ERIMO, Hokkaido -- Even on a sunny day in early summer, cold, strong gusts blowing off the Pacific chill tourists who come from around the country to see Hokkaido's famous cape.

"It's too cold to enjoy the view. I can't stay out here for even five minutes," said Katsunori Kanahara, 34, of Tochigi Prefecture, who stood shivering on an observation deck. While the cape's scenic beauty attracts some 400,000 visitors a year, its fierce wind, with an average speed of 40 kph, is also notorious.

The Erimo Municipal Government has recently succeeded in turning this seeming drawback into an advantage. Two windmills and a wind museum have now become symbols of the cape. Buffeted by winds stronger than 36 kph throughout the year, the cape is the most suitable place for wind power generation in Japan, experts say.