Monbetsu, Coastal city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Japan
Monbetsu sits on the northeast coast of Hokkaidō, facing the Sea of Okhotsk with its harbor and fishing facilities. The shoreline shows low buildings, warehouses near the water, and breakwaters separating the port area from the open sea.
The settlement began in 1889 as an administrative post and grew through fishing and trade with islands to the north. It gained town status in 1919 and merged with neighboring communities in 1954 to form a larger administrative unit.
The settlement takes its name from the Ainu word Mopet, meaning quiet river, which recalls the first people who lived along this coast. This linguistic link still appears in several geographic names throughout the area.
The airport connects the city daily to Tōkyō, while buses run regularly to Sapporo and Asahikawa. Winter visitors should bring warm clothing, as strong winds blow from the sea and temperatures drop sharply.
The Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum holds a frozen aquarium where visitors see fish embedded in a layer of ice and enter a room cooled to minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20 Celsius). The room allows wet towels to freeze solid in seconds, letting people feel the winter cold of the region.
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