HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is the second-largest island of
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and comprises the largest and northernmost
prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
, making up its own
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
. The
Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...
separates Hokkaidō from
Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...
; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital,
Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
, which is also its only ordinance-designated city.
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...
lies about to the north of Hokkaidō, and to the east and northeast are the
Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...
, which are administered by
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, though the four most southerly are claimed by Japan. The position of the island on the northern end of the archipelago results in a colder climate, with the island seeing significant snowfall each winter. Despite the harsher climate, it serves as an agricultural
breadbasket The breadbasket of a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of the soil and/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain. Rice bowl is a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia; Calif ...
for many crops. Hokkaido was formerly known as '' Ezo'', ''Yezo'', ''Yeso'', or ''Yesso''. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Hokkaidō" in Although Japanese settlers ruled the southern tip of the island since the 16th century, Hokkaido was primarily inhabited by the
Ainu people The Ainu are an Indigenous peoples, indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Ku ...
. In 1869, following the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
, the entire island was
annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...
,
colonized 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...
and renamed Hokkaido by Japan. Japanese settlers dispossessed the Ainu of their land and forced them to assimilate. In the 21st century, the Ainu are almost totally assimilated into Japanese society; as a result, the majority of Japanese people of Ainu descent have no knowledge of their heritage and culture.


Names

When establishing the Development Commission, the Meiji government decided to change the name of Ezochi. Matsuura Takeshirō submitted six proposals, including names such as and , to the government. The government eventually decided to use the name Hokkaidō, but decided to write it as , as a compromise between and because of the similarity with names such as . According to Matsuura, the name was thought up because the Ainu called the region ''Kai''. The ''kai'' element also strongly resembles the
On'yomi , or the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, Sino-Japanese reading, is the reading of a kanji based on the historical Chinese pronunciation of the character. A single kanji might have multiple ''on'yomi'' pronunciations, reflecting the Chinese pronuncia ...
, or Sino-Japanese, reading of the characters (''on'yomi'' as カイ ''
kun'yomi is the way of reading kanji characters using the native Japanese word that matches the meaning of the Chinese character when it was introduced. This pronunciation is contrasted with ''on'yomi'', which is the reading based on the original Chi ...
'' as えみし which have been used for over a thousand years in China and Japan as the standard orthographic form to be used when referring to Ainu and related peoples; it is possible that Matsuura's ''kai'' was actually an alteration, influenced by the Sino-Japanese reading of ''Ka-i'', of the
Nivkh Nivkh or Amuric or Gilyak may refer to: * Nivkh people (''Nivkhs'') or Gilyak people (''Gilyaks'') * Nivkh languages or Gilyak languages * Gilyak class gunboat, ''Gilyak'' class gunboat, such as the Russian gunboat Korietz#Second gunboat, second R ...
exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...
for the Ainu, namely ''Qoy'' or . In 1947, Hokkaidō became a full-fledged prefecture. The historical suffix 道 (''-dō'') translates to "prefecture" in English, ambiguously the same as 府 (''-fu'') for
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
and
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
, and 県 (''-ken'') for the rest of the "prefectures". ''Dō'', as shorthand, can be used to uniquely identify Hokkaido, for example as in 道道 (''dōdō'', "Hokkaido road") or 道議会 (''Dōgikai'', " Hokkaido Assembly"), the same way 都 (''-to'') is used for
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. The prefecture's government calls itself the "Hokkaidō Government" rather than the "Hokkaidō Prefectural Government". With the rise of indigenous rights movements, there emerged a notion that Hokkaido should have an
Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu (), is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isola ...
name. If a decision to change the name is made, however, whichever Ainu phrase is chosen, its original referent is critically different from the large geographical entity. The phrase ' () has been a preferred choice among Japanese activists. Its primary meaning is the "land of humans", as opposed to the "land of gods" ('). When contrasted with ' (the land of the neighbors, often pointing to
Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...
or Japanese settlements on the southern tip of Hokkaido), it means the land of the Ainu people, which, depending on context, can refer to Hokkaido, although from a modern ethnolinguistic point of view, the Ainu people have extended their domain to a large part of Sakhalin and the entire Kuril Islands. Another phrase, ' (ヤウンモシㇼ), has gained prominence. It literally means the "onshore land", as opposed to the "offshore land" (), which, depending on context, can refer to the Kuril Islands, Honshu, or any foreign country. If the speaker is a resident of Hokkaido, ' can refer to Hokkaido. Yet another phrase, ' (アコㇿモシㇼ) means " our (inclusive) land". When used by Hokkaido Ainus, it can refer to Hokkaido or Japan as a whole.


