Ponds, pines and wide Okhotsk skies

Northern Arc Golf Club sits in the Tanno district of Kitami, in eastern Hokkaido, about 40 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport. Opened in 1991 as Grand Cru Golf Club and laid out by Shoichi Kawabuchi, it is an 18-hole, par-72 course with a course rating of 73.2. The front nine winds over low, tree-lined hills, while the back nine turns to water: every hole on the inward half brings a pond or creek into play, and the greens carry plenty of undulation.

A strategic summer course in Hokkaido's far east, where water shapes every hole on the back nine.

Play here is relaxed and self-service, with riding carts and a generous 350-yard range for warming up. Because of the northern climate the course closes for the winter, so plan a visit for the long, cool days between spring and autumn. Kitami makes a good base, and the wider Okhotsk region rewards a few extra days: Lake Akan, Lake Kussharo and the Shiretoko Peninsula are all within driving distance, along with plenty of hot-spring towns and fresh seafood from the Sea of Okhotsk. Fly into Memanbetsu, pick up a rental car, and combine a round here with a road trip through some of Japan's wildest scenery.