Chitose Sake Masu no Mori Sake Masu Johokan reopened in April 2008 as a free publicity and exhibition facility of the Hokkaido National Fisheries Research Institute. In the museum, there is an exhibition area where visitors can learn about the ecology of salmon and how they are hatched and released using large and small aquariums, panels, and full-scale models, and an experience area where visitors can play games to raise salmon, touch real fry, feed them, and release them.

You can experience feeding and releasing young salmon and cherry salmon throughout the year, and in autumn, you can touch the big salmon that have returned to the Chitose River. This is a popular facility for families to “see,” “touch,” and “learn” while enjoying the rich nature of the Chitose River.

Also, a variety of limited-time events are available, such as egg fertilization, selecting healthy eggs, transferring eggs to the pond just before hatch, transferring fry to the breeding pond, measuring the size of the fry, observing the color of the fry change depending on the color of the surroundings, and feeding large fish that are two to three years old.

Photo provided by Chitose Sake Masu no Mori Sake Masu Johokan (taken on June 28, 2017)