Both visually stunning and essential to daily life, Abashiri's drift ice is truly a blessing from the Siberian winter.
Drift ice is a dramatic attraction for winter visitors, but it has always been an integral part of life for the people of Abashiri. Because ships can no longer leave the harbor when the ocean is covered in ice, the arrival of the drift ice signals an extended holiday from fishing. During this time, the drift ice promises to bring in plentiful nourishment in the coming year in the form of a bountiful catch. Citizens also enjoy the time of the drift ice by making drinks with it, catching "drift ice angels" (cliones), and other fun activities.
If you listen carefully, you can hear the creak, creak of the colliding ice, or the "song of the drift ice". It is said that on quiet nights, the sound can be so loud as to startle those who hear it. The drift ice takes a completely different form and gives an entirely new impression on each viewing, and experiencing each of these transformations is what truly appreciating drift ice is all about.
When the Hokkaido winter comes to Abashiri City, blowing icy wind that stings the cheeks, it signals that the drift ice is on its way. The ice arrives driven by the Siberian north wind, transforming the bleak winter Okhotsk Sea into a white panorama.
It all begins when the surface of the ocean freezes upon contact with the approaching drift ice, creating the hasu-kōri, or "lotus ice". The lotus ice is patterned in fine interwoven strands like the leaves of a lotus flower--so thin that looks as if it would shatter on contact. The ice slowly packs together, and the drift ice soon arrives. The ice may also crash into other ice and be cut by waves into sculpted shapes known as "anvil ice".
The drift ice can usually be spotted from the coast around the end of January, arriving at the shore around the first of February. The Okhotsk Sea then remains covered in drift ice for about a month. Looking down from an elevated vantage point such as Notoro-Misaki, one sees a vast, pure white world resembling endless snow-covered fields. Going down to the beach, one can touch the drift ice that has washed onshore, or board an icebreaker for different experience: a dynamic journey into the ice fields themselves.
The drift ice can go through numerous transformations in the span of a single day. On clear days it reflects the sky, turning a soft blue in the daytime and coloring orange at dusk--creating a magical atmosphere that is nearly impossible to describe. The drift ice itself continues to move slowly, never keeping the same shape. Sometimes, drift ice that covers the entire seascape can disappear by morning with a southerly overnight wind.
Abashiri City Tourism Section
http://abashiri.jp/tabinavi/index.html
