If you visit Rausu, this place is a must, simply because it is close to the town, it's free and the view is stunning. It is up the hill so you get a great view of Rausu, the port with lots of shipbuilding activities, the Sea of Okhotsk and one of the islands that Japan and Russia have been fighting for. It's shocking to see that the island is merely 20 miles or so away from Japan yet it is being occupied by Russia currently.We visited the observatory deck in early June and still saw some snow up the hill. Will come back to this place if we go to Rausu again!