History


Early history

During the Jomon period the local culture and the associated
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
lifestyle flourished in Hokkaidō, beginning over 15,000 years ago. In contrast to the island of Honshu, Hokkaidō saw an absence of conflict during this time period. Jomon beliefs in natural spirits are theorized to be the origins of Ainu spirituality. About 2,000 years ago, the island was colonized by
Yayoi The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...
people, and much of the island's population shifted away from hunting and gathering towards agriculture. The , finished in 720 AD, is often said to be the first mention of Hokkaidō in
recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world h ...
. According to the text,
Abe no Hirafu was a Japanese military commander, strategist, and politician of the Asuka period. Some sources say he lived from c.575-664 Biography Events in his life are accounted in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki, both written several decades after his dea ...
''Japan Handbook'', p. 760 led a large navy and army to northern areas from 658 to 660 and came into contact with the
Mishihase The , also read as Ashihase and Shukushin, were a people of ancient Japan, believed to have lived along the northern portion of the coast of the Sea of Japan. The term Sushen, rendered 肅愼, is found in Chinese records, but is annotated as Mis ...
and
Emishi The were a group of people who lived in parts of northern Honshū in present-day Japan, especially in the Tōhoku region. The first mention of the Emishi in literature that can be corroborated with outside sources dates to the 5th century AD, ...
. One of the places Hirafu went to was called , which is often believed to be present-day Hokkaidō. However, many theories exist concerning the details of this event, including the location of Watarishima and the common belief that the Emishi in Watarishima were the ancestors of the present-day
Ainu people The Ainu are an Indigenous peoples, indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Ku ...
. During the
Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
and
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...
s (710–1185), people in Hokkaidō conducted trade with
Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...
, an outpost of the Japanese central government. From the feudal period, the people in Hokkaidō began to be called Ezo. Hokkaidō subsequently became known as or . The Ezo mainly relied upon hunting and fishing and obtained rice and iron through trade with the Japanese.


Feudal Japan

During the
Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...
(1336–1573), the Japanese established a settlement at the south of the
Oshima Peninsula The Oshima Peninsula (渡島 半島 ''Oshima-hantō'') is the southernmost part of Hokkaidō, the northernmost of the Japanese islands. Where the peninsula starts is open to interpretation. A more generous interpretation is to draw a line southea ...
, with a series of fortified residences such as that of Shinoridate. As more people moved to the settlement to avoid battles, disputes arose between the Japanese and the Ainu. The disputes eventually developed into war.
Takeda Nobuhiro Takeda Nobuhiro (武田 信広), also known as Kakizaki Nobuhiro (蠣崎 信廣) (1431 – 1494) was the ancestor of the Matsumae clan, and is celebrated for his role in suppressing the 1457 Ainu revolt of Koshamain. The adopted son of Takeda ...
(1431–1494) killed the Ainu leader, Koshamain, and defeated the opposition in 1457. Nobuhiro's descendants became the rulers of the Matsumae-han, which was granted exclusive trading rights with the Ainu in the Azuchi-Momoyama and
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
s (1568–1868). The Matsumae family's economy relied upon trade with the Ainu, who had extensive trading networks. The Matsumae held authority over the south of Ezochi until the end of the Edo period. The Matsumae clan rule over the Ainu must be understood in the context of the expansion of the Japanese feudal state. Medieval military leaders in northern Honshu (ex.
Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.
,
Akita clan The was a Japanese samurai clan of northern Honshū that claimed descent from Abe no Sadato of the Abe clan. The Akita clan was originally known as the . In the Kamakura period, they were installed in the Tsugaru district of Mutsu Province t ...
) maintained only tenuous political and cultural ties to the imperial court and its proxies, the
Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...
and Ashikaga shogunate. Feudal strongmen sometimes defined their own roles within the medieval institutional order, taking shogunate titles, while in other times they assumed titles that seemed to give them a non-Japanese identity. In fact, many of the feudal strongmen were descended from
Emishi The were a group of people who lived in parts of northern Honshū in present-day Japan, especially in the Tōhoku region. The first mention of the Emishi in literature that can be corroborated with outside sources dates to the 5th century AD, ...
military leaders who had been assimilated into Japanese society. The Matsumae clan were of
Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a Names of Japan, name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial ...
descent like other ethnic
Japanese people are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.4% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them list of contempora ...
, whereas the Emishi of northern Honshu were a distinctive group related to the Ainu. The Emishi were conquered and integrated into the Japanese state dating back as far as the 8th century and as result began to lose their distinctive culture and ethnicity as they became minorities. By the time the Matsumae clan ruled over the Ainu, most of the Emishi were ethnically mixed and physically closer to Japanese than they were to Ainu. From this, the "transformation" theory postulates that native Jōmon peoples changed gradually with the infusion of Yayoi immigrants into the
Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...
of northern Honshu, in contrast to the "replacement" theory that posits the Jōmon was ''replaced'' by the Yayoi. There were numerous revolts by the Ainu against feudal rule. The last large-scale resistance was
Shakushain's revolt The was an Ainu rebellion against Japanese authority on Hokkaidō between 1669 and 1672 in the Edo period. It was led by Ainu chieftain Shakushain against the Matsumae clan, who represented Japanese trading and governmental interests in the ...
in 1669–1672. In 1789, a smaller movement known as the Menashi–Kunashir rebellion was crushed. After that rebellion, the terms "Japanese" and "Ainu" referred to clearly distinguished groups, and the Matsumae were unequivocally Japanese. According to John A. Harrison of the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
, prior to 1868 Japan used proximity as its claim to Hokkaido,
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...
and the
Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...
; however, Japan had never thoroughly explored, governed, or exploited the areas, and this claim was invalidated by the movement of Russia into the Northeast Pacific area and by Russian settlements on
Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...
(from 1699),
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...
(1850s) and the Sea of Okhotsk Coast (1640s onwards). Prior to the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
of 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate realized the need to prepare northern defenses against a possible Russian invasion and took over control of most of Ezochi in 1855-1858. Many Japanese settlers regarded the Ainu as "inhuman and the inferior descendants of dogs". The Tokugawa irregularly imposed various assimilation programs on the Ainu due to the Tokugawa's perception of a threat from Russia. For example, assimilation programs were implemented in response to perceived threats from Russia, which included the of 1793 and the Golovnin Incident of 1804. Once the respective Russian threats appeared to subside, the assimilation programs were halted until 1855. However, in 1855, once the
Treaty of Shimoda The Treaty of Shimoda (下田条約, ''Shimoda Jouyaku'') (formally Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan and Russia 日露和親条約, ''Nichi-Ro Washin Jouyaku'') of February 7, 1855, was the first treaty between the Russian Empire, a ...
was signed, which defined the borders between Russian Empire and Tokugawa Japan, the Tokugawa again viewed Russia as a threat to Japanese sovereignty over Hokkaido and reinstated assimilation programs on the Ainu.


