Abashiri Prison Museum
Abashiri Prison Museum
4.5
About
Abashiri prison museum is a open air museum .We had linked with Abashiri city since Meiji period.This is located in nearthe mount Tento, and has three and a half tiwes bigger site than Tokyo Dome.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingFull view
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
206 within 3 miles
Attractions
57 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
794 reviews
Excellent
339
Very good
369
Average
83
Poor
2
Terrible
1
Martina1888
Inverness, UK513 contributions
Sep 2023 • Solo
An outdoor museum that covers different historical stages of the former Abashiri Prison. At the entrance you get a map with a suggested tour among the builings. A lot of the displays are in English and some of the videos have an English option, too. The daily lives are depicted by (slighty creepy) wax figures. You can easily spend 2-3 hours in this fascinating museum.
Written September 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mid60sCouple
Honolulu, HI72 contributions
Jul 2018 • Couples
The Abashiri prion museum provides tourists with a good understanding of how harsh life was like for hundreds of prisoners sent to Abashiri prison during the late 1800s and beyond. All aspects of prison life are shown in the vast displays and actual buildings on the museum grounds. Instead of just buildings and empty rooms, the museum uses life like mannequins to display prisoners and guards doing different activities. Such displays really depicted the harshness of reality for the poor souls sentenced to work and somehow survive in Abashiri prison. Many died from the harshness of the guards and the environment that they had to endure. It was a miserable life for the prisoners. But they are credited with building major roads and buildings for Hokkaido to develop its commerce and economic prosperity that they enjoy today. It's a remarkable story and a must see site in Abashiri.
Written July 23, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Seneca W
Hong Kong, China110 contributions
Oct 2019 • Family
With jpy100 we bought a little stamp booklet for our kids to do tracking and collecting stamps. A well organised museum with interesting demonstration with those wax figures. They look so real in the dim lights!
And dont forget to take the prisoner photo sticker, and try the prisoner meal set.
And dont forget to take the prisoner photo sticker, and try the prisoner meal set.
Written October 29, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Esther Y
Singapore, Singapore62 contributions
Aug 2019
This is one of the must see in Abashiri.
Take the one- day shuttle bus from the train station - it's just outside the fast food restaurant opposite Toyoko Inn. The shuttle bus covers the main sightsee areas but due to timing of the bus, one can at most visit 3 of the places along the route - including the Prison museum, Ice Flow museum and Native museum.
First stop for the bus is the Prison museum - note that the bus stops at the present day prison before proceeding to the Prison museum. The museum itself is a huge ground and takes at least one hour to walk through and understand the past.
Although there were lots of tourists, the grounds have a quiet and somber feeling. First thing that one enters is a small bridge - the purpose is for one to look upon the waters that reflect one's image... a reflection of one's own deeds as well.
One can try the local dishes at the restaurant but it's not the prison meal featured in it's website, as I was told it's not available. Anyway, better to catch the shuttle bus to the next destination, before everything closes at 5 pm.
Take the one- day shuttle bus from the train station - it's just outside the fast food restaurant opposite Toyoko Inn. The shuttle bus covers the main sightsee areas but due to timing of the bus, one can at most visit 3 of the places along the route - including the Prison museum, Ice Flow museum and Native museum.
First stop for the bus is the Prison museum - note that the bus stops at the present day prison before proceeding to the Prison museum. The museum itself is a huge ground and takes at least one hour to walk through and understand the past.
Although there were lots of tourists, the grounds have a quiet and somber feeling. First thing that one enters is a small bridge - the purpose is for one to look upon the waters that reflect one's image... a reflection of one's own deeds as well.
One can try the local dishes at the restaurant but it's not the prison meal featured in it's website, as I was told it's not available. Anyway, better to catch the shuttle bus to the next destination, before everything closes at 5 pm.
Written September 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
krocchi
Singapore, Singapore1,430 contributions
Jan 2019 • Couples
We recommend staying 1-2 hours in this museum. During the time we went, there were not many tourists around. It was interesting to see the current prison cell layout and compare it with the old prison cells. The place had enough English guide and was very educative. You're able to enter the cells to experience how it was like. There is also a restaurant outside the museum that serves the prison meal that the inmates had last time.
Written January 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WaipahuTraveler
Hawaii88 contributions
Jun 2018 • Family
Okay, it's not on an island, but it is a perfectly preserved and reconstructed feudal era prison. Very well maintained with recreations of prison life. There is even a restaurant on site that serves "prison style" lunches. The lunches were actually quite good. Definitely not my idea of prison food. A nice way to spend 60-90 minutes.
