Japan Guide
Hokkaidō
Abashiri
Bordered by a couple of pretty lakes and overlooked by Mount Tento-zen, the fishing port of ABASHIRI, 350km from Sapporo, is best visited in the dead of winter, when snow covers the less appealing modern parts of the town, whooper swans fly in to winter at Lake Tofutsu a few kilometres east of the harbour, and drift ice (ryūhyō) floats across the Sea of Okhotsk. By February, the sea is coated in a remarkable sheet of blue-white ice that stretches as far as the eye can see.
The ideal way to witness this astonishing phenomenon is to hop aboard the Aurora, an ice-breaking sightseeing boat, for a one-hour tour (Jan 20 to the first Sun in April daily; 
0152/43-6000; ¥3000), which departs four to seven times a day, depending on the month and the weather. The boat cracks through the ice sheets, throwing up huge chunks, some more than 1m thick. You may well spot seals and eagles lounging on the floating white slabs.
For a taste of the extremes of winter in Abashiri, head for the modern and informative Okhotsk Ryūhyō Museum (daily: April– Oct 8am–6pm; Jan– March, Nov & Dec 9am–4.30pm; 
www.ryuhyokan.com ; ¥520). The interesting Hokkaidō Museum of Northern Peoples (Tues– Sun 9.30am–4.30pm; hoppohm.org ; ¥450) has contemporary displays on the native peoples of northern Eurasia and America.