![]() ![]() (I mean, what other kinds of crab claw statue-related activities could we have done? □□♀️) There wasn’t much we could do there, so ten minutes was enough for us, and it probably will be for you as well. In spite of the lengthy travel time, we only spent less than ten minutes with the statue, taking pictures, touching and hugging it, etc. We were also interested in the Hokkaido Museum of Northern People in Abashiri, but we had to skip it so we could visit this crab claw statue in Monbetsu. ![]() After leaving Ezura farm, where we were staying for the week, we made our first stop of the day, Abashiri Prison Museum. Since Hokkaido is quite large, traveling between cities requires lots of driving. Although we don’t know the exact reason why it is a crab claw (and not even the hairy kind), this statue has become an iconic landmark in Monbetsu. This crab claw statue doesn’t quite look like a hairy one (it is probably modeled after the red king crab), but I can imagine how making a statue with hair would be difficult to pull off from a technical perspective. Monbetsu is also famous for crabs, especially the hairy kind. I can see this being adored by visitors as an Instagrammable spot. Unfortunately, the day we went was not the sunniest day and there was no snow or drift ice (because it was summer), but the color contrast of this bright orange crab against the coastal scenery was still pretty. That’s cool and everything, but the question still remains-why a crab claw? Apparently, the concept behind the art was to express the essence of Monbetsu City, known for its endless blue sky and the snowy white landscapes. The 12-meter-tall, 7-ton statue used to float atop a piece of drift ice during the winter, but after fifteen years, it’s been permanently relocated to the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk. The crab claw statue was created as a part of 流氷 ( りゅうひょう ) アートフェスティバル (Drift Ice Art Festival), an art festival that took a place in Monbetsu City in 1983, by a sculpture artist, Toshi Nagasaki, and constructed with the help of Monbetsu residents. You might be wondering, "Why a crab claw and why in Monbetsu?" Well, that was my original question, too. If not, keep reading to find out whether it it’s worth a visit for you. Would I recommend you to do the same? Maybe… if you share in our obsession with the Crabigator. Last summer during our Hokkaido trip, we drove a couple hours for an extra stop just to see a gigantic crab claw sticking out from the ground, a.k.a カニの 爪 ( つめ ) オブジェ (crab claw statue). For this reason, we’re often on the lookout for alligator or crab themed places, like Atagawa Banana Alligator Park. Not only does this explain the obsession with alligators and crabs some members of my company have, but now you know that these animals mean something special to us. As you may know, our main product is a kanji learning platform called WaniKani, and our mascot is a mystical creature comprised of two animals: wani (aligator) and kani (crab). ![]()
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