Abashiri Prison

 is a prison in Abashiri, Hokkaido Prefecture that opened in 1890. The northernmost prison in Japan, it is located near the Abashiri River and east of Mount Tento. It holds inmates with sentences of less than ten years. Older parts of the prison were relocated to the base of Mount Tento in 1983, where they operate as the country's only prison museum.
History.
In April 1890, the Meiji government sent over 1,000 political prisoners to the isolated Abashiri village and forced them to build roads linking it to the more populous south. Abashiri Prison later became known for being a self-sufficient farming prison, and cited as a model for others throughout Japan.
Most of the prison burned down in a 1909 fire, but it was reconstructed in 1912. It took on its current name in 1922. In 1984, the prison moved to a modern reinforced concrete complex.
Due to the 1965 film "Abashiri Prison" and its sequels, the prison became a popular tourist attraction. The prison is also known for its wooden dolls carved by its inmates.
Museum.
In 1983, older parts of the prison were relocated to the base of Mount Tento and operate as a museum called the . It is the only prison museum in the country. As of 2016, eight of the buildings preserved at the museum are designated Important Cultural Property by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, while three are registered Tangible Cultural Property.
In fiction.
The 1965 film "Abashiri Prison" spawned a popular series of yakuza films featuring the prison.
In the 2012 video game "Yakuza 5", one of the protagonists, Taiga Saejima, escapes from Abashiri Prison.
In "Mako Tanida", a 2014 episode of the television series "The Blacklist", the episode's titular yakuza boss escapes from Abashiri Prison.
The 2014 manga series "Golden Kamuy" features Abashiri Prison as one of its major plot points.