A park which combines natural beauty and historical monuments
Wakkanai Park is located in an ideal location overlooking Wakkanai city, and boasts a vast area of approximately 47m2 and abundant nature.
The park is dotted with many monuments. The "Gate of Ice and Snow" was built in memory of the Japanese people who died in Sakhalin, which was once Japanese territory.
The "Gate of Ice and Snow" is composed of three parts: the 8-meter-high “Gate of Home,” a 2.4-meter-high bronze statue of a woman symbolizing those who survived in the ice and snow, and a sacred stone, created by the world-renowned sculptor Shin Hongo from Sapporo.
The Sakhalin Dog Monument commemorates the Sakhalin dogs involved in Antarctic observation, and was built to honor the Sakhalin dogs that played a leading role in the dog sled team organized to transport supplies when Japan participated in its first Antarctic expedition in 1957.
The Sakhalin dogs were gathered from the Wakkanai area and underwent eight months of rigorous training at Wakkanai Park before departing for the Antarctic. 22 Sakhalin dogs were selected from among them and traveled to the Antarctic aboard the Antarctic research vessel "Soya" to carry out their mission.
However, tragedy struck when 15 of the dogs were left behind in the Antarctic due to bad weather.
The episode of Taro and Jiro, who miraculously survived the disaster, became the talk of the world.
This monument honors the achievements of the Sakhalin dogs, including Taro and Jiro, and has a white stone collected in Antarctica embedded in its base.
