Abashiri 網走市

• Drift ice and the icebreaker Aurora: sea ice forms from Amur River fresh water and drifts south. It usually appears off Abashiri in late January¹. The sightseeing icebreaker Aurora (おーろら) sails from the Michi-no-Eki from 20 January to 31 March¹⁵. February is the busiest month for tourism: 299,000 visitors came in February 2025⁶.
• Abashiri Prison (網走監獄): founded in 1890. Its prisoners built the Central Road toward Asahikawa, and more than 200 of them died¹⁶. The open-air Abashiri Prison Museum keeps 25 prison buildings; 8 are Important Cultural Properties³.
• Okhotsk culture and northern peoples: the Moyoro Shell Mound (モヨロ貝塚) holds a village of about 1,300 years ago and is a national historic site⁴¹⁷. The Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples is the only museum in Japan devoted to the cultures of northern peoples¹⁸.
• Seafood: hairy crab caught just after the drift ice leaves, sweet scallops from Lake Notoro, line-caught kinki (釣きんき) and large shijimi clams from Lake Abashiri¹⁹. Salmon is the top catch by value (¥7.17 billion in 2024)⁶. Frozen surimi, the raw material of kamaboko, was first produced commercially in Abashiri after a Hokkaido research station in the city developed it in 1960²⁰.
• Lakes: Lake Notoro turns red with Japan's largest colony of coral grass (サンゴ草) in September²¹. Lake Abashiri is known for ice fishing for wakasagi (pond smelt)²². Lake Tōfutsu is a Ramsar wetland for swans and eagles²³.
• Drift-ice food: the blue Ryūhyō Draft (流氷ドラフト) beer is brewed with drift ice. There are also drift-ice curry, soft-serve and candy²⁴²⁰.
• Farming: wheat, sugar beet, potatoes and broiler chickens. Farm output was worth about ¥39 billion in 2024⁶. Two beef brands, Okhotsk Abashiri Wagyu and Abashiri Kangoku ("Prison") Wagyu, come from here²⁴.

Nature & scenery

• Tento-zan (天都山): a 207 m hill and national Place of Scenic Beauty¹⁷⁶. The free rooftop deck of the Ryūhyō-kan gives a 360° view of the Shiretoko mountains, the Okhotsk Sea and sunset over Lake Abashiri⁴⁸². The volunteer-run flower garden Hana-Tento (はな・てんと) peaks in September⁴³⁴¹.
• Cape Notoro (能取岬, Misaki): a headland 20 minutes from the city center. The lighthouse was first lit in 1917 and is the oldest reinforced-concrete lighthouse in Hokkaido. It is 21 m tall and its light reaches about 36 km. Drift ice is seen here first in the city, and the dark sky is good for stars. A "wish bell" and scallop-shell votive plaques were added in December 2025³⁵.
• Lake Notoro coral grass (能取湖サンゴ草群落地, Uparaunai 60-3): Japan's largest colony of coral grass (Salicornia, also called akkeshisō). About 4 ha turn red from late August to late September. A wooden boardwalk leads into the field. The colony had declined but was declared restored in August 2015. Free; 16 minutes by car from Abashiri Station²¹.
• Ōmagari Lakeside Park (大曲湖畔園地, Sanchō 24): an 80 ha park on former prison farmland, opened in 2005. About 400,000 sunflowers bloom in early to mid-July. In a second crop from late September to early October, about 2.6 million sunflowers cover 14 ha, with cosmos alongside. Open early May–15 October, 9:00–17:00, free, with about 1,000 parking spaces⁴⁹.
• Lake Tōfutsu (濤沸湖): a Ramsar wetland for swans and eagles. The Tōfutsu-ko Waterfowl and Wetland Center opened in 2012²³⁶. The Koshimizu Gensei-kaen flower meadow on the sandbar is across the border in Koshimizu²³.
• Kitahama Station (北浜駅): on the Senmō Line, about 20 m from the Okhotsk shore. The café Teishajō (停車場) has run in the old station office since 1986, with seats from old railway cars. The observation deck was removed in May 2026³⁴.
• Ponmoi columnar joints (ポンモイ柱状節理): andesite columns on the shore, a city natural monument¹⁷⁶.

