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[From Kansai] Hokkaido Drift Ice Tour 2025 | Hokkaido Travel / Hokkaido Tour
Club Tourism 's special feature on tours to see drift ice! With a tour guide, you'll be well supported! We introduce recommended sightseeing tours to see drift ice, drift ice information in Hokkaido (Abashiri, Monbetsu, Shiretoko, Rausu, etc.), videos, and drift ice breaker sightseeing boats "Garinko-go" and "Aurora". It's easy to search for and apply for tours.
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Recommended by our staff
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Enjoy drift ice and the snow festival at the same time
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A low-altitude tour of drift ice from the sky
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A spectacular Cruise to see drift ice and wildlife
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Stay in Shiretoko
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A luxurious trip with a view of drift ice from your room!
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Other recommended drift ice tours
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Royal Grand Stage Shiki-no-Hana: Premium Travel Experience
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Solo-Only Travel
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Where can you see drift ice?
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Introducing how to enjoy drift ice
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Drift ice trivia
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FAQ
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Watch the video! Drift ice tour
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There's more! Hokkaido Special
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Related Features
Tours recommended by our staff
A special tour to enjoy drift ice and the snow festival at the same time
It'll be there again this year!
A low-altitude charter tour of drift ice to view it from the sky!
A hot topic!
A spectacular Cruise to see drift ice and wildlife!
2025 marks the 20th anniversary of Shiretoko registration as a World Natural Heritage Site!
Tour staying in Shiretoko
A luxurious trip with a view of drift ice from your room!
Other recommended drift ice tours
Solo-Only Travel
Where can you see drift ice?
Introducing how to enjoy drift ice
View from the boat
Garinko-go (Monbetsu)
The Garinko, which departs from Monbetsu, is equipped with a screw at the front of the boat.
The sound of the Garinko crunching through the drift ice as it moves forward is one of the thrills of the ride!
*This service may not be available depending on Departure Place.
Drift ice icebreaker Aurora (Abashiri)
The drift icebreaker "Aurora" has a hull twice as thick as a normal ship, and breaks the ice with gravity to move forward. You can hear the sound of the ice hitting the hull, which is very exciting.
*This service may not be available depending on Departure Place.
Nemuro Strait Cruise (Rausu)
Very popular with repeat customers!
Drift ice also visits Rausu, a town on the edge of the world. If you take a sightseeing boat out onto the sea of drift ice, you will enter a primordial world where Steller's sea eagles and white-tailed eagles, designated as national treasures, fly and seals swim. There is a 99% chance of encountering a Steller's sea eagle or white-tailed eagle! You will be fascinated by the sight of these wild animals living so powerfully in the frigid land. (The encounter rate is based on a survey by Shiretoko Nature Cruise /2021)
*This service may not be available depending on Departure Place.
View from the train
Drift Ice Train (Abashiri)
This train runs between JR Abashiri Station and Shiretoko Station. Kitahama Station in particular faces Sea of Okhotsk, so you'll want to take a picture of it. You can Other see the beautiful scenery of the drift ice in Sea of Okhotsk and Shiretoko mountain range.
*This service may not be available depending on Departure Place.
Walking on drift ice
Drift Ice Walk (Shiretoko Utoro)
The drift ice that flows south from the Amur River in the Sea Sea of Okhotsk hits Shiretoko Peninsula and comes up the coast, so Shiretoko is said to be an area where you have a high chance of encountering drift ice.
*This service may not be available depending on Departure Place.
View from the inn
Some hotels in Shiretoko Utoro Onsen offer views of the drift ice from the hotel lobby or open-air baths.
You can relax and enjoy the magnificent view of Sea of Okhotsk.
*This service may not be available depending on Departure Place.
Drift ice trivia
How is drift ice formed?
Drift ice is born near the mouth of the Amur River in Russia, about 1,000 km away from Hokkaido. Blown by the wind and carried by ocean currents, it gradually grows and washes over the coast of Sea of Okhotsk.
So why does the ocean freeze?
Sea of Okhotsk has a double layer structure with lightly salted seawater up to 50m above the surface and heavy, highly salty water below that, so it reaches the freezing temperature of -1.8°C in a short time, which is why drift ice can be seen every year. In the deep Sea of Japan, the seawater takes a long time to convect, so spring arrives before the temperature drops to -1.8°C, and drift ice does not form.
Is drift ice salty?
The salt content of drift ice is around 0.5%, which is less than 1/6 of that of seawater, so drift ice, which is made from frozen seawater, is not as salty as you might think.
When ice crystals stick together and grow, salty seawater that is difficult to freeze is left behind. As the ice crystallizes, its volume increases, so the salt content of the drift ice gradually decreases. There are many "salt holes" in the drift ice, so it is easier to break than normal ice.
Clione - Ice Fairy
Clione is called this from its scientific name "Clione limacina", but in Japanese it is called "Hadakamegai". Clione is called "Hadakamegai" because it is a type of shellless shellfish (a snail shell with a shell like a turtle's shell).
When they are newborn babies, they have shells just like other shells, but after a while these degenerate and disappear.
They are sometimes sold in pet shops, but they are apparently difficult to raise.
Past drift ice records * Surveyed by the Abashiri Regional Meteorological Observatory and Monbetsu City
[First day of drift ice]
The day drift ice was first spotted at the weather station
2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
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Abashiri |
Jan. 17th |
Jan. 24th |
Feb. 2 |
Jan. 19th |
Monbetsu |
Jan. 20 |
Jan. 20 |
Feb. 5 |
Jan. 19th |
[First day of docking]
The first day that drift ice came ashore and ships could no longer navigate.
2021 |
2022 |
2023 | 2024 |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Abashiri |
Jan. 31 |
Feb. 3 |
Feb. 10 |
Jan. 22nd |
Monbetsu |
Jan. 26th |
Jan. 21st |
Feb. 9 |
Jan. 22nd |
FAQ
We will determine whether re-booking is possible during your travel period, and if you are unable to board, we will offer to take you to alternative tourist sites nearby.
Watch the video! Drift ice tour
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