Abashiri is a port town on the Okhotsk Sea coast of north-eastern Hokkaido, and its fame rests on two things: ice and a prison. From about late January to March, drift ice from the Amur river region far to the north arrives on the current and fills the sea, and boats take visitors out through the floes in a ship with a reinforced bow. The sea goes quiet, white and creaking, a landscape that feels like the edge of the world.
The prison belongs to the late nineteenth century. When Hokkaido was being opened up by the Meiji government, convicts were used as labour to build roads and railways, and Abashiri became one of the harshest places they were sent. The old wooden buildings now serve as a museum, and a modern prison still operates nearby. It adds a sombre note to a town otherwise known for seafood, with crab, scallops and salmon roe on every menu, and for the lakes on the doorstep, Lake Abashiri and the wide, shallow Lake Notoro.
About forty-two thousand people live here, so fuel, shops and a good choice of places to eat and sleep are close, which is why it works so well as the beginning of a ride east to the Shiretoko Peninsula. The roads leading out of town run across broad plains with potato and beet fields, long straights and gentle bends, and the pace is relaxed. Distances here are large, and the sea breeze can be strong, so gusts and cool temperatures should be expected even in summer.
The best season is summer, when wildflowers run along the coast, especially in the coastal meadows of the Okhotsk, and the light is long. September offers clear air and fewer riders, while winter belongs to those prepared for ice and snow. Before heading east, take a few minutes at the harbour, check the weather for the peninsula, and eat something substantial, because the next stretch of the route runs into wilder country.