Onsen

• Abashiri Kohan Onsen (網走湖畔温泉): a hot-spring area on the shore of Lake Abashiri³⁶.

Museums & heritage

• Abashiri Prison Museum (博物館網走監獄, Yobito 1-1): an open-air museum of real prison buildings from the Meiji era on, moved and restored on the Lake Abashiri side of Tento-zan. It covers an area about 3.5 times the Tokyo Dome. There are 25 buildings. 8 are Important Cultural Properties, including the administration building, the chapel, the Futamigaoka branch prison and the radial cell block used from 1912 to 1984. 6 more are Registered Tangible Cultural Properties³. Japanese Wikipedia describes its five-wing radial cell block as Japan's oldest surviving prison building and the world's oldest wooden prison building⁵⁰. Open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:00); closed 31 December and 1 January; adults ¥1,500; parking for 400 cars³³³. The museum's dining hall serves a "prison meal" modeled on today's Abashiri Prison menu³³⁵⁰.
• Okhotsk Ryūhyō-kan (オホーツク流氷館, Tentozan 244-3): a drift-ice museum with real sea ice in a −15 °C room. You can freeze a wet towel solid (the "shibare" experience). It also has a 360° film of the sea under the ice and a five-screen theater. Open May–Oct 8:30–18:00 and Nov–Apr 9:00–16:30; no closing days; adults ¥990⁴⁸.
• Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples (北海道立北方民族博物館, Shiomi 309-1): Japan's only museum devoted to northern peoples, from Greenland to Scandinavia, including the Okhotsk culture. More than 900 items are on display, such as a seal-gut parka and a full-size Alaskan winter house. There is a free audio guide in five languages. Open 9:30–16:30 (9:00–17:00 in Jul–Sep). Closed Mondays, except in February and July–September; adults ¥550¹⁸.
• Moyoro Shell Mound Museum (モヨロ貝塚館, Kita 1-jō Higashi 2-chōme): shows the dwellings, graves and shell layers of the Okhotsk village. Paths lead through the site. Open 9:00–17:00 (until 16:00 in Nov–Apr). Closed Mondays and holidays from October to June; adults ¥300. It is a 25-minute walk from Abashiri Station⁴. It reopened after renovation in 2013⁶.

Outdoor & seasonal activities

• Icebreaker Aurora (流氷観光砕氷船おーろら): from 20 January to 31 March. The large ship Aurora takes about 1 hour; adults pay ¥7,000 (special seats +¥500). The small Aurora 3 goes farther offshore for about 2 hours (¥9,800) and is planned for March. Seals and birds can be seen on the ice, but not clione. When there is no ice, the Aurora cruises to Cape Notoro and the Aurora 3 does not sail¹⁵¹.
• Abashiri Nature Cruise (あばしりネイチャークルーズ): whale, dolphin and seabird watching. May 1–October 31, Friday to Sunday and holidays, 9:30 departure, 2.5–3 hours. Adults ¥8,800, online booking only; 6–20 people. Boats leave from the pier behind the Michi-no-Eki⁵¹.
• Winter: wakasagi fishing on Lake Abashiri (see festivals)²². In February you can also try drift-ice kayaking and fat-biking⁴³.
• Cycling: rental bikes from the tourist counter at the Michi-no-Eki. A cycling road runs west to Tokoro⁵².
• Skiing: the city-run Lake View ski area (レークビュースキー場) on Tento-zan has a pair lift about 800 m long, seven courses and night lighting⁶.
• Camping and farms: the Tentland auto campground opened in 1994⁶. Ōmagari Lakeside Park offers asparagus and tomato picking (ask ahead)⁴⁹.

