the end of April.

Living in the city itself, it is very easy to get to the Mountain Air” and enjoy skiing along the slopes of the complex, especially since all the slopes offer amazing views of the city and the surrounding mountains.

Ski resort "Mountain Air". Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

Ski resort "Mountain Air". Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Ski resort "Mountain Air". Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

View of the “mountain air”. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Ski resort "Mountain Air". Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

Ski resort "Mountain Air". Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Ski resort "Mountain Air". Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

Ski resort "Mountain Air". Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

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Attractions in the surrounding area

Chekhov Peak

Coordinates: 47.006651, 142.840225 How to get there: the ascent starts from the Old Friend cafe, after 6 km there is an information board with a detailed description of the route

During the Japanese occupation, the 1045 m high peak was considered sacred. Since then, a small concrete house has remained on the top of the mountain - a temple erected in honor of the sun goddess Amaterasu, who makes the heavens shine.

You should allow about 4 hours round trip to cover the route.

The most difficult sections are equipped with holds and ropes. The route is simple, but it is better to do it in good weather. The reward will be gorgeous views of the city, sea and mountains.

Klokovsky waterfall

Coordinates: 48.447190, 142.705996 How to get from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: 1) by car 190 km along road No. 64H-1 to the station. Grebenskaya (south direction from the parking lot), then walk along the old highway to the ascent point. 2) by train to Zaozernoye station, then about 7.3 km on foot.

The three-stage waterfall is about 50 m high. Although the waterfall does not have an official name, locals call it after the cape on which it is located.

Mount Frog

Coordinates: 46.868876, 142.888754 How to get from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: by bus or by car along highway 64N-7 about 22 km to the village of Vestochki. Next, according to the information on the boards, go to the eco-trail.

The mountain got its name because of its bizarre shape, which vaguely resembles a sitting frog.

Local residents believe that the center of power is located here.

Ainu legend claims that at the top of the mountain there is a temple of wisdom. Once upon a time a shaman lived here; she was the guardian of this place and resisted evil spirits. When she was a thousand years old, she lay down on a stone at the top and died. The spirits took her body, and in this place there were dents that repeated her silhouette.

The natives claim that anyone who reaches the top with pure intentions will gain the wisdom of the old shaman.

Cape and lighthouse Aniva

Coordinates: 46.023444, 143.416099 How to get from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: by car or public transport about 40 km to the village. Novikovo, then on a small boat

In 1939, a 31-meter lighthouse was installed on the steep Sivuchya rock.

Before the lighthouse was installed, Japanese sailors argued that it was impossible to navigate the ship near the rocks. However, there were brave souls who overcame this difficult route. The ships were heading to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and to the island. Seal.

The construction of the lighthouse was extremely difficult. The material could only be delivered by sea, and the approach to the rock was dangerous.

Up to 12 people could live at the lighthouse at the same time. To arrange their life, the architect Miura Shinobu provided a kitchen and warehouse on the lower floors of the lighthouse. Today the lighthouse is inactive.

Sakhalin Museum of Local Lore

In third place is the local history museum, built in the 30s of the last century, as the main museum of the Karafuto governorate, made in the traditional Japanese architectural style of “teikan-zukuri” - “imperial crown”. It exhibited collections on the ethnography of the indigenous inhabitants of Southern Sakhalin, paleontology, zoology, botany, etc. The names of Japanese researchers of Ainuology, Chiri Mashiho, ethnographer Yamamoto Toshio, botanist Shigedzo Sugawara and others were associated with the museum.

The Sakhalin Regional Museum of Local Lore was the founder of other museums in the Sakhalin region. Thus, the collections of paintings and graphics of the local history museum became the basis of the collection of the Sakhalin Regional Art Museum, and the A.P. Chekhov Museum in Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky was created with the active participation of researchers from the Sakhalin Regional Museum of Local Lore in the early 1990s. The area around the museum is a kind of attraction, where flowers and trees coexist organically with open-air exhibits.

The museum remains the custodian of the history and culture of society, the custodian of the primary sources of the natural history of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Stores over 200 thousand items and collections on the nature, history and cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation. Every year the museum is visited by about 70 thousand residents and guests of the Sakhalin region.

Sakhalin Museum of Local Lore. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

TOP 10 most attractive places for tourists. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Sakhalin Museum of Local Lore. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Sakhalin Museum of Local Lore, a theatrical performance about the life of indigenous peoples of Russia. Photo: Yulia Krasnova, SakhalinMedia

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Military-historical complex

Glory Square

In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk they honor the memory of those who fell in the battles for the liberation of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands and the fallen internationalist soldiers.

The memorial complex, created in honor of Soviet soldiers, from the Japanese militarists in August 1945, was opened on Glory Square on September 3, 1980. The complex includes a stele with the inscription “Eternal glory to the heroes,” a bronze sculpture of a soldier, a bronze sculptural group of figures of two sailors, a reinforced concrete podium with a brass star and the Eternal Flame, as well as a stele with the inscription “The Motherland has given you its immortality, and yours are not forgotten.” names. Nearby is the Walk of Fame, dedicated to the Heroes of the Soviet Union who liberated South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Nearby is a memorial to Sakhalin soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Chechnya. In the center of the memorial there is a sculpture of the Grieving Mother, on the sides there are 14 vertically installed black granite slabs with the names of 42 dead Sakhalin residents.