Meiji era


Colonization of Hokkaido

Prior to the Meiji era, the island was called Ezochi, which can be translated as "land of the barbarians" or "the land for people who did not obey the government." Shortly after the
Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...
in 1868, a group of Tokugawa loyalists led by
Enomoto Takeaki Viscount was a Japanese samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate and fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War. He later served in the ...
temporarily occupied the island (the
polity A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people org ...
is commonly but mistakenly known as the
Republic of Ezo The was a short-lived separatist state established in 1869 on the island of Ezo, now Hokkaido, by a part of the former military of the Tokugawa shogunate at the end of the ''Bakumatsu'' period in Japan. It was the first government to attempt t ...
), but the rebellion was defeated in May 1869. Through colonial practices, Ezochi was annexed into Japanese territory. Ezochi was subsequently put under control of Hakodate Prefectural Government. When establishing the , the Meiji government introduced a new name. After 1869, the northern Japanese island was known as Hokkaidō, which can be translated to "northern sea route," and regional subdivisions were established, including the provinces of Oshima, Shiribeshi, Iburi, Ishikari, Teshio,
Kitami is a city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is Abashiri. Kitami is physically in the middle of Okhotsk Subprefecture. Th ...
, Hidaka, Tokachi,
Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. History An ...
, Nemuro and Chishima. The initiative to colonize Ezo, which later became Hokkaido, traces back to 1869, where Japanese proponents argued that the colonization of Ezo would serve as a strategic move to enhance Japan's standing and influence on the global stage, particularly in negotiations with Western powers, specifically Russia. The Meiji government invested heavily in colonizing Hokkaido for several reasons. Firstly, they aimed to assert their control over the region as a buffer against potential Russian advances. Secondly, they were attracted to Hokkaido's rich natural resources, including coal, timber, fish, and fertile land. Lastly, since Western powers viewed colonial expansion as a symbol of prestige, Japan viewed the colonization of Hokkaido as an opportunity to present itself as a modern and respected nation to Western powers. The primary purpose of the Development Commission was to secure Hokkaidō before the
Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
extended their control of the Far East beyond
Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...
. The Japanese failed to settle in the interior lowlands of the island because of aboriginal resistance. The resistance was eventually destroyed, and the lowlands were under the control of the commission. The most important goal of the Japanese was to increase the farm population and to create a conducive environment for emigration and settlement. However, the Japanese did not have expertise in modern agricultural techniques, and only possessed primitive mining and lumbering methods.
Kuroda Kiyotaka Count was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1888 to 1889. He was one of the '' genrō'', or senior statesman of the Meiji era. Born in the Satsuma Domain to a samurai family, Kuroda was involved in t ...
was put in charge of the project, and turned to the United States for help. His first step was to journey to the United States and recruit
Horace Capron Horace Capron (August 31, 1804 – February 22, 1885) was an American businessman and agriculturalist, a founder of Laurel, Maryland, a Union (American Civil War), Union officer in the American Civil War, the United States secretary of agri ...
, President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
's commissioner of agriculture. From 1871 to 1873 Capron bent his efforts to expounding Western agriculture and mining, with mixed results. Frustrated with obstacles to his efforts, Capron returned home in 1875. In 1876, William S. Clark arrived to found an agricultural college in Sapporo. Although he only remained a year, Clark left a lasting impression on Hokkaidō, inspiring the Japanese with his teachings on agriculture as well as Christianity. His parting words, ''"Boys, be ambitious!"'', can be found on public buildings in Hokkaidō to this day. The population of Hokkaidō increased from 58,000 to 240,000 during that decade. Kuroda hired Capron for $10,000 per year and paid for all expenses related to the mission. Kuroda and his government were likely intrigued by Capron's previous colonial experience, particularly his involvement in the forced removal of Native Americans from Texas to new territories after the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
. Capron introduced capital-intensive farming techniques by adopting American methods and tools, importing seeds for Western crops, and bringing in European livestock breeds, which included his favorite
North Devon cattle The Devon is a traditional British breed of beef cattle. It originated in, and is named for, the county of Devon in the West Country of England. It is a deep rich red in colour, and so may be known as the Devon Ruby, Ruby red or Red Ruby; it m ...
. He founded experimental farms in Hokkaido, conducted surveys to assess mineral deposits and agricultural potential, and advocated for improvements in water access, mills, and roads. The settler colonization of Hokkaido by the Japanese was organized and supported through collaboration between the Japanese state and American experts and technology. From the 1870s to the 1880s, Japanese leaders placed their efforts on settling Hokkaido by systematically migrating former samurai lords, samurai retainers, and common citizens, which included farmers and peasants, providing them with "free" land and financial assistance. This transformation was facilitated with the expertise of American advisors who introduced various colonization technologies, transforming Hokkaido into land suitable for Japan's capitalist aspirations. Japanese leaders drew inspiration from American settler colonialism during their diplomatic visits to the United States. Japanese colonial officials learned settler colonial techniques from Western imperial powers, particularly the United States. This included declaring large portions of Hokkaido as ownerless land, providing a pretext for the dispossession of the Ainu people. Japan established the Hokkaido Colonization Board in 1869, a year after the start of the Meiji era, with the goal of encouraging Japanese settlers to Hokkaido. Mainland Japanese settlers began migrating to Hokkaido, leading to Japan's colonization of the island. Motivated by capitalist and industrial goals, the Meiji government forcefully appropriated fertile land and mineral-rich regions throughout Hokkaido, without consideration for their historical Ainu inhabitancy. The Meiji government implemented land seizures and enacted land ownership laws that favored Japanese settlers, effectively stripping Ainu people of their customary land rights and traditional means of subsistence. The 1899 Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act further marginalized and impoverished the Ainu people by forcing them to leave their traditional lands and relocating them to the rugged, mountainous regions in the center of the island. The act prohibited the Ainu from fishing and hunting, which were their main source of subsistence. The Ainu were valued primarily as a source of inexpensive manual labor, and discriminatory assimilation policies further entrenched their sense of inferiority as well as worsened poverty and disease within Ainu communities. These policies exacerbated diasporic trends among the Ainu population, as many sought employment with the government or private enterprises, often earning meager wages that barely sustained their families. The Meiji government embarked on assimilation campaigns aimed not only at assimilating the Ainu but also eradicating their language and culture entirely. They were forced to take on Japanese names and language, and gradually saw their culture and traditions eroded. The Ainu were forbidden to speak their own language and taught only Japanese at school. Facing pervasive stigma, many Ainu concealed their heritage.
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
has recognized the
Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu (), is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isola ...
as critically endangered. Given the Meiji state's full political control over the island, the subsequent subjugation of its indigenous inhabitants, aggressive economic exploitation, and ambitious permanent settlement endeavors, Hokkaido emerged as the sole successful
settler colony A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
of Japan. After the Meiji colonization of Hokkaido, Meiji Japan depended on prison labour to accelerate the colonization process. The Japanese built three prisons and rendered Hokkaido a prison island, where political prisoners were incarcerated and used as prison labour. During the opening ceremony of the first prison, the Ainu name “Shibetsuputo” was replaced with the Japanese name “Tsukigata,” as an attempt to “Japanize” Hokkaido's geography. The second prison opened near the Hokutan Horonai coal mine, where Ainu people were forced to work. Cheap prison labour played an important role in coal and sulphur mining, as well as road construction in Hokkaido. Eventually, several types of indentured labour, Korean labour, child labour and women labour replaced convict labour in Hokkaido. Working conditions were difficult and dangerous. Japan's transition to capitalism depended heavily on the growth of the coal mining sector in Hokkaidō. The importance of coal from Hokkaidō increased throughout the First World War, and the mines required a large amount of labourers.