Food experiences

• Try post-drift-ice crab, tsuri-kinki and scallops at restaurants in town¹⁹.
• Eat Ryūhyō soft-serve on the Ryūhyō-kan roof, or gelato at Gelateria Rimo²⁴.
• Join ABASHIRI Bar in autumn or the Spring Crab Battle in May⁴¹.

Ryūhyō Kaidō Abashiri (道の駅流氷街道網走)

• Location: 4-5-1 Minami 3-jō Higashi, Abashiri (網走市南3条東4丁目5-1), at the mouth of the Abashiri River on Hokkaido Road 1083 (網走港線)⁵³⁵⁴. It looks out over the Okhotsk Sea and the Shiretoko Peninsula². It is about 8 minutes by car from JR Abashiri Station⁵⁴. Abashiri Bus calls its stop here "Ryūhyō Saihyōsen Noriba (Michi-no-Eki)" (流氷砕氷船のりば（道の駅）), served by the sightseeing loop, the Memanbetsu Airport line and the Shiretoko Airport Liner⁵⁵; Japanese Wikipedia gives the stop as "Aurora Terminal" (おーろらターミナル)⁵⁴. A taxi from the station costs about ¥900⁵².
• Hours: station and shop 9:00–18:00 (the same all year since April 2026); restaurant 11:00–15:30; takeaway counter 10:00–16:00. Closed 31 December–1 January²⁵⁶. The tourist information counter inside is open 9:00–18:00; the tourism site gives its year-end closure as 29 December–3 January on one page and 30 December–5 January in its footer²⁰. As of September 2026 — check before visiting.
• Shops & products: local farm and seafood products, sweets, station goods and Abashiri pudding (網走プリン)². Also sold here: Kimigasode sake, Ryūhyō Draft beer and wakasagi tsukudani²⁰. The tourist association counter sells Nipopo dolls, Ryūhyō candy and Sakhalin Irga woodcraft²⁰.
• Food: a restaurant and takeaway counter. Signature items are the Abashiri zangi-don (fried-chicken bowl), Abashiri champon, the Abashiri Burger (made with Abashiri nagaimo, Kin-jirushi wasabi and pink salmon) and Aurora soft-serve (おーろらソフト)². The second-floor food court, Kinema-kan (キネマ館), recreates Abashiri as the Shōwa-era film location it once was²⁴⁰.
• Facilities:
  • Parking: 106 cars and 16 large vehicles, per the Hokkaido Michi-no-Eki site. Japanese Wikipedia lists 14 large vehicles and 3 accessible spaces²⁵⁴.
  • Toilets with warm-water seats, an accessible toilet, an ostomate toilet and a baby-changing table². The official page does not say whether the toilets are open 24 hours.
  • Wi-Fi, tourist information, an information corner, an observation deck, and credit card and cashless payment².
  • Rental bicycles (26 bikes, including e-bikes at ¥2,500 a day) from the tourist counter; ID and a ¥1,000 deposit are needed⁵².
  • No EV charger is listed on the official page.
• Notes:
  • Registered as a Michi-no-Eki on 10 December 2008⁵³. It opened on 19 January 2009; the building is officially the Minato Tourism Exchange Center (みなと観光交流センター)⁵⁴⁶. The area was registered as a "Minato Oasis" (port oasis) in 2010⁵⁴.
  • It is the winter terminal for the icebreaker Aurora and the summer base of the nature cruise²⁵¹. The shop and food court are run by Dōtō Kankō Kaihatsu, which also operates the Aurora⁴⁰.
  • It welcomed its 10 millionth visitor in its 17th year (2025), with a ceremony and gifts of local crab⁶.
  • The stamp can be pressed during opening hours, but not on closed days².

