Abashiri Prison Museum

The Abashiri Prison Museum is an open-air history museum that preserves and displays buildings from the Meiji era, when the current Abashiri Keimusho Prison was still called Abashiri Kangoku. The site covers a vast area on the Abashiri Lake side of Mt. Tento, which is known as a scenic spot of the Abashiri Quasi-National Park. Eight of the relocated and restored buildings are designated as National Important Cultural Properties, six as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, and a total of 25 prison buildings, including recreated buildings, are scattered throughout the site. The exhibition shows in an easy-to-understand manner how Abashiri Prison was involved in the history of Hokkaido's development.