La Pérouse Strait

Geographical location

The La -Perouse Strait (Japanese宗 谷 海峡, Soya Kaikyo, Soya Strait ) is a strait that separates the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

It connects the Sea of ​​Japan in the west to the Okhotsk Sea in the east. It is 94 km long and at its narrowest point 43 km wide. It is usually between 20 and 40 m, at the lowest point 118 m deep.

The street is named after Jean -François de La Pérouse, who explored the channel in 1787.

In June 2013 it was decided to build a railway tunnel under the road through La Pérouse. The work is expected to begin in 2016.