World War II

In mid-July 1945, various shipping ports, cities, and military facilities in Hokkaidō were attacked by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
's
Task Force 38 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...
. On 14–15 July, aircraft operating from the task force's aircraft carriers sank and damaged a large number of ships in ports along Hokkaidō's southern coastline as well as in northern Honshu. In addition, on 15 July a force of three battleships and two light cruisers bombarded the city of Muroran. Before the
Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of condu ...
was formalized, the Soviet Union made preparations for an invasion of Hokkaidō, but U.S. President
Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
made it clear that the surrender of all of the
Japanese home islands The is an archipelago of 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China and Philippine seas in the southwest along the Pacific coast of the Eurasian continent, and cons ...
would be accepted by General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
per the
1943 Cairo Declaration The Cairo Declaration (Traditional Chinese: 《開羅宣言》) was the outcome of the Cairo Conference in Cairo, Egypt, on 27 November 1943. President Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), als ...
.


Present

Hokkaidō became equal with other prefectures in 1947, when the revised
Local Autonomy Act The , passed by the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives and the House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers on March 28, 1947 and promulgated as Law No. 67 of 1947 on April 17,Ministry of Justice (Japan), Ministry of Justice, Jap ...
became effective. The Japanese central government established the as an agency of the
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
's Office in 1949 to maintain its executive power in Hokkaidō. The agency was absorbed by the
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT; ) is a cabinet-level division of the government of South Korea. Its headquarters is in the Sejong Government Office in Sejong City. Previously the agency was headquartered in the 4th buil ...
in 2001. and the of the ministry still have a strong influence on public construction projects in Hokkaidō.


