You can touch real drift ice at any time in the room to experience freezing temperature at -20°C of the Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum! There were also a lot of swimming “Clione,” the angel of drift ice!

The Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum (GIZA) in Monbetsu City, Hokkaido, is a facility where you can experience the world of drift ice all year round. You can touch real drift ice in an extremely cold space at -20°C and see the angel of drift ice “Clione.” Since gloves and warm clothing are available for rent, you can visit the museum dressing light clothes. The origin of the nickname of the museum “GIZA” is the exterior of the building that has jagged curves (such jagged curves are expressed as giza-giza in Japanese) like drift ice.

Currently, Garinko-go is operated as a drift-ice sightseeing boat, but it is originally manufactured as an icebreaker ship (AST/Archimedean Screw Tractor) that was used for transportation on the ocean covered with drift ice during the Sakhalin oil field development project. The two screws at the hull bottom of the ship rotate to move on the sea or ice. At the Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum, AST001, the prototype of the Garinko-go, and ship models of past Garinko-go are on display.

Incidentally, the Okhotsk Tower, an iced ocean observation tower, off the coast of Mombetsu, is now a tourist facility, but it was originally constructed as a drift ice observation facility to measure the force of the drifting ice acting on the platform of the offshore oil field.

In the room to experience freezing temperature at -20°C in the Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum, you can see and touch the drift ice collected during winter all year round.

The exhibition of frozen fishes in the Sea of Okhotsk is very famous and is called the “Drift Ice Aquarium.”

You can also enjoy the experiential events that make wet towel stiffen and blow frozen soap bubbles in the freezing temperature.

You can observe Clione, a type of sea snail known as the “Angel of Drift Ice,” all year round. The Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum is recognized as the expert organization in the field of Clione research, and has the largest number of exhibitions in Japan.

In the immediate vicinity of the Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum, a monument to the crab claw with a height of 12 meters, a width of 6 meters and a weight of 7 tons is erected. It is a famous place for photogenic spot that you must stop by when you visit Monbetsu City.

Access to Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum (GIZA)

It takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes from Haneda Airport to Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport.

About 10 minutes by taxi from Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport to Okhotsk Drift Ice Science Center. Alternatively, it takes about 10 minutes by loacal bus from Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport bus stop to Okhotsk Tower Iriguchi bus stop.

It takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes from Haneda Airport to Shin-Chitose Airport.

It takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes from Itami Airport to Shin-Chitose Airport.

It takes about 40 minutes from Shin-Chitose Airport to JR Sapporo Station on the Chitose Line (rapid train). It takes about 4 hours and 30 minutes from JR Sapporo Station Bus Terminal to Monbetsu Bus Terminal by highway bus (Ryuhyo Monbetsu-go). It takes about 10 minutes by local bus from Monbetsu Bus Terminal to Okhotsk Tower Iriguchi Bus Stop.

It takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes from Haneda Airport to Asahikawa Airport.

It takes about 35 minutes from Asahikawa Airport to JR Asahikawa Station by airport shuttle bus. It takes about 3 hours by highway bus from JR Asahikawa Station to Monbetsu Bus Terminal. It takes about 10 minutes by local bus from t Monbetsu Bus Terminal to the Okhotsk Tower Iriguchi bus stop.

Get off at Okhotsk Tower Iriguchi bus stop and walk for about 5 minutes.