Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples, Ethnographic museum in Abashiri, Japan.
The Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples is an ethnographic museum in Abashiri that displays over 900 objects from cultures spanning Greenland to Northern Europe, organized in themed exhibitions. The displays cover different aspects of life in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions in a systematic way.
The museum was founded in 1991 to preserve and present the cultures of indigenous northern communities. Since then, it has served as Japan's main institution dedicated to this purpose.
The permanent collection displays traditional clothing, hunting equipment, and household objects that show how people in cold regions solved everyday problems. These items tell stories about how communities lived and adapted in harsh climates.
The museum is located within Hokkaido Okhotsk Park and is easy for visitors to reach. Audio guides in English help visitors explore the exhibitions at their own pace.
The museum houses a fully reconstructed winter dwelling of Alaskan Natives, built with authentic construction methods and traditional materials that let visitors imagine daily life inside an Arctic home. This is one of few chances to see this type of housing culture in Japan.
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