Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk



Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russian: Ю́жно-Сахали́нск, YOOZH-nuh suh-khah-LEENSK), also spelled Uzno-Sakhalinsk and previously known in Japanese as Toyohara (豊原), is the largest city and capital of Sakhalin Oblast, in the Russian Far East, with a population of around 173,000. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is a booming oil town. While the city in general looks quite rough, it does have some beautiful buildings from the Japanese period, as well as some state-of-the-art buildings.

History
The city was founded in 1882 under the name of Vladimirovka and originally populated by liberated convicts, but was transferred to Japanese control after the end of the Russo-Japanese war. The Japanese renamed the city as Toyohara, and made it the capital of the Japanese prefecture Karafuto occupying the southern half of the island. After the end of World War II, Soviet troops occupied Karafuto, and the city was renamed Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk when control of the city was transferred back to Russia.

Little remains of the Japanese administration apart from a very limited number of Japanese buildings, including the impressive old government building now used as a regional museum. The main heritage of the Japanese ownership of the city is a sizable number of Sakhalin-Koreans, deported here by the Japanese in the 1930s, and denied repatriation until the mid-1980s; many have decided to stay on Sakhalin, and around 20,000 reside in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. In the 21st century, the oil industry has brought in many expats from Europe and America. Due to this there are occasional English-language signs in the city, several upscale hotels, and an expat district.

Climate
The climate is defined as humid continental. Summer and winter temperatures are less extreme than in Siberia or elsewhere in the Russian Far East, instead it rains more. Fog is common during the summer.

Geography
The city is located 25 km north of Aniva Bay and the same distance west of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, in the Susuya River valley and flanked by mountains to the west and east. Due to the risk of earthquakes, buildings are generally low-rise. The main industries – oil, coal and forestry – are located outside the city itself.

Ul Leninareet (Ulitsa Lenina), the main street, runs parallel to the railway from north to south, and downtown forms a rectangle around it. The Susuya River flows west of the city.

Get in
Sakhalin is a fairly remote island, so if you're coming from elsewhere in Russia, plane is by far the most hassle-free way for getting in.

By plane

 * Russia: Aeroflot, Rossiya and Aurora operate flights from Moscow (9 hours) and S7 from Novosibirsk. From Eastern Russia, there are a lot more flights. Vladivostok is served by Aurora and S7, and Khabarovsk by Aurora and seasonally Yakutia Airlines. Krasavia and Aurora fly in from Blagoveshchensk and Aurora moreover serves Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Bogorodskoye, Iturup, Okha and Yuzhno-Kurilsk
 * South Korea: Asiana and Aurora operate flights from Seoul-Incheon.
 * Japan: Aurora flies from Sapporo and has seasonal flights from Osaka. Yakutia Airlines has seasonal flights from Tokyo.
 * China: Aurora services Harbin airport.
 * China: Aurora services Harbin airport.

By train


For towns close to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, it's often an easier and more convenient choice to jump on a bus, while the train is the main mode of transportation to destinations on the northern part of the island. It's a good idea to confirm these times as train schedules change fairly frequently. Check the website of the Passenger Company "Sakhalin" for train schedules.


 * Korsakov: Trains depart daily at 5:30AM, 1:45PM and 7:44PM except on public holidays.
 * Okha: Daily train 1 departs at 6:50AM, and runs most of the length of the island to Nogilki in the north, from where there is a connecting bus to Okha.
 * Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky: Catch the train 1 above, and change to a connecting bus in Tymovsk.

By bus
The parking lot outside the train station doubles as a bus terminal, where scheduled and leave-when-full minibuses regularly depart for other parts of the island. The minibus is often the best choice, as the public buses are often slow, uncomfortable, and worn out.

Information on public buses:, the (unofficial) timetable.


 * Kholmsk: Buses 516 and 518 depart on top of the hour, every hour between 8AM-9PM, the latter continuing onwards to Nevelsk for access to Moneron. The minibus alternative takes around an hour and costs ₽400.
 * Korsakov: Bus 115 shuttles between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Korsakov every 30 minutes between 7AM-10PM and takes around 90 minutes, and costs around ₽100. Double the price and you can catch a minibus that takes half the time.

From the ports of Kholmsk and Korsakov, it is possible to catch ferries to Vanino on the mainland, or Wakkanai in Japan respectively. Check Bi-timo, listed below, to purchase tickets.

By car
Sakhalin has few roads, so you are unlikely to miss Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk which is where they cross. The nearest destinations are Korsakov (40 km/25 mi) and Kholmsk (80 km/50 mi).

Tour and travel agencies
While frequently visited by workers in the oil industry, Sakhalin has a very undeveloped tourism sector. If you don't speak Russian and don't have an abundance of time, enlisting the help of a travel agency to see the sights you want to see is probably necessary for all but the most adventurous travelers.