Above the memorial complex there is another platform, to which a wide staircase leads from the lower level. On this site there is a monument to the twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Commander-in-Chief of the troops in the war with militaristic Japan, Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky. Next to the monument are samples of military equipment: tanks and guns. And on the left side all types of troops involved in the liberation of Sakhalin and the Kuril landing operation are listed.

Glory Square. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Alley of Heroes on Glory Square. Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

Tanks. Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

Monument to twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Commander-in-Chief of the troops in the war with militaristic Japan, Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky.. Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

Glory Square. Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

Tanks. Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

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Memorial complex "Victory"

Another grandiose memorial complex is located on Victory Square. In 1975, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the victory over imperialist Japan, a memorial complex was inaugurated there. It consisted of a T-34-85 tank, delivered from the 119th armored repair plant in the city of Dolinsk and installed in the center of the site on a concrete pedestal 5-3 m high. In front of the tank, a 76-mm anti-tank gun and a 122-mm anti-tank gun were installed on pedestals howitzer.

For the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, a single ensemble was created from the Victory Memorial Complex and the Church of the Nativity. At the same time, the architect retained the pedestal with a tank and cannon installed in 1975.

The Victory Memorial Complex is a building of a cultural and educational center with a glass dome in the shape of Alexander Nevsky’s helmet, which completes the central atrium, and with white stone entrances protruding from four sides, made in the form of triumphal arches. The main entrance to the building of the cultural and educational center is located along the axis of the semicircular colonnade.

It contains four halls - the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905; Great Patriotic War 1941-1945; in memory of internationalist soldiers and military personnel who died while establishing constitutional order in Russia and the “War in the art of contemporary artists.” Four more rooms are located along the diagonals of the atrium: “Memories”, “Front-line Letters”, a room for working with schoolchildren and a room for working with conscripts.

Memorial complex "Victory". Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Memorial complex "Victory". Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

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Historical park “Russia is my history”

The historical park, unique for Sakhalin, which houses the exhibition “Russia - My History” was built in just a year and opened by November 4, 2022. The area of the new Historical Park is almost 7 thousand square meters. Thanks to 400 mounted multimedia units, this huge area literally comes to life. About 80 exhibition areas, 20 interactive tables, 330 projectors, 20 kinect systems that allow you to interact with the exhibition object allow you to immerse yourself in the history of your native fatherland. In the center of the park, the only 12-meter dome cinema in the Sakhalin region was created. The park succinctly integrates the history of the island region since the first discoveries.

Historical park "Russia - my history". Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

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Cape Aniva Lighthouse

The lighthouse is installed on Cape Aniva, which is located at the inaccessible end of the narrow and rocky cape of Sakhalin Island.

The lighthouse is made in the form of a concrete round tower, which is topped with a lantern. In this case, the flashlight is located in a small room, from where the light signal is sent. The lighthouse is painted in horizontal stripes of black and white. It is interesting to note that the facility was built with 7 floors, since it was assumed that automation should be controlled by permanently living employees. These days, the lighthouse that still adorns Cape Aniva is uninhabited.

Church of the Nativity

The Church of the Nativity of Christ is the tallest temple in the Far East. Its height is about 77 meters. The area of the temple is 5.59 thousand square meters. More than one thousand parishioners can visit it at the same time. The temple is structurally designed in the Novgorod style, on three floors of a gallery, where parishioners can perform a prayer service together with everyone else. The temple contains all the best in Russia and the Christian world. Large bells, according to ancient traditions, were cast in Moscow. The largest one is called “Sakhalin”. Smaller bells were cast in workshops in Voronezh and other cities. They were transported to Sakhalin across all of Russia. During transportation, bell ringing was demonstrated in each city. Above the main entrance is a mosaic depicting Jesus Christ made by Jerusalem craftsmen. Its height is more than 14 meters - it is the world's largest external mosaic panel on a temple.

In a very short time, the temple became a real calling card of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Its luminous snow-white walls can be seen tens of kilometers from the city.

Church of the Nativity in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Church of the Nativity. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Church of the Nativity in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Mosaic. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Church of the Nativity in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Church of the Nativity in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

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Food on Sakhalin

Sakhalin, like the entire Far East, is famous for its seafood. Fishing is very widespread here and people from all over the country come here for the delicacies.

What is a must-try among all the variety? Even the most fastidious gourmets will unanimously recommend that you try Kamchatka crab. If you try its claws at least once, you will want to return to Sakhalin more than once for more.

On the menus of local restaurants you can see a wide variety of crab dishes - salads, soups and juliennes. You can try everything, but the best option is to eat it in its original form and wash it down with quality white wine.

Kamchatka crab

Scallops are sold here in stores in small bags and replace seeds for local residents. This would make a great snack or even a souvenir from the Far East for relatives. Sakhalin residents have learned to cook scallops excellently; they marinate them in mustard or stew them in hot spices.