Geography

The island of Hokkaidō is located in the north of Japan, near
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
(
Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalinskaya oblastʹ, p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the Russian ...
). 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 ...
(to the west of the island), the
Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...
(to the north), and the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
(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 thro ...
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 The history of rice cultivation is an interdisciplinary subject that studies archaeological and docum ...
, Tokachi Plain , the (the largest wetland in Japan) and Sarobetsu Plain . Hokkaidō is which make it the second-largest island of Japan. The
Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...
separates Hokkaidō from Honshu (
Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...
);
La Pérouse Strait La Pérouse Strait (), or , is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east. ...
separates Hokkaidō from the island of
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...
in Russia;
Nemuro Strait Nemuro Strait (), also called Notsuke Strait and Kunashirsky Strait (), is a strait separating Kunashir Island of the Kuril Islands, Russia ( claimed by Japan) from the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaidō, Japan. The strait connects the Sea of Okhots ...
separates Hokkaidō from
Kunashir Island Kunashir Island (; ; ), possibly meaning ''Black Island'' or ''Grass Island'' in Ainu, is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands. The island has been under Russian administration since the end of World War II, when Soviet forces took po ...
in the Russian
Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating 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 school ...
, and Rebun. (By Japanese reckoning, Hokkaidō also incorporates several of the
Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...
.) Hokkaidō Prefecture is the largest and northernmost Japanese prefecture. The island ranks 21st in the world by area. File:130922 Lake Toya Toyako Hokkaido Japan03s3.jpg,
Lake Tōya is a volcanic caldera lake in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Abuta District, Hokkaido, Japan. It is part of "Toya Caldera and Usu Volcano Global Geopark" which joins in Global Geoparks Network. The stratovolcano of Mount Usu lies on the southe ...
, a volcanic
caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...
lake File:Hokkaido-Japan-ISS-Space.png, Hokkaido seen from the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
File:140829 Ichiko of Shiretoko Goko Lakes Hokkaido Japan04s3.jpg, Shiretoko Goko Lakes in the town of Shari,
Okhotsk Subprefecture is a Subprefectures of Hokkaido, subprefecture of Hokkaido, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was renamed from the earlier Abashiri Subprefecture on April 1, 2010. Abashiri Subprefecture was established in 1897. Etymology Abashiri Prefecture was n ...
, Hokkaidō File:Spring Bloom Colors the Pacific Near Hokkaido.jpg, The
Oyashio Current The , also known as the Okhotsk Current or Kurile Current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean. The waters of the Oyashio Current originate in the Arctic Ocean ...
colliding with the
Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black Current or is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...
off the coast of Hokkaido


Population

Hokkaidō has the third-largest population of Japan's five main islands, with 5,111,691 people . It has the lowest population density in Japan, with just . Hokkaidō ranks 21st in
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
among the world's islands. Major cities include
Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
and
Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...
in the central region, and the port of
Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...
facing
Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...
in the south. Sapporo is Hokkaidō's largest city and the fifth-largest in Japan. It had a population of 1,959,750 and a population density of .


Flora and fauna

There are three populations of the
Ussuri brown bear The Ussuri brown bear (''Ursus arctos lasiotus''), also known as the Ezo brown bear, Russian grizzly bear, or the black grizzly bear, is a subspecies of the brown bear or a population of the Eurasian brown bear (''U. a. arctos''). One of the lar ...
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 range ...
'' is also found on the island. :


Geologic activity

Like many areas of Japan, Hokkaidō is seismically active. Aside from numerous
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
s, the following volcanoes are considered still active (at least one eruption since 1850): *
Hokkaido Koma-ga-take , also , , or just is a andesitic stratovolcano on the border between Mori, Shikabe, and Nanae, all within the Oshima Subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan. Occurrence of volcanic activity started some 30,000 years ago. Following roughly 5,000 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 a ...
* Mount Tokachi *
Mount Usu is an active stratovolcano in the Shikotsu-Tōya 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 In 1993, an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 generated a
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) 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 underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
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 31 July 2023, it had an estimated population of 167,372, with 83,836 households, an ...
, 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 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 t ...
and
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 ...
File:Image-2008 Lake Masshu.jpg, View of
Lake Mashū ( Ainu: Kamuy-to) is an endorheic crater lake formed in the caldera of a potentially active volcano. It is located in Akan Mashu National Park on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It has been called the clearest lake in the world. Hydrology L ...
File:Lake Shikotsu17n4272.jpg,
Lake Shikotsu is a caldera lake in Chitose, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is a part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park. Geography Lake Shikotsu is located in the south-west part of Hokkaidō. It has an average depth of and a maximum depth of , making it the sec ...
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 ...
** Esan Prefectural Natural Park ** Furano-Ashibetsu Prefectural Natural Park **
Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in southwest Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 1960, the park spans the municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of sel ...
** Kariba-Motta Prefectural Natural Park ** 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 or ...
** 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 Japan, municipalities of Betsukai, Hokkaidō, Betsukai, Nemuro, Hokkaidō, Nemuro, and Shibetsu, Hokkaidō (Nemuro), Shibetsu. T ...
** Sharidake Prefectural Natural Park ** Shumarinai Prefectural Natural Park **
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 su ...


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.


Municipalities

Hokkaidō is divided into 179 municipalities.


