By MASAFUMI KAMIMURA/ Staff Writer
January 22, 2024 at 14:11 JST
ABASHIRI, Hokkaido--The sightseeing icebreaker Aurora was filled with excited tourists on Jan. 21 enjoying up-close views of the first drift ice of the season off the coast here.
The ice signals the onset of winter in the coastal areas of the Sea of Okhotsk in Hokkaido.
Sightseeing buses lined up in the parking lot of a roadside station serving as the boarding area for the boat that day, the first Sunday since the tour began this season.
Although the drift ice had moved farther out, it was still within the cruising range for the boat and 240 people boarded the icebreaker, which departed at 11 a.m. for a one-hour cruise.
“It would have been nice to see a little more drift ice and some animals, but it was a lot of fun,” said a 37-year-old company employee from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, who boarded the ship with three other family members.
On Jan. 19, the Abashiri Local Meteorological Office confirmed that drift ice could be spotted from land with the naked eye for the first time this season. It was three days earlier than usual and 14 days earlier than last year.
The drift ice approached Abashiri Port on Jan. 20, from which the Aurora departs. It was the first time since 2015 that the icebreaker could sail through the drift ice on its first day of operations.
The Japan Meteorological Agency’s sea ice forecast calls for the drift ice scattered around the coast of Abashiri and northward to approach other coasts by around Jan. 28.
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The sightseeing icebreaker Aurora moves along in the Sea of Okhotsk off the coast of Abashiri, Hokkaido, on Jan. 21. (Masafumi Kamimura)
