Abashiri Prison Museum

This outdoor, barrier-free site over three times larger than Tokyo Dome showcases buildings from the original Abashiri Prison, making it one of the most unique museums in Japan. The oldest of the buildings was built about 120 years ago, and the logs used for the pillars and beams were sawed without machinery by inmates, resulting in a rough finish that visitors can still see today. The museum includes eight buildings that have been designated as nationally important cultural properties as well as a movie theater where visitors can have a virtual reality experience of historical prison labor. There are also free guided tours, a chance to taste authentic prison meals, and a museum shop where items constructed by prison inmates themselves are sold.