ABASHIRI

Ryuhyo – Drift ice on the Okhotsk Sea

Drift ice can be seen at the sea of eastern Hokkaido from Shiretoko to Wakkanai, the only area in Japan where you can see such a spectacular sight. The Okhotsk Sea is a thin strip of ocean stretching about 2,000 km north and south. In winter, 80 percent of the water freezes over and the sea is full of drift ice. The Eastern Hokkaido area, which abuts the southernmost part of the Okhotsk Sea, is the lowest latitude place in the world where you can see drift ice.

Drift ice can be seen at the sea of eastern Hokkaido from Shiretoko to Wakkanai, the only area in Japan where you can see such a spectacular sight. The Okhotsk Sea is a thin strip of ocean stretching about 2,000 km north and south. In winter, 80 percent of the water freezes over and the sea is full of drift ice. The Eastern Hokkaido area, which abuts the southernmost part of the Okhotsk Sea, is the lowest latitude place in the world where you can see drift ice.

Abashiri and Monbetsu are famous places to see drift ice. Icebreakers “Garinko-go II” (accommodating 195 persons) from Monbetsu and “Aurora” (accommodating 450 persons) from Abashiri provide ice-viewing excursions for hearty travelers. They break the ice and navigate in the frozen Okhotsk Sea. Higashi Hokkaido Express Bus is convenient for sightseeing of the drift ice from along the shore.

Abashiri Okhotsk Ryuhyo Matsuri (Drift Ice Festival)

A fantastic festival is held in Abashiri in mid February, the coldest month of the year. Huge snow statues are impressive and lit-up ice statues at night are fascinating.

Abashiri Prison Museum

Abashiri Prison was built in the 1890s to house inmates who were forced to labor on construction of the central road in this area. Some 1,200 prisoners, including 69 serving life terms and 362 serving indefinite prison terms, were sent to Abashiri, a town which had a population of just 630 in those days. The construction was urgent because the road was planned to be used as a military road to counter Russia, which was seen as pushing aggressively southward. Assigned work quotas four times larger than normal, inmates were tied in a pair by chains at their legs and forced to work till about midnight. More than 200 died due to overwork, lack of sleep and poor food. Many other roads in Hokkaido were also constructed by prisoners. Big-name “thought criminals” were imprisoned at Abashiri before and during WWII, and many felons were sent to prison here for a time after the war, but now, most prisoners are convicts serving short-term sentences. Under the prison’s guiding principle of self-sufficiency, prisoners made commodities such as miso and soy sauce, cultivated fields and constructed for themselves the buildings in which they were imprisoned. The original prison buildings, excluding some part, were burned down in a forest fire that spread to the prison. Subsequent to the fire, all buildings were reconstructed in 1973 because they had become decrepit.

About 20 buildings used in former days were moved to and are maintained in Abashiri Prison Museum, an outdoor museum. Life-size wax figures are displayed, which reproduce the life of prisoners in the prison at the time. When you cross Kagami Bridge, you find an imposing main gate made of red brick. Five buildings of the “Radial five wings prison house” lie in a radial shape centered around a watch tower. You can enter some cells to see what they were like. This is an interesting but perhaps unnerving experience for some visitors.

Lake Saroma

Lake Saroma is one of the most famous places in Japan for scallops and oysters. Rare alpine flora bloom all around. Walking, cycling and fishing are enjoyable.

Koshimizu Genseikaen

Koshimizu Genseikaen is located in an eight-km narrow strip of hills sandwiched between the Okhotsk Sea and Lake Tofutsu. It is a natural flower garden full of wild flowers, next to JR Genseikaen station.