Kunashir (Russian: Кунаши́р, koo-nah-SHIHR) is the southernmost of the Kuril Islands in Sakhalin Oblast. Known Kunashiri (国後) in Japanese, the island is only 24 km away from Hokkaido, Japan, and is visible on a clear day. Appropriately enough, the Japanese characters mean "after the country", although the original Ainu name actually means "Black Island".

Cities

• 1 Yuzhno-Kurilsk

Understand

Like the other southern Kuril Islands, Kunashir is still claimed by the Japanese.

Get in

SAT Airlines flies from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Yuzhno-Kurilsk four times a week.

A ferry operates from Korsakov on Sakhalin, taking roughly 12 hours.