The island of

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

is located in the north of Japan, near

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

( Sakhalin Oblast). It has coastlines on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

(to the west of the island), the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...

(to the north), and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

(to the east). The center of the island is mountainous, with

volcanic plateau A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus. Lava plateau Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions throu ...

x. Hokkaidō has multiple plains such as the

Ishikari Plain Ishikari Plain () is a plain in western Hokkaido. The area of the plain is approximately 3800km. The central city is Sapporo. Rice cultivation is very popular in the Ishikari Plain. References

{{Coord, 43, 141.6666, display=title Plains ...

Tokachi Plain Tokachi Plain () is a plain facing the Pacific Ocean, located in the southeastern part of Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, makin ...

, the

Kushiro Plain is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. Geography Mountains * Mount Oakan * Mount Meakan * Mount Akan- ...

(the largest wetland in Japan) and Sarobetsu Plain . Hokkaidō is which make it the second-largest island of Japan. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu (

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

); Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Hokkaidō" in La Pérouse Strait separates Hokkaidō from the island of

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

in Russia; Nemuro Strait separates Hokkaidō from

Kunashir Island , other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area = , length = , width = f ...

in the Russian

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

. The governmental jurisdiction of Hokkaidō incorporates several smaller islands, including Rishiri,

Okushiri Island is an island in Hokkaidō, Japan. It has an area of . The town of Okushiri and the Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park encompass the entire island. It has many pastures, beech tree forests, and a rocky coastline. There are two elementary schools, on ...

, and Rebun. (By Japanese reckoning, Hokkaidō also incorporates several of the

.) Hokkaidō Prefecture is the largest and northernmost

Japanese prefecture Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (, ''todōfuken'', ), which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper (, ''ken''), two ...

. The island ranks 21st in the world by area.

Ecology

Flora and fauna

There are three populations of the Ussuri brown bear found on the island. There are more brown bears in Hokkaidō than anywhere else in Asia besides Russia. The Hokkaidō brown bear is separated into three distinct lineages. There are only eight lineages in the world. Those on Honshu died out long ago. The native conifer species in northern Hokkaidō is the Sakhalin fir (''

Abies sachalinensis ''Abies sachalinensis'', the Sakhalin fir, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found in Sakhalin island and southern Kurils (Russia), and also in northern Hokkaido (Japan). The first discovery by a European was by Carl Friedr ...

''). The flowering plant ''

Hydrangea hirta ''Hydrangea hirta'', also known as the "nettle-leaved hydrangea", is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae that is native to East Asia. Due to the beauty and sturdiness of the species' flowers it can be found outside of its ran ...

'' is also found on the island. :

Geology

Like many areas of Japan, Hokkaidō is seismically active. Aside from numerous

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

s, the following volcanoes are considered still active (at least one eruption since 1850): * Hokkaido Koma-ga-take *

Mount Usu is an active stratovolcano in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaido, Japan. It has erupted four times since 1900: in 1910 (which created Meiji-shinzan 神沼克伊,小山悦郎 ''日本の火山を科学する　日本列島津々浦々、 ...

and Shōwa-shinzan *

Mount Tarumae is located in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is located near both Tomakomai and Chitose towns and can be seen clearly from both. It is on the shores of Lake Shikotsu, a caldera lake. Tarumae is a 1,041 metre active and ...

* Mount Tokachi *

Mount Meakan is an active stratovolcano located in Akan National Park in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the tallest mountain in the Akan Volcanic Complex. The volcano consists of nine overlapping cones that grew out of the Akan caldera, on the shores of Lake Akan. ...

In 1993, an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 generated a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

which devastated Okushiri, killing 202 inhabitants. An earthquake of magnitude 8.3 struck near the island on September 26, 2003. On September 6, 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 struck with its epicenter near the city of

Tomakomai is a city and port in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the largest city in the Iburi Subprefecture, and the fourth largest city in Hokkaido. As of 29 February 2012, it had an estimated population of 174,216, with 83,836 households, ...

, causing a blackout across the whole island. On May 16, 2021, an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck off Japan's Hokkaidō prefecture.

Parks

File:Kottaro situgen 2009.jpg, Overview of

Kushiro Wetland is a national park located in the east of the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It was designated as a national park on 31 July 1987. The park is known for its wetlands ecosystems. Kushiro-shitsugen (Kushiro Wetlands or Kushiro Swamp, Marshland) c ...

File:Lake Akan and Mount Oakan - 2005.jpg,

Lake Akan is a lake in Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is located in Akan National Park and is a Ramsar Site. History Volcanic activity formed the lake some 6,000 years ago, when a lava dam was formed. The lake used to have a clarity of 8–9 meters in th ...

and

File:Image-2008 Lake Masshu.jpg, View of Lake Mashū File:Lake Shikotsu17n4272.jpg, Lake Shikotsu File:Sounkyo1.jpg, Sōunkyō, a gorge in the Daisetsu-zan Volcanic Area * Twelve prefectural natural parks (道立自然公園). The prefectural natural parks cover 146,802 ha, the largest area of any prefecture. **

Akkeshi Prefectural Natural Park is a Quasi-National Park in eastern Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 2021, the park spans the municipalities of Akkeshi, Hamanaka, Kushiro, and Shibecha. It subsumes and replaces the former Akkeshi Prefectural Natural Park, established in 195 ...

