n the frozen waters of the Sea of Okhotsk, we stood on the deck of the Garinko III as massive chunks of drift ice cracked beneath us. The February air was sharp, the sunset shimmered across the icy sea, and flocks of geese soared overhead. Our icebreaker adventure in Abashiri, Hokkaido was more than a cruise — it was a front-row seat to one of Japan’s most breathtaking winter spectacles.