Abashiri Prison Museum
The Abashiri Prison Museum (博物館網走監獄) in Yobito, Abashiri City, Hokkaido, opens to the public the prison buildings moved here from 1981 when Abashiri Prison was rebuilt (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The three buildings of the former Abashiri Prison, rebuilt in 1912, and five of the former Futamigaoka branch are each designated an Important Cultural Property, and six gates, guardhouses and a cell are Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs). They are owned by the Abashiri Prison Preservation Foundation.
The Prison and the Prison Farm
The former Abashiri Prison, designed by the Ministry of Justice and built by the inmates, has cell wings radiating from a central watch post, the only complete timber radial cell block to survive. The Futamigaoka branch was opened in 1896 as a farm to make the prison self-sufficient and was moved to the museum in 1999, a rare group of prison buildings with a farm (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Gates, Guardhouses and a Cell
The brick back gate of 1919 was built by inmates with tuff quarried inside the prison. The guardhouses of 1912 from the back gate, both ends of the Kagami Bridge and the west gate are small hexagonal posts that could watch every way, finished with domed roofs or cloud-shaped trim, and the thick-walled brick solitary cell is a rare Meiji penal building (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each is described on its own page.
Visiting
According to the museum website, it is open from 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:00); admission is 1,500 yen for adults, 1,000 yen for high-school students and 750 yen for primary and junior high school pupils.
References
- Former Abashiri Prison (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/00004830
- Former Abashiri Prison Futamigaoka Branch (Futamigaoka Farm) (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/00004833
- Abashiri Prison Museum Back Gate (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009255
- Abashiri Prison Museum Back Gate Guardhouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009256
- Abashiri Prison Museum Kagami Bridge Entrance Guardhouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009252
- Abashiri Prison Museum Kagami Bridge Exit Guardhouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009253
- Abashiri Prison Museum West Gate Guardhouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009254
- Abashiri Prison Museum Brick Solitary Cell (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009251
- Abashiri Prison Museum (official website, in Japanese)
- https://www.kangoku.jp/
Last verified: 2026.10.26
Basic Information
| Name | Abashiri Prison Museum |
|---|---|
| Location | Yobito, Abashiri City, Hokkaido |
| Owner | Abashiri Prison Preservation Foundation |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (2) · Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (6) |
| Coordinates | 43.99594, 144.22972 |