Written June 26, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John
Leavenworth, KS1,300 contributions
Feb 2018 • Couples
If you like prisons, like old buildings, are a history buff and like studying the Great Game (Russian and British efforts at hegemony in the Himalayas) and other counters to Russian expansion, or just like studying Japan’s colonization patterns in Hokkaido, this is a treasure museum. It takes about two hours to walk through the 20 plus buildings. My wife and I visited in the dead of winter and marveled on how hard the prisoners had it in this wilderness. The museum, along with the Tonden History Museum in Yubetsu, provide hands-on views of the deprivation and hardships of early Hokkaido settlers. I first read about the settlement of Hokkaido in Ann Irish’s book Hokkaido: A History of Ethnic Transition and Development on Japan's Northern Island. Although the museum allows visitors to enter up to an hour before closing time, I suggest you get here early in the day so that you can spend as much time as you want exploring the many buildings. Although this is called a museum, it is more like Mejij Mura or the Sapporo Historical Village, a collection of restored buildings and the grounds surrounding them. Visited 2/19/2018
Written February 21, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TAKLAYTON
Melbourne, Australia76 contributions
Apr 2016 • Couples
We enjoyed this museum. Very interesting to learn about prisons in Japan have been like.
It is worth a visit and would recommend to others who visit Abashiri.
It is worth a visit and would recommend to others who visit Abashiri.
Written May 28, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lily
.1,877 contributions
Feb 2013 • Couples
The old prison museum is compelling & well worth the short bus ride out here from the city centre. A visit involves walking around a number of old & reconstructed out buildings on the prison grounds. You can go inside all of the buildings. It is fascinating to see how the prisoners survived this harsh experience. For Australians it may be reminiscent of the Port Arthur concept but for most of Abashiri's prisoners being political and the conditions being arctic-like. Some buildings contain mannequins and sound effects to recreate the atmosphere. Don't miss the escaping prisoner up in the rafters. Visiting in the depth of Winter will have you in awe of how anyone survived their time here. The thermometer showed it was sub-zero inside the buildings!
Signage is in English (grammatical errors never bothered me) and there's also a brochure given out with a map (as other reviewers mentioned.) Allow yourself plenty of time to wander the grounds. There is a cafeteria/ restaurant out near the entrance where you can get ramen to warm yourself up.
Take note of the advice on the bus routes as it isn't very clear which direction they are heading and you can easily miss out on the Museum of Northern Peoples further up the road if your bus heads back towards the station. (In Winter there's just too much ice & snow to walk.)
Note the museum does not allow use of phones, requests that you "Please refrain from coming with shoes which make big noise." and otherwise encourages you to be respectful and quiet on the grounds.
Signage is in English (grammatical errors never bothered me) and there's also a brochure given out with a map (as other reviewers mentioned.) Allow yourself plenty of time to wander the grounds. There is a cafeteria/ restaurant out near the entrance where you can get ramen to warm yourself up.
Take note of the advice on the bus routes as it isn't very clear which direction they are heading and you can easily miss out on the Museum of Northern Peoples further up the road if your bus heads back towards the station. (In Winter there's just too much ice & snow to walk.)
Note the museum does not allow use of phones, requests that you "Please refrain from coming with shoes which make big noise." and otherwise encourages you to be respectful and quiet on the grounds.
Written April 24, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
frandango
Long Eaton, UK65 contributions
Sep 2019 • Couples
This is an interesting museum in Hokkaido, where aspects of prison life are depicted in several main buildings. We did not have time to visit all of them, but saw the main panopticon prison building with its corridors of cells stretching away from the central guard post. We also looked at the recreation hall, furnished with benches made by the prisoners.
The gardens surrounding the buildings are beautiful at this time of year, showing autumn colours in the many trees.
The shop has a good range of T-shirts with appropriate prison slogans on them.
Very well worth a stop here.
The gardens surrounding the buildings are beautiful at this time of year, showing autumn colours in the many trees.
The shop has a good range of T-shirts with appropriate prison slogans on them.
Very well worth a stop here.
Written September 30, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Theresa D
Perth, Australia1,053 contributions
How do we get to the prison from Abashiri Station in January?
Chaoshun Hsu
Taipei, Taiwan128 contributions
You can take a bus and check time schedule on the website of the prison.
But I would suggest you to take a taxi due to time saving.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listingAbashiri Prison Museum
Frequently Asked Questions about Abashiri Prison Museum
- Hotels near Abashiri Prison Museum:
- (0.32 mi) Abashiri Kanko Hotel
- (0.35 mi) Farm Inn Anima no Sato
- (0.34 mi) Hotel View Park Yuyutei
- (0.84 mi) Auberge Kita no Dandan
- (1.03 mi) Hotel Abashirikoso
- Restaurants near Abashiri Prison Museum:
- (0.04 mi) Kangoku Shokudo
- (0.48 mi) Cafe Grass Roots
- (0.82 mi) Kita No Dan Dan Dining Room Aya
- (0.82 mi) Auberge Kita No Dandan Restaurant Sho
- (0.98 mi) Wani No Ie
- Attractions near Abashiri Prison Museum:
- (0.03 mi) Abashiri Prison Museum Marine Hokkaido Shop
- (0.56 mi) Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples
- (0.62 mi) Okhotsk Ryu-hyo Museum
- (0.62 mi) Tentozan Viewing Platform
- (0.59 mi) Abashiri Lakeview Ski Resort