Another seafood delicacy is caviar, not fish caviar, as we are used to seeing in stores, but sea urchins. You can eat it without heat treatment, just add lemon juice or hot sauce. Gourmets advise drinking caviar with champagne or the same white wine. Those who love new experiences can try catching sea urchins in shallow water themselves.

Sea urchin roe

If you want to bring your own seafood, ask locals at the market for advice. They know all the customs rules and will help you properly pack the delicacies for transportation, you can even deliver live crab.

The proximity to Asian countries had a great influence on the traditional cuisine of Sakhalin. Korean and Japanese restaurants are widespread here, and there are many expats from neighboring countries who work in the kitchen.

In addition to the usual Russian dishes, such as borscht and Olivier, there are many unusual for residents of other regions of Russia. For example, spicy radish or fish, kimchi (cabbage snack).

Despite the fact that the concept of “spicy” differs significantly between us and Asia. If you are not a fan of pepper, immediately ask local restaurants to give you less spice. Although even in this case you will be surprised by the taste of the dishes.

Each meal is accompanied by a main course and several dozen more appetizers. This is absolutely normal for Korean and Japanese cuisine, so it's best to share the meal with friends. Or you risk not leaving the table, but rolling out because of such a rich variety.

When visiting Sakhalin, be sure to try bibimbap, cooked fern and burdock snack. You definitely won’t find such dishes in other regions of Russia, even in Moscow.

You can buy seafood delicacies not only in restaurants or markets, but also simply by driving along the coast. Many locals make money from fishing and will cook you meals as good as in a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Therefore, when driving along the coast, do not be afraid to stop and taste the dishes right by the fire. Here you can find shrimp and tasty smelt. Even winter is not a hindrance, because Sakhalin residents make a living by winter fishing.

Although you can catch and taste smelt only on lakes Tunaicha and Izmenchivoe, which we wrote about above. Just a 40-minute drive and you can try to catch fish yourself or just watch the schools that swim under the ice. It’s unlikely that your relatives will be able to bring fresh smelt, but even in dried form it is simply excellent.

You can also catch crabs during winter fishing, although only regular or king crabs. To fish for Kamchatka fish, a special license is required, which is not issued to private individuals.

Art Museum

The Sakhalin Regional Art Museum, one of the youngest museums in Russia, was founded in 1983. In 1989, the first permanent exhibition opened in the building of the former Japanese bank Hokkaido Takushoku, which was built in the early 1930s and reconstructed in the 1980s and transferred to the museum. This building, located in the very center of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, is an original historical and architectural monument and to some extent determines the appearance of the city. The large hall on the first floor is intended for exhibition work; the halls on the second floor are occupied by permanent exhibitions: “Christian Art”, “Russian Art of the Late 19th - Early 20th Centuries”, “Korean Art”.

You can visit this unique place not only to admire the current exhibitions, but also to appreciate the Japanese architecture of the period of the Karafuto governorship.

Another museum is dedicated to the book of A.P. Chekhov "Sakhalin Island". It opened in 1995. is a unique space that does more than just collect and store memorial items. In 2013, the museum moved to new premises. In recent years, this is the only high-tech museum building built in the Far East. The new building, on an area of almost two thousand square meters, houses exhibition and cinema halls, spacious storage facilities, and a restoration workshop. The museum has modern fire extinguishing and ventilation systems, and special equipment that can ensure the complete safety of exhibits. Interactive technologies are actively used.

Sakhalin Art Museum. Photo: Denis Taushkanov, SakhalinMedia news agency

Sakhalin Art Museum. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

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Parish of St. James

The parish of St. James is a Roman Catholic church that was opened at the end of December 2001. It was on December 26th that the first service was held here.

The temple was made taking into account traditional principles characteristic of Catholic churches. Architectural design contributes to the increased attention of tourists.

Location: Pobedy Avenue - 26B.

Chekhov Center

Sakhalin International Theater Center named after. A.P. Chekhov - the only drama theater in the Sakhalin region, began chronicling its life more than eighty years ago. It includes a drama theatre, a theater for children and youth, a theater college and two musical groups: the Divertiment chamber ensemble and the Jazz Time group.

A number of large cultural projects are being implemented here: the interregional festival “Sakhalin Ramp”, creative laboratories, television theater and others. The Chekhov Center troupe has repeatedly taken part in theater festivals: “Melikhovo Spring”, “Novosibirsk Transit”, “Days of Polish Culture in Yekaterinburg”.

Since 2009, the theater has successfully participated in grant competitions. Thus, the theater won grants from the NP TsSRRT "Art-Service", the cultural foundation "EGIDA", the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation, as well as a grant from the Ministry of the Sakhalin Region in the field of theatrical art.

The square around the theater is another unique place in the city where you can have a pleasant walk and at the same time take wonderful photographs with the heroes of Chekhov’s works.

Sakhalin International Theater Center named after. A.P. Chekhov. Photo: Yuri Gurshal, SakhalinMedia news agency

Sakhalin International Theater Center named after. A.P. Chekhov. Photo: Yuri Gurshal,

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