Did you get excited to find sea glass on beaches in your childhood? You can enjoy that feeling again with "Jewelry Ice" in Toyokoro Town, located on the Southern coastline of the Eastern Hokkaido. This natural art cannot be found in anywhere else in Japan (and probably in the world), but only in this specific beach. It is made possible due to unique geographical features with which river ice is drifted into the sea from a river mouth beside the beach, continuously polished by waves and washed up on the beach at the end.
Though it varies every year, the best season to take a journey is between mid January and late February. I visited here with my parents in early March in 2018 expecting not much left on the beach, but we still found plenty of them! (Look at my happy face, I was begging my parents for this trip for a year before I moved to Geneva.)
We started from Kitami, stayed over night in Obihiro and drove to the beach for an hour in the next morning. I highly recommend you to visit here in the early morning, preferably aiming at sunrise. The ice shines so beautiful with the morning sunshine, and there are obviously less people so that you can enjoy hunting your favorite shape of ice and get a shot of it from the best angle. Make sure to dress in layers, because it's windy and freezing on the beach side. But I promise it's totally worth it!
There is no public transportation to reach this place; however, tour buses and taxis will be available during the season. When you get to the beach, keep walking on to the left and you will see more and larger ice as you get closer to the river.
Jewelry Ice in Toyokoro Town
When to visit: Mid January - Late February
Admission Fee: Free
Access: one hour from Obihiro, an hour and half from Kushiro, 4 hours from Sapporo by car
