Toyokoro Ice Beach

Very rare sighting due to weather conditions needed. Best to come dring the early mornings for great natural lightings. We went on a particularly hotter day in the week, where the ice were melting on the roads thus wasnt expecting much. Glad to see 1 block of ice left standing 🤣 overall a great place to have stroll along the fine sandy beach and enjoy the wind chills.

Bit of a pickle getting transport to the beach, however the railway man at the ticket office in ikeda station were extremely nice, and even though our Japanese is practically nonexistent and their english was on the same level they got as a taxi to take us to the beach and back.

My December visit to the Jewelry Ice aka Toyokoro Ice Beach was a journey filled with mixed feelings. The location has limited accessibility, it will take you about an hour to drive from Tokachi and another hour to travel back. There were hardly any vehicles on the road and the landscape view during the drive was snow field, bare forest of winter and empty farmland. Some houses along the coast look abandoned and the area felt like a stark contrast to the lively, natural spectacle of the beach. Adding to the atmosphere was the abundance of tsunami warning signs around the area. Their prominent display contributed to a lingering sense of danger & uncertainty. I arrived at the Ostu Coast at about 9.20 am, instead of seeing the tranquil beauty of the shoreline or spotting any glittering ice jewels. I was greeted with a foggy sea view with waves crashing aggressively onto the snowy shore. The empty beach’s atmosphere was tinged with a certain sense of isolation with unease.

It was super cold and windy. If you love taking photo, it is a great place. Make sure to wear proper gear for visiting this place as it was super windy and cold. Some camera could be malfunctioning under the extreme. Actually the place have not much facilities, no shop, only have a temporary washrooms (even no water to wash hands). But the experience was great. Hope to visit again during the time of sunset.

Interesting place but the town feels like a ghost town.. For the 1 hour we were there we did not see a single soul. Also point to add if you arrive in mid march (like we did), and during 2-4pm, you would most likely not see any diamond ice on the beach at all, but will be greeted by strong waves. It’s a bit out of the way to get here so do weigh your options before coming!