Cities

There are 35 cities in Hokkaidō:


Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in Hokkaido Prefecture:


Climate

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 cold ...
zone with
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Dfb'' (
hemiboreal Hemiboreal means halfway between the temperate and subarctic (or boreal) zones. The term is most frequently used in the context of climates and ecosystems. Botany A hemiboreal forest has some characteristics of a boreal forest to the north, an ...
) 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 biome 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 o ...
. During the winter, passage through the
Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...
is often complicated by large floes of
drift ice Drift or Drifts may refer to: Geography * Drift or ford (crossing) of a river * Drift (navigation), difference between heading and course of a vessel * Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States * In Cornwall, England: ** D ...
. 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 June–July
rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...
and the relative lack of humidity and typically warm, rather than hot, summer weather makes its climate an attraction for tourists from other parts of Japan.


Temperature comparison


Major cities and towns

Hokkaidō's largest city is the capital,
Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
, which is a designated city. The island has two core cities:
Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...
in the south and
Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...
in the central region. Other important population centers include
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 31 July 2023, it had an estimated population of 167,372, with 83,836 households, an ...
,
Iwamizawa is a city in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sorachi Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2023, the city had an estimated population of 75,949 and the density of 158 persons per km2. The total area is . On March 27, 2006 ...
,
Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. History An ...
,
Obihiro is a Cities of Japan, city in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Obihiro is the only designated city in the Tokachi Subprefecture, Tokachi area. As of July 31, 2023, the city had an estimated population of 163,084. The next most populou ...
,
Kitami is a city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is Abashiri. Kitami is physically in the middle of Okhotsk Subprefecture. Th ...
,
Abashiri is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the ...
,
Wakkanai file:Wakkanai city office.JPG, 290px, Wakkanai City Hall file:Wakkanai shore.jpg, 290px, Shore of Wakkanai is a Cities of Japan, city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Wakkanai is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. Situated approx ...
, and Nemuro.


Gallery

File:4 Chome Sakaigawa, Chūō-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaidō 064-0943, Japan - panoramio.jpg, Sapporo City File:Asahibashi Bridge and Mt. Daisetsuzan Range.jpg,
Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...
File:Cityscapes of Hakodate Hokkaido pref Japan01n.jpg,
Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...
File:Nusamai-Bridge.jpg,
Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. History An ...
File:ObihiroMainSummer.jpg,
Obihiro is a Cities of Japan, city in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Obihiro is the only designated city in the Tokachi Subprefecture, Tokachi area. As of July 31, 2023, the city had an estimated population of 163,084. The next most populou ...
File:春光町から北見市中心部方向 - panoramio.jpg,
Kitami is a city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is Abashiri. Kitami is physically in the middle of Okhotsk Subprefecture. Th ...
File:Hokkaido-prefectural-road R6 central-Iwamizawa.JPG,
Iwamizawa is a city in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sorachi Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2023, the city had an estimated population of 75,949 and the density of 158 persons per km2. The total area is . On March 27, 2006 ...
File:Abashiri River09n.jpg,
Abashiri is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the ...
File:Wakkanai station001.JPG,
Wakkanai file:Wakkanai city office.JPG, 290px, Wakkanai City Hall file:Wakkanai shore.jpg, 290px, Shore of Wakkanai is a Cities of Japan, city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Wakkanai is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. Situated approx ...
File:Hokkaido pref road No35 Nosappu Cape.jpg, Nemuro File:Rumoi city nightview.JPG,
Rumoi 290px, Rumoi city hall 290px, central Rumoi is a city in Rumoi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 18,132 in 10519 households, and a population density of 61 people per km2. The total area of the city is . T ...


Economy

Although there is some
light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...
(most notably paper milling and beer brewing) most of the population is employed by the service sector. In 2001, the service sector and other tertiary industries generated more than three-quarters of the gross domestic product. Agriculture and other primary industries play a large role in Hokkaidō's economy. Hokkaidō has nearly one fourth of Japan's total arable land. It ranks first in the nation in the production of a host of agricultural products, including wheat, soybeans, potatoes, sugar beets, onions, pumpkins, corn, raw milk, and beef. Hokkaidō also accounts for 22% of Japan's forests with a sizable timber industry. The prefecture is first in the nation in production of marine products and aquaculture. The average farm size in Hokkaidō is 26 hectares per farmer in 2013, which is almost 11 times bigger than the national average of 2.4 hectares. Tourism is an important industry, especially during the cool summertime when visitors are attracted to Hokkaidō's open spaces from hotter and more humid parts of Japan and other Asian countries. During the winter, skiing and other winter sports bring other tourists, and increasingly international ones, to the island. Coal mining played an important role in the industrial development of Hokkaidō, with the
Ishikari coalfield The Ishikari coal basin lies in the tertiary mountains of the mining region of Sorachi Subprefecture, Sorachi, east of the Ishikari Plain in central Hokkaido. These coal veins contain the largest quantity of coal of Japan. Because of its late disc ...
. Cities such as Muroran were primarily developed to supply the rest of the archipelago with coal. In 2023,
Rapidus Corporation is a semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Rapidus was established in August 2022 with the support of eight major Japanese companies: Denso, Kioxia, MUFG Bank, NEC, NTT, SoftBank, Sony, and Toyota. The goal of Rap ...
announced Hokkaido's largest business investment with a 5 trillion yen plan to build a
semiconductor manufacturing Semiconductor device fabrication is the process used to manufacture semiconductor devices, typically integrated circuits (ICs) such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, and memories (such as Random-access memory, RAM and flash memory). It is a ...
factory in Chitose. The site is expected to eventually host over 1,000 employees.


