Each winter, pack ice formed near the Amur River in Russia drifts south to coat the Sea of Okhotsk coast around Abashiri, creating the world's southernmost sea ice accessible to visitors on foot. The Notoro Misaki cape and Abashiri's shore provide open viewing points where the grinding, shifting ice sheets arrive with a low rumble and stack several metres high on the beach. On clear days the drift ice extends to the horizon as a white plain, and Steller's sea eagles often perch on large floes. The phenomenon typically begins in late January and lasts through mid-March.
- Type
- Experience
- Category
- Nature
- Season
- Winter
- Month
- Late January to mid-March
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Prefecture
- Hokkaido
- City
- Abashiri
Highlights
- ◆World's southernmost drift ice coastline accessible on foot
- ◆Ice floes stacking metres high on the shore
- ◆Steller's sea eagle and white-tailed eagle sightings on floes
- ◆Notoro Misaki cape panoramic drift ice vista
- ◆Best combined with Okhotsk Ryuhyo-kan drift ice museum visit