Centuries-old traditions, high technology, densely populated cities, cherry blossoms, exotic nature - all this is amazing Japan. Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku are the country's largest islands where the sun rises. It is not for nothing that Hokkaido is called the center of ecotourism, because it has preserved the beautiful features of pristine nature.
Cities in Hokkaido
Hokkaido is simply not as large and densely populated as Honshu, for example, mainly due to its vast and unspoiled nature. You won't find huge cities with millions of inhabitants here. However, there are a number of cities that you should visit if you decide to travel around Hokkaido. These include the capital Sapporo, the romantic port city of Otaru, historic Hakodate and Japan's northernmost place Wakkanai.
Sapporo
Sapporo is the fifth largest city in Japan. Almost 2,000,000 people live in the island's capital. Sapporo is very similar to other major cities in Japan. There are many modern high-rise buildings and infrastructure here. Sapporo is much greener than Tokyo or Osaka, for example. The city has wide avenues with extensive city parks. Did you know that this city is mainly (internationally) known for its beer? Sapporo breweries are highly recommended for lovers of good beer. In addition, a beer festival takes place every year in July and August, and in winter sculptors compete to build giant ice palaces and ice sculptures.
Otaru
Otaru is by nature a port city. This gives the city a romantic and historical character. The city has beautiful canals and authentic department stores thanks to the centuries-old commercial culture that prevails there. It's almost like a small, Japanese version of the canals of Amsterdam! This town has a unique Victorian feel with canals, department stores and historical accents such as lampposts. In winter, it's nice to see the Otaru Snow Light Festival or the Nikka Whiskey Yoichi Distillery (very tasty Japanese whiskey)
Hokkaido is a wild and vast island with a variety of nature. You will find wild bears, wolves and other animals unique to Japan
Hakodate
Hakodate is the first city you'll encounter in Hokkaido when you arrive by ferry from Honshu. This city is also famous for its so-called morning market. Here you will find the most exotic types of fish and fruits. Not far from Hakodate there is a vast nature reserve called Umanuma National Park, where many monkeys live in winter. In the city of Hakodate in 1854, with the help of the Dutch, a fort was built.
Goryōkaku Fort (五稜郭, Goryōkaku), which is based on the Western star-shaped design.
Wakkanai
Population 44,000 people.
Wakkanai or "Windy City" is the northernmost city of Hokkaido and therefore also Japan. In winter it is much warmer here than in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, but the Japanese consider it a pole of cold. In the autumn and winter months, seals swim here. From May to November, you can also visit the other Wakkanai islands by ferry. It is also home to the indigenous Ainu community. The Ainu are a people, the oldest population of the Japanese islands.
Distinctive features of the Ainu culture.
From June to September (sometimes from May to October - depending on natural conditions) ferries run regularly to Sakhalin (to the city of Korsakov). Many residents know a little Russian.
Three scary stories from Hyakumonogatari Kaidan
Historical information
Lake Shikotsu
Prehistoric and ancient times
The oldest artifacts found in Hokkaido belong to the Late Paleolithic era. These are stone flakes made by primitive man 25-20 thousand years ago. They were found at the Shukyubai-Sankakuyama mountain site in Chitose city and the Shimaki site in Kamishihoro village. 15-12 thousand years ago, during the Mesolithic era, the technique of making stone blades spread to Hokkaido, which is associated with the emergence of a culture of microlithic tools. At the same time, the inhabitants of the island learned to use bows and arrows.
The appearance of ceramics in Hokkaido dates back to the 8th millennium BC. e. It is represented by the Jomon culture. On the island, this culture found its expression in two styles of tableware design - southwestern and northeastern. The first arose under the influence of the style of the Tohoku region of the neighboring island of Honshu, and the second took shape independently. The dishes from the southwestern part of Hokkaido were flat-bottomed, while those from the northeastern part were sharp-bottomed. Around 6 millennium BC. e. pointed-bottomed ware gave way to flat-bottomed ware, and old styles evolved into new ones—cylindrical in the southwest and north-cylindrical in the northeast. In the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e. the inhabitants of Hokkaido adopted the exuberant Kamegaoka style from neighboring Honshu, which displaced regional styles.
At the turn of our era, a new Yayoi culture spread in Japan. Its bearers were settled farmers. They were engaged in rice cultivation, knew metal working techniques and made a new type of non-ornamental ceramics. Hokkaido remained outside the influence of this culture. Its inhabitants continued to live by hunting and gathering, were semi-sedentary and adhered to the traditions of the previous Jomon era. Their culture was called post-Jomon. During the 3rd-4th centuries, under the influence of their southern neighbors, the inhabitants of Hokkaido began to use metal tools and make jewelry from precious stones.
Since the 7th century, the northeastern regions of Hokkaido, namely the lands of the Sea of Okhotsk coast, have been under the influence of the Okhotsk culture. Its bearers used stone, iron and bone tools. A large settlement and burial ground of these northern hunters was found at the Moyoro site in the territory of the city of Abashiri. The latest monuments of the Okhotsk culture date back to the 9th century.
In the 8th century, a new culture, Satsumon, arose on the basis of the post-Jōmon culture. Its carriers were the proto-Ainu. Like the Jomon, the proto-Ainu were primarily hunter-gatherers, although they practiced primitive agriculture. They made their weapons and tools from iron, less often from stone or bone. The Proto-Ainu traded with the neighboring Nivkhs in the north and the Japanese in the south. The latter called the inhabitants of Hokkaido and surrounding areas the term “edzo” (barbarians), and their country “Ezo Island”, “Eezo Thousand Islands” or “Outland”. The center of trade between the proto-Ainu and the Japanese was the Japanese province of Dewa in the Tohoku region.