Transportation

Hokkaido's only land link to the rest of Japan is the Seikan Tunnel. Most travellers travel to the island by air: the main airport is
New Chitose Airport is an international airport located south-southeast of Chitose, Hokkaidō, Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By both traffic and land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō. It is adjacent ...
at Chitose, just south of Sapporo. Tokyo–Chitose is in the top 10 of the world's busiest air routes, handling more than 40 widebody round trips on several airlines each day. One of the airlines,
Air Do , previously known as , is a Japanese regional airline headquartered in Sapporo, Sapporo, Japan. It operates scheduled service between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in cooperation with All Nippon Airways, from its hubs at New Chitose Airpor ...
was named after Hokkaidō. Hokkaidō can be reached by ferry from
Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...
, Niigata and some other cities, with the ferries from Tokyo dealing only in cargo. The
Hokkaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...
takes passengers from Tokyo to near Hakodate in slightly over four hours. There is a fairly well-developed railway network, but many cities can be accessed only by road. The coal railways were constructed around Sapporo and Horonai during the late 19th century, as advised by American engineer Joseph Crawford. Hokkaidō is home to one of Japan's Melody Roads, which is made from grooves cut into the ground, which when driven over causes a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the car body.


Education

The
Hokkaido Prefectural Board of Education is the second-largest island of Japan 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 railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...
oversees public schools (except colleges and universities) in Hokkaidō. Public elementary and junior high schools (except Hokkaido Noboribetsu Akebi Secondary School and schools attached to Hokkaidō University of Education) are operated by municipalities, and public high schools are operated by either the prefectural board or municipalities.


Senior high schools

, there are 291 high schools in Hokkaido: 4 national schools, 55 private schools, 233 public schools, and 2 integrated junior-senior schools.


Colleges and universities

Hokkaidō has 34 universities (7 national, 6 local public, and 21 private universities), 15 junior colleges, and 6 colleges of technology (3 national, 1 local public, and 2 private colleges).


Culture

*
Historical Village of Hokkaido is an open-air museum in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It opened in the Nopporo Shinrin Kōen Prefectural Natural Park in 1983. It includes fifty-two historical structures from the "frontier days" of the Meiji period to the Shōwa period that hav ...
*
Hokkaido Archaeological Operations Center opened in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Ebetsu, Hokkaidō, Japan in 1999. Its aim is to protect, preserve, and utilize Cultural Property (Japan)#Buried Cultural Properties, buried cultural properties. History In December 2017, researchers from the Hokkaido ...
* Hokkaidō Heritage *
Hokkaido Museum opened in Sapporo, Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan 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 ra ...
* Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art * Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples *
Pacific Music Festival The Pacific Music Festival (PMF) () is an international classical music festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan. It was founded in 1990 by Leonard Bernstein, along with the London Symphony Orchestra, and 123 young musicians from 18 countries. The ...
* Sapporo ramen, Jingisukan


Sports

The
1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...
were held in Sapporo. The sports teams listed below are based in Hokkaidō. *
Consadole Sapporo is a Japanese professional football club based in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. They will play in the 2025 J2 League, the second tier league of Japanese football, after relegation from the J1 League at conclusion of th ...
(association football) *
Hokkaido American Football Association The Hokkaido American Football Association (北海道アメリカンフットボール協会) or HAFA is an American college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athlet ...
*
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...
*
Japan Basketball League The Japan Basketball League (JBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan. It made up the top-tier of basketball in Japan alongside the bj league, Japan's other basketball competition, with no promotion and relegation between bj and the J ...
*
Levanga Hokkaido Levanga Hokkaido is a Japanese professional basketball team based in the city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. The club was founded in 2006 as ''Rera Kamuy Hokkaido'', this name comes from the language of the Ainu, an ethnic group indigenou ...
(basketball) * Loco Solare (curling) *
Nippon Paper Cranes The were an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Kushiro City in Hokkaidō, Japan. History The club was founded as Jūjō Paper Kushiro Ice Hockey Club in 1949. They adopted the new name Nippon Paper Cranes in 1993 when Jūjō Paper and Sanyō K ...
(ice hockey) *
Oji Eagles The Red Eagles Hokkaido (レッドイーグルス北海道) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tomakomai city on Hokkaidō, Japan. They are members of the Asia League Ice Hockey. History The club was founded as the Oji Eagles in 1925. ...
(ice hockey)


Winter festivals

* Asahikawa Ice Festival * Big Air – snowboarding freestyle competition *
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 o ...
* Shōwa-Shinzan International Yukigassen - competitive snowballing * Sōunkyō Ice Festival


International relations

Hokkaidō has relationships with several provinces, states, and other entities worldwide. *
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, Canada, since 1980 *
Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...
, China, since 1980 *
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, United States, since 1988 *
Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalinskaya oblastʹ, p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the Russian ...
, Russia, since 1998 *
Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...
, South Korea, since 2005 *
Gyeongsangnam-do South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that ...
, South Korea, since 2006 *
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, South Korea, since 2010 *
Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...
, Thailand, since 2013 *
Thimphu Thimphu (; ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's '' dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city of Punakha was replac ...
, Bhutan *
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, United States of America , 74 individual municipalities in Hokkaidō have sister city agreements with 114 cities in 21 countries worldwide.


