Hokkaido Official Tourism Site HOKKAIDO LOVE!

Opened in 1936 (Showa 11), it is one of the earliest museums in Hokkaido. The museum exhibits and explains the rich "nature" of Abashiri and the Okhotsk region, as well as the "history and culture" from ancient times to the present.

In 2019 (Reiwa 1), the museum building itself was registered as a tangible cultural property of Japan.

Come to the Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples to learn about life in northern climates throughout the world. Taking a comparative approach, this museum features the Okhotsk and Ainu cultures of Japan, as well as groups in Greenland and Northern Europe. With over 900 artifacts arranged thematically on display, visitors can discover how people in northern regions have adapted to their landscape. For a more hands-on experience, daily activities offer the chance to try traditional clothing and crafts, and regular events throughout the year focus on different cultures. As a result of this global perspective, multi-lingual audio guides are available for non-Japanese speakers.

This is an exhibition hall themed around drift ice and the creatures of the Sea of Okhotsk. Visitors can experience Okhotsk winter throughout the year in the drift ice experience room, where real drift ice is kept at minus 15 degrees Celsius. Visitors will be amazed at the adorable creatures on display, such as the clione, known as the “drift ice angel,” the balloon fish, and the sea slug. From the Tentozan Observatory, which is located next to the museum, visitors can enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Shiretoko Mountain Range, a World Natural Heritage site, as well as the changing scenery of the four seasons. This spectacular view has been designated as a national cultural asset and a “place of scenic beauty.

Step back in time and explore Japan’s only full-scale prison museum—the Abashiri Prison Museum. This open-air museum preserves and showcases actual buildings from the former Abashiri Prison, including cell blocks, the administration office, and a chapel, all relocated and restored. Set within a vast site in Abashiri, Hokkaido, the museum is home to 8 structures designated as Important Cultural Properties and 6 registered Tangible Cultural Properties, making it a rare and historically valuable destination.

One of the museum’s most remarkable highlights is the Cell Block and Central Guard House, designated as an Important Cultural Property. Five wooden wings radiate outward from a central watchtower, allowing guards to monitor all hallways at once—a unique design from the Meiji period. This is the oldest existing wooden radial prison building in the world, and the only one of its kind still standing in Japan. The complex once housed 226 cells, and some of them are open to visitors, allowing for an immersive, first-hand look into the life of a Meiji-era prisoner.

The museum also features many other captivating buildings, such as the Administration Office, painted in a distinctive pale blue and gray; the Futamigaoka Branch Prison, which was constructed as a self-sustaining facility; and the Chapel, showcasing an elegant blend of Japanese and Western architectural styles. In the on-site theater, a three-screen immersive video recreates the grueling road construction work carried out by inmates—offering a sobering glimpse into their harsh conditions.

No visit is complete without a stop at the Prison Cafeteria, where you can try a recreated meal served to current inmates at Abashiri Prison. You’ll also find a museum shop featuring exclusive merchandise and a local specialty store offering Hokkaido-made souvenirs—making it a memorable and satisfying sightseeing experience for all.

This building once housed administration and research facilities for Kitami, Hokkaido’s mint industry. In its heyday, this site contributed significantly to the development of the Kitami region and once accounted for a staggering 70 % of the world’s market for mint. It is now open to the public as a free museum that commemorates this fascinating history. Exhibits include machinery used in factories of the bygone era as well as informative video presentations. Don’t miss the Distillation Hall which offers visitors a glimpse of the process by which mint was extracted.

An aquarium where you can see fish behaving naturally in an environment close to their natural habitat. In Japan's first tank where you can look up at a waterfall from below, you can observe fish swimming desperately against the strong current. Additionally, the large tank where taimen over 1 meter long swim is the largest taimen tank in Japan and is truly impressive. There are also unique exhibits such as tanks that freeze like natural rivers in winter, allowing you to see rare displays that are not usually visible.

A well-known hot spring known by those in the know with a history of over 100 years. All of the hot spring water is free-flowing from the source, and is known for its anti-aging properties and skin whitening and beautifying properties. One-day bathing is also available, making it a great place to casually enjoy the hot spring on a road trip. The area is also dotted with places famous for their flowers, such as Ezomurasaki azalea in early May and Japanese honeysuckle in summer, and the Nezu-no-oka Garden offers a variety of flowers from spring to summer.

The important cultural property "Artifacts from the Shirataki Site Cluster in Hokkaido," owned by Engaru Town and exhibited at the Buried Cultural Property Center, was designated as a National Treasure in 2023. This is the second National Treasure designation in Hokkaido, following the "Hollow Clay Figurine" in Hakodate City, and the first for Paleolithic materials! The stone tools excavated from the Shirataki Site Cluster are among the best in quality and quantity of Paleolithic artifacts in Japan, allowing you to see up close the luster of obsidian and the sharp-edged stone tools from 20,000 years ago. Additionally, there is the Engaru Town Shirataki Geopark Exchange Center, which explains the story of the birth of obsidian, one of the largest obsidian production areas in Japan, through exhibits and videos. Be sure to visit and see one of the only two National Treasures in Hokkaido!

Designated as a Hokkaido Heritage site, this is one of Japan's largest primeval flower gardens. The long and narrow sandbar on the eastern side, which separates the Sea of Okhotsk and Lake Saroma with only a small opening, is also known as "Ryugu Kaido". This coastal grassland, spanning 200 to 700 meters in width, approximately 20 kilometers in length, and about 700 hectares in area, is rich in nature and displays beautiful scenery in each of the four seasons. Especially from June to August, over 300 species of vibrant flowers such as Rugosa rose, Lilium pensylvanicum, and False indigo bloom across the area in magnificent display. While vehicles are prohibited from entering the garden to protect the natural environment, you can rent bicycles from the Wakka Nature Center on the east coast and leisurely enjoy nature walks.

This facility introduces drift ice from various angles, and the images of drift ice on the dome-shaped screen are particularly powerful! In the “Severe Cold Experience Room,” where temperatures are kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius all year round, visitors can experience the Okhotsk winter even in the middle of summer. In addition, visitors can always observe clione, the “floating angels of drift ice,” floating in the water.