Esan Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in southwest Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 1961, the park is within the Municipalities of Japan, municipality of Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Hakodate on the Oshima Peninsula. The park comprises four main areas, namely c ...

Furano-Ashibetsu Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in central Hokkaidō, Japan. Established as a Prefectural Park in 1955 and redesignated a Prefectural Natural Park in 1958, the park spans the municipalities of Ashibetsu, Furano, Mikasa, Minamifurano, and Yūb ...

Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in southwest Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 1960, the park spans the municipalities of Esashi, Kaminokuni, Okushiri, Otobe, Setana, and Yakumo. Notable islands within the park include Okushiri Island and K ...

Kariba-Motta Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in southwest Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 1972, the park spans the municipalities of Setana, Shimamaki, and Suttsu. See also * National Parks of Japan National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or cou ...

** Matsumae-Yagoshi Prefectural Natural Park **

North Okhotsk Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in northern Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 1968, the park spans the municipalities of Esashi, Hamatonbetsu, and Sarufutsu. See also * National Parks of Japan National may refer to: Common uses * Nation ...

** Nopporo Shinrin Kōen Prefectural Natural Park **

Notsuke-Fūren Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in eastern Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 1962, the park spans the municipalities of Betsukai, Nemuro, and Shibetsu. The park comprises two principal areas, the and Lake Furen. See also * National Parks of Japan ...

Sharidake Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in eastern Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 1980, the park spans the municipalities of Kiyosato, Shari, and Shibetsu. See also * National Parks of Japan National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or coun ...

Shumarinai Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in northern Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 1974, the park spans the municipalities of Enbetsu, Haboro, Horokanai, and Shibetsu. Lake Shumarinai was created artificially in 1943, after which asteroid 16525 S ...

Teshiodake Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in northern Hokkaidō, Japan. The park was established in 1978. See also * National Parks of Japan National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is ...

Subprefectures

, Hokkaidō has nine General Subprefectural Bureaus (総合振興局) and five Subprefectural Bureaus (振興局). Hokkaidō is one of eight prefectures in Japan that have subprefectures (支庁 ''shichō''). However, it is the only one of the eight to have such offices covering the whole of its territory outside the main cities (rather than having them just for outlying islands or remote areas). This is mostly because of its great size; many parts of the prefecture are simply too far away to be effectively administered by Sapporo. Subprefectural offices in Hokkaidō carry out many of the duties that prefectural offices fulfill elsewhere in Japan.

Climate

Satellite image of Hokkaido, Japan in January 2003

As Japan's coldest region, Hokkaidō has relatively cool summers and icy/snowy winters. Most of the island falls in the

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

zone with

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfb'' ( hemiboreal) in most areas but ''Dfa'' (hot summer humid continental) in some inland lowlands. The average August temperature ranges from , while the average January temperature ranges from , in both cases depending on elevation and distance from the ocean, though temperatures on the western side of the island tend to be a little warmer than on the eastern. The highest temperature ever recorded is on 26 May 2019. The northern portion of Hokkaidō falls into the

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

C.Michael Hogan. 2011
''Taiga''. eds. M.McGinley & C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC
with significant snowfall. Snowfall varies widely from as much as on the mountains adjacent to the Sea of Japan down to around on the Pacific coast. The island tends to have isolated snowstorms that develop long-lasting snowbanks. Total precipitation varies from on the mountains of the Sea of Japan coast to around (the lowest in Japan) on the Sea of Okhotsk coast and interior lowlands and up to around on the Pacific side. The generally high quality of

powder snow Classifications of snow describe and categorize the attributes of snow-generating weather events, including the individual crystals both in the air and on the ground, and the deposited snow pack as it changes over time. Snow can be classified ...

and numerous mountains in Hokkaidō make it a popular region for snow sports. The snowfall usually commences in earnest in November and ski resorts (such as those at Niseko, Furano, Teine and Rusutsu) usually operate between December and April. Hokkaidō celebrates its winter weather at the

Sapporo Snow Festival The is a festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan, over seven days in February. Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main sites of the festival. In 2007 (57th festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of s ...

. During the winter, passage through the

is often complicated by large floes of drift ice. Combined with high winds that occur during winter, this frequently brings air travel and maritime activity to a halt beyond the northern coast of Hokkaidō. Ports on the open Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan are generally ice-free year round, though most rivers freeze during the winter. Unlike the other major islands of Japan, Hokkaidō is normally not affected by the May–June

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season and the lack of relative humidity and typically warm, rather than hot, summer weather makes its climate an attraction for tourists from other parts of Japan.

Climate data

Gallery

File:130922 Lake Toya Toyako Hokkaido Japan03s3.jpg, Lake Tōya, a volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

lake File:Hokkaido-Japan-ISS-Space.png, Hokkaido seen from the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

File:140829 Ichiko of Shiretoko Goko Lakes Hokkaido Japan04s3.jpg,

Lake Shiretoko Goko A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

in the town of Shari, Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaidō File:Spring Bloom Colors the Pacific Near Hokkaido.jpg, The Oyashio Current colliding with the Kuroshio Current off the coast of Hokkaido. When two currents collide, they create

eddies In fluid dynamics, an eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid is in a turbulent flow regime. The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object. Fluid beh ...

Phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

growing in the surface waters become concentrated along the boundaries of these eddies, tracing out the motions of the water.

References

{{reflist Hokkaido