• Air: Memanbetsu Airport (女満別空港) in Ozora is about 30 minutes from the city by car. Buses meet arriving flights and take about 35 minutes to Abashiri Bus Terminal. For departures, the bus leaves the terminal about 70 minutes before the flight⁵².
  • Flights: New Chitose (6 a day, about 50 min), Sapporo Okadama (2 a day), Tokyo Haneda (5 a day, about 1 h 50 min), and seasonal flights to Nagoya Chūbu, Kansai and Osaka Itami. The Narita route is suspended⁵².
  • The airport handled 799,942 passengers in FY2024⁶.
• Rail: JR Abashiri Station is the end of both the Sekihoku Main Line and the Senmō Main Line⁵⁷.
  • The Limited Express Okhotsk runs two round trips a day to Sapporo. The Special Rapid Taisetsu and Rapid Kitami run to Asahikawa⁵⁷.
  • Times: Sapporo about 5 h 30 min by limited express; Asahikawa about 3 h 50 min; Kushiro about 3 h 20 min by rapid; Shiretoko-Shari about 50 min⁵².
  • Other stations in the city: Yobito (Sekihoku Line), and Katsuradai, Masuura, Mokoto and Kitahama (Senmō Line)⁵. In drift-ice season the sightseeing train Ryūhyō Monogatari runs between Abashiri and Shiretoko-Shari⁵².
• Road: National Routes 39, 238, 244 and 334 run through the city; Routes 240, 243, 239, 242 and 391 share parts of their roads⁵. By car it is about 5 h 30 min from Sapporo via the Dō-ō and Asahikawa-Monbetsu expressways and Route 450, and about 30 min from Memanbetsu via Route 39⁵².
• Highway buses: Abashiri Bus runs the Dreamint Okhotsk to Sapporo and the Chitose Okhotsk Express to New Chitose Airport. Both need reservations⁵².
• Around town:
  • Abashiri Bus runs city routes, a loop bus to the sightseeing facilities, the seasonal Shiretoko Airport Liner, and an on-demand "Doko Bus" that you book ahead⁵².
  • Taxi fares from Abashiri Station: airport about ¥6,800, Ryūhyō-kan ¥2,000, Prison Museum ¥1,700, Museum of Northern Peoples ¥1,900, Aurora Terminal ¥900, Lake Tōfutsu swan park ¥4,500. The GO taxi app works in the city from 18 June 2026⁵².
  • Rental car offices are near the station⁵².

• Drift ice: the ice usually comes ashore in early to mid-February, which is also festival time⁴³. It is never guaranteed. In 2025 it arrived only in mid-February and the Aurora sailed in ice on just 28 days¹. With no ice, the large ship cruises to Cape Notoro and the Aurora 3 is cancelled. Check the operator's daily status before you go¹⁵.
• Winter clothing: January averages a high of −2.2 °C and a low of −8.9 °C; February −2.0 °C and −9.6 °C. Wear gloves, a hat that covers your ears, and non-slip rubber soles, especially on the icebreaker⁴³.
• March and April: March can bring "doka-yuki", heavy snow that sometimes stops all transport. Roads are slushy during the thaw, so boots are wise⁴³.
• Summer and autumn: nights in June can drop below 5 °C, so pack a sweater⁴³. Sunflowers peak in mid-July and late September⁴⁹. Coral grass is red from late August to late September²¹. The salmon run peaks in October⁴³.
• Visitor centers: the tourist association has counters at the Michi-no-Eki (9:00–18:00) and at JR Abashiri Station (12:00–17:00 on weekdays; 9:00–17:00 on weekends, holidays and from 20 January to 31 March). Both close over New Year; the dates are given as 30 December–5 January in the site footer, but as 29 December–3 January on the specialty page²⁰.
• Opening days: the Museum of Northern Peoples closes on Mondays except in February and July–September. The Moyoro museum closes on Mondays from October to June¹⁸⁴. The Prison Museum is closed only on 31 December and 1 January³.
• Wildlife: foxes and deer often appear around Cape Notoro, and it is pitch dark at night, so carry a light³⁵. Feeding birds at Lake Tōfutsu has been banned since 2010 because of bird flu²³. Brown bears live in forests across eastern Hokkaido; check local notices before walking in the hills.
• Cape Notoro toilets: open 8:00–17:00 in April–October and 9:00–16:00 in November–March³⁵.