Politics


Governor

The current
governor of Hokkaido The is the head of the local government of Hokkaido, Japan's largest prefecture. The seat of the local government is located in Sapporo, the capital city of the prefecture. The current governor is Naomichi Suzuki. List of governors This is th ...
is
Naomichi Suzuki is a Japanese politician who currently serves as Governor of Hokkaidō. He previously served as mayor of Yūbari city for two consecutive terms from 2011 to 2019. He had also served in Regional Sovereignty Strategy Office of Cabinet Office ...
. He won the governorship in the gubernatorial election in 2019 as an independent. In 1999, Hori was supported by all major non-Communist parties and Itō ran without party support. Before 1983, the governorship had been held by Liberal Democrats Naohiro Dōgakinai and Kingo Machimura for 24 years. In the 1971 election when Machimura retired, the Socialist candidate Shōhei Tsukada lost to Dōgakinai by only 13,000 votes; Tsukada was also supported by the Communist Party – the leftist cooperation in opposition to the US-Japanese security treaty had brought joint Socialist-Communist candidates to victory in many other prefectural and local elections in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1959, Machimura had defeated Yokomichi's father Setsuo in the race to succeed Hokkaidō's first elected governor, Socialist Toshibumi Tanaka who retired after three terms. Tanaka had only won the governorship in 1947 in a run-off election against
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
Eiji Arima because no candidate had received the necessary vote share to win in the first round as required by law at the time.


Assembly

The Hokkaido Legislative Assembly has 100 members from 47 electoral districts. , the LDP caucus holds a majority with 51 seats, the DPJ-led group has 26 members. Other groups are the ''Hokkaidō Yūshikai'' of New Party Daichi and independents with twelve seats,
Kōmeitō , formerly New Komeito (NKP) and commonly referred to as simply Komei, is a political party in Japan founded by the leader of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, in 1964. It is generally considered centrist and socially conservative. Since 2012, ...
with eight, and the
Japanese Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party is chaired ...
with four members.Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly
Members by electoral district and parliamentary group
General elections for the Hokkaido assembly are currently held together with gubernatorial elections in the unified local elections (last round: April 2015).


National representation

For the lower house of the National Diet, Hokkaidō is divided into twelve single-member electoral districts. In the 2017 election, candidates from the governing coalition of Liberal Democrats and
Kōmeitō , formerly New Komeito (NKP) and commonly referred to as simply Komei, is a political party in Japan founded by the leader of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, in 1964. It is generally considered centrist and socially conservative. Since 2012, ...
won seven districts and the main opposition Constitutional Democrats five. For the proportional election segment, Hokkaidō and
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
are the only two prefectures that form a regional "block" district of their own. The
Hokkaido proportional representation block The or in official usage the "Hokkaidō electoral district" (北海道選挙区, ''Hokkaidō senkyo-ku'') is one of eleven proportional representation (PR) blocks for the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. It consists of Hokkaidō an ...
elects eight Representatives. In 2017, the Liberal Democratic Party received 28.8% of the proportional vote and won three seats, the Constitutional Democratic Party won three (26.4% of the vote), one seat each went to
Kibō no Tō was a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan founded by Governor of Tokyo, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. The party was founded just before the call of the 2017 Japanese general election, 2017 gen ...
(12.3%) and Kōmeitō (11.0%). The
Japanese Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party is chaired ...
, who won a seat in
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, lost their seat in 2017 while receiving 8.5% of the votes. In the upper house of the National Diet, a major reapportionment in the 1990s halved the number of Councillors from Hokkaidō per election from four to two. After the elections of 2010 and 2013, the Hokkaido electoral district – like most two-member districts for the upper house – is represented by two Liberal Democrats and two Democrats. In the 2016 upper house election, the district magnitude will be raised to three, Hokkaidō will then temporarily be represented by five members and six after the 2019 election.


See also

*
Former Hokkaidō Government Office The facilities of the former Hokkaidō Government Office () in Sapporo, Japan, include a conference room, a museum shop, a tourist information office, and a few historical exhibition rooms and libraries. Visitors can enter the building for free. F ...
* ''
Golden Kamuy is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Satoru Noda. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from August 2014 to April 2022, with its chapters collected in 31 volumes. The story follows Saich ...
'', a manga and anime series set mainly in Hokkaido. * Hokkaido dialects * List of cities in Hokkaido by population * People from Hokkaido * Sankebetsu brown bear incident * Sinnoh, a fictional region in the ''
Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...
'' franchise which is based on Hokkaido.


Notes


Citations


Explanatory notes

Source: English edition of Sightseeing in Hokkaido, Winter Festival and Events


General references

* * Bisignani, J. D. (1993). ''Japan Handbook''. Chico, California: Moon Publications. ;
OCLC 8954556
* McDougall, Walter A. (1993). ''Let the Sea Make a Noise: A History of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur''. New York: Basic Books.
OCLC 28017793
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia''
Cambridge:
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...
.
OCLC 58053128


External links


Hokkaido Official Website




(In English)
Hokkaido Ski Resort
{{Authority control Ainu geography Japanese archipelago Prefectures of Japan