Get around
Intracity transportation is provided by a network of a few public buses, running along the main avenues, and large number of minibuses running on set routes, but with no particular schedules. A single bus ticket costs ₽20 as of 2017.

See


The drab rows of Soviet-style concrete buildings that make up much of the island's capital are really not that interesting for travellers, especially not the ones who have been adventurous enough to come here in the first place. On the other hand, there should be enough to entertain you for a day while you get your bearings and organize things to venture out into Sakhalin's great outdoors — and you really owe it to yourself to get out there if you have come this far.

If you're short on time and only here to catch a ferry, skip these sights and hike up Chekov Peak — the trail head is a muddy dirt road just behind the Santa resort, the whole hike takes around 6 hours if you're in reasonable shape.

Japanese heritage
If you are interested in the Japanese heritage, consider the regional and art museums, the House of The Garrison Court (1908; Nevel'skogo St 44), and the small bridge on Sakhalinskaya St. Other Japanese buildings were destroyed before the 1970s.





Other

 * You can see a large number of monuments in the city: of people who've played a role in the history of the city, famous Russians such as Chekhov and Pushkin, and memorials to victims of the Great Patriotic War and local conflicts and events.
 * You can see a large number of monuments in the city: of people who've played a role in the history of the city, famous Russians such as Chekhov and Pushkin, and memorials to victims of the Great Patriotic War and local conflicts and events.
 * You can see a large number of monuments in the city: of people who've played a role in the history of the city, famous Russians such as Chekhov and Pushkin, and memorials to victims of the Great Patriotic War and local conflicts and events.
 * You can see a large number of monuments in the city: of people who've played a role in the history of the city, famous Russians such as Chekhov and Pushkin, and memorials to victims of the Great Patriotic War and local conflicts and events.
 * You can see a large number of monuments in the city: of people who've played a role in the history of the city, famous Russians such as Chekhov and Pushkin, and memorials to victims of the Great Patriotic War and local conflicts and events.
 * You can see a large number of monuments in the city: of people who've played a role in the history of the city, famous Russians such as Chekhov and Pushkin, and memorials to victims of the Great Patriotic War and local conflicts and events.

A few notable religious buildings have been built since the end of communism, such as:



Buy
There is a sizable market at the corners of Lenina & Sakhalinskaya, where you can stock up with fresh fruits and vegetables, an outfit for your next 1980s party, or cheap Chinese goods. A bit more useful are the electronics stalls for new batteries and the like. You can find affordable eateries here too, mostly serving Russian, Korean and seafood.

Eat
For a Russian mid-sized city, eating out in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is on the expensive side. There are however cheap cafés here and there. In general you can choose between Russian, Japanese and Korean cuisine, although other Asian food is also available. Local seafood is surprisingly hard to find in restaurants, but is readily available in the market (mentioned in the Buy section) and its eateries.

Drink
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is a rather youthful town, so the nightlife is rather happening considering its size. Hotels do usually have bars, and these are the places to go if you want to meet expats. If the weather is nice, an alternative to the bars listed here is hanging out with the locals in the beer tents dotted around Gagarin Park. Don't miss the local beer.



Sleep
Due to the large number of visitors connected to the booming oil industry on the island, there are a substantial number of good hotels in the city. Room rates, however, are very expensive and budget alternatives are few: expect to pay at least ₽3000 for a single room at Western style hotels. As a rule, Internet costs extra and rates can be rather high. As an alternative to hotels, you can rent an apartment at daily rates starting from around ₽2000. These are advertised on http://board.sakh.com/realty/lease/, in Russian only.

Internet
Local mobile operators include Beeline (Билайн), Megafon (Мегафон) and MTS (МТС) of which at least the latter offers mobile Internet (4G) coverage throughout the city and surroundings.

Businesses may also offer Wi-Fi (free or for a fee).

Desktop connection is available at certain post offices (see below) and in the central library:

Post office
The postal code of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is 6930**. Post offices in the city center:

Stay safe
While outwardly looking like a tidy and safe city, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk does have a reputation of street crime. Downtown is safer than the rest of the city.

Consulates

 * 🇯🇵 Japan
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Go next

 * Korsakov — a rather drab port town that's the departure point for ferries to Japan.
 * Kholmsk — another (drab) port town with ferry connections to the Russian mainland, mainly known for the abandoned railway that leads there: it's now a hiking trail.
 * Aniva Bay is a popular recreation area on the southern coast of Sakhalin. Most of the seashore as well as the lower part of the Lyutoga River are good for swimming, fishing, and other activities.
 * The area around Lake Tunaycha along the west coast comprises not only the largest freshwater lake in Sakhalin (a popular destination in summer) but also a string of smaller freshwater lakes and Izmenchivoe, a salt lake popular for its mud baths. The coastline is sandy and beautiful, and a great place to watch the sun rise, but the ocean is too cold for swimming.