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 At the northeastern corner of the Japanese archipelago lies Hokkaido. Almost dead center on its northeastern coastline, which stretches about 400 km along the Sea of Okhotsk, is the city of Mombetsu. Flying out of Tokyo International Airport, we touched down about an hour and forty minutes later at inland-Hokkaido's Asahikawa Airport, then boarded a bus for a three-hour ride to Mombetsu. Although it was the snow season, the main roads had been cleared and the bus trip was refreshing.
Mombetsu is built around a harbor,so its main industries are, of course,related to fishing. But every year from late January to mid-March ice floes make the sea impassable, and all the fishing boats are up on land. To make matters worse, the 200-mile fishing zone that came into effect in the late 1970s put a clamp on catches. The city administration and citizens were desperate to find away out of their situation.
In February 1986, the Sea Ice Research Laboratory of the Institute ofLow Temperature Science at Hokkaido University held an international symposium on the Sea of Okhotsk and the ice floes. The program was intended in part to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the laboratory's founding, and was attended by representatives from nations in the northern latitudes. Its success and the excitement it generated among the townspeople led to a change in attitude towards the sea ice, which until then had been seen only in its negative aspects. Suddenly the floe had become an opportunity,and the key concept in a drive to revitalize Mombetsu.
Though many doubted that a small city of 30,000 could continue holding such an international event, the symposium has grown in scope every year. This year, for the twelfth successful symposium, Mombetsu welcomed panelists from as far afield as Russia and the United States. As well as academic research, discussions included topics that will benefit people living in small towns throughout the northern regions of the world.
The formation of the ice floes on the Sea of Okhotsk is thought to result from the fresh water of the Amur River as it empties into the ocean. Recently, however, the ice has tended to envelop the Mombetsu coast for shorter periods each year. This has motivated some to fear that dam construction in the Amur River and global warming have reduced the actual amount of sea ice. Research into this and other possible factors is now underway. |
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Mombetsu citizens busy creating ice statues in preparation for the Sea Ice Festival to be held two days later.
Tourists flock to the festival from across the country. |
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| Boats are landed during the ice-drift season to protect them when the harbor freezes. |
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