Michi-no-Eki Obira Nishin Banya

The Rumoi coast lived on herring until the catch collapsed, and the banya were the big wooden lodges where fishing crews slept and worked through the season. The former Hanada family banya beside this station is described as the largest of the surviving ones, and it is the northernmost building in Japan listed as a national Important Cultural Property. The roadside station opened in 1996 and was rebuilt in 2015 as the Obira tourist exchange center.

Inside the center are a local products shop and a history exhibition hall. The restaurant serves Sea of Japan seafood, and herring dishes and rice bowls topped with herring, salmon roe or mixed seafood are what people come for. The banya charges a small admission fee and is worth the half hour; the scale of the sleeping lofts makes the size of the old crews easy to picture.

The station is a natural break on the long Oronro Line drive north toward Wakkanai, Rishiri and Rebun. Winter changes things. The banya closes from December to March, the restaurant closes on Mondays except from July to early August and takes a long New Year break, and the coast road can be hit by blowing snow, so check before relying on a winter visit.