New time
In the extreme southwest of the Oshima Peninsula, in 1604, the feudal principality of Matsumae was established, a vassal state of the Tokugawa shoguns, into whose possession the entire island was given. It was called Ezo at that time, and its indigenous population were the Ainu, whose conquest by the Japanese lasted more than two centuries. In 1712-1713, based on questions from the Ainu and the stories of the Japanese, who were brought to Kamchatka by a storm in 1710, the Cossack Ivan Petrovich Kozyrevsky compiled his description of the island. In the spring of 1779, Russian sailors and fishermen, led by Antipin and Shabalin, headed to the shores of Hokkaido in seven canoes. On June 24 of the same year, they entered the Notkomo harbor in the northeast of the island, where they collected yasak from the Ainu living there and actually accepted 1,500 people into Russian citizenship. This fact caused indignation among the Japanese. In the fall of 1792, a Russian expedition led by Adam Laxman visited northern Hokkaido, although the Japanese forbade the Russians from trading with the Hokkaido Ainu.
Nature in Hokkaido
In 1868-1869, the Republic of Ezo existed on the island, created by supporters of the shogunate; After the fall of the republic, the island was renamed Hokkaido. In 1869, the Japanese Government established the Hokkaido Colonization Office.
Nature of Hokkaido
Hokkaido, like the rest of Japan, is very mountainous. This coupled with the cold weather during the winter months means that the weather on this island has huge contrasts. Temperatures can reach 30 degrees in summer and cold enough in winter to practice all types of winter sports.
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Hokkaido National Parks
In Hokkaido you will also find a number of so-called national parks. Take Akan National Park for example. This national park is truly unique. Here you will find volcanoes, bubbling lakes and dense forests. You can simply wander through the forest breathing deeply, or engage in other outdoor activities such as rafting, rock climbing, cycling, fishing.
Hokkaido is home to Japan's most pristine wilderness area, Shiretoko National Park . You will only be allowed here if you prove that you are an experienced traveler or adventurer. Here you will also find many volcanoes, mountains and geysers. Are you not an experienced hiker but still want to visit Shiretoko National Park? Then you can go hiking with a group or book a bus trip through the reserve.
Some other beautiful parks are Takino Suzuran Hillside National Park, Lake Onuma, Onuma Quasi-National Park and Toya Caldera and Usu Volcano Global Geopark.
Geography of the island
The unique location of Hokkaido on the world map lies in the fact that it is not only the northernmost island of Japan, but also the easternmost. It lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, washed by the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. Its northernmost point is Cape Soya, and its easternmost point is Cape Nosappu Saki. The Sangar Strait, otherwise known as Tsugaru, separates the prefecture from its nearest major neighbor, the island of Honshu. Hokkaido is also connected to it by a railway tunnel - Seikan.
Hokkaido has predominantly mid-mountain and low-mountain terrain. Several mountain ranges extend from the center of Hokkaido (Hidaka, Tokachi, etc.). The highest peak on the island is Mount Asahi (2290 m). Unlike other islands, Hokkaido has a 50/50 ratio of plains and mountains. Other islands cannot boast of plains, since almost 90% of the territory is occupied by mountains. Therefore, the plains on the island of Hokkaido are an excellent place to grow crops such as soybeans and potatoes.
There are often earthquakes. The islands of Japan are mainly of volcanic origin, Hokkaido is no exception. Large active volcanoes:
- Siroteko;
- Akan;
- Shikaribetsu;
- Taisetsu;
- Tokati Peak.
In the west of Hokkaido, along the Ishikari River, which is 265 km long, stretches a plain with the same name. It is adjacent to the Yufutsu Plain. In the eastern part, where the 156 km long Tokati River flows, there is another lowland. Shikotsu, Toya and Kuttyaro are large lakes of crater origin, Saroma is of lagoonal origin. Small volcanic lakes are scattered throughout.
History of Hokkaido
Like the rest of Japan, Hokkaido has a rich history. It is important to note that since Hokkaido has never had many inhabitants, no significant events have occurred here either. However, the history of the island is very interesting and there are many traces of the past that can be found today.
Kyushu Island (九州)
About 20,000 years ago the island was first inhabited. The people who came to live here were the Ainu Moshiri. They lived until the 16th century completely separated from the rest of Japan. Hokkaido had almost no contact with the rest of Japan. Since the 17th century it has increasingly become part of Japan. For example, the 1970 Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo, and a bill was passed in 2008 to protect and preserve Ainu culture.
Housing
Are you planning a trip to this beautiful island? Then it is important that you find suitable accommodation. Luckily, there is no shortage here in Hokkaido. Cities like Sapporo and Otaru offer a variety of hotels and hostels. There are also many accommodation options around nature reserves. It is important to reserve on time, then you will pay less and be sure of an overnight stay. The picturesque landscape has many campsites and open parking areas.
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Facts about Hokkaido
- Although Hokkaido is an island, the island has a predominantly so-called "continental climate". This means that winters are cold and summers can be very hot.
- The island was until the 17th century isolated from the rest of Japan.
- The island has its own culture and indigenous population: the Ainu Mukhsiri
- In Hokkaido you will find some of the most beautiful and primitive areas in Japan. These places are very popular among winter sports enthusiasts.
Categories: Curious facts about the Japanese.
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Features of flora and fauna
60% of the island’s territory is forests: spruce-fir (in the north) and broad-leaved (in the southwest), along with meadows and swamps in the lowlands.
The fauna is no less diverse than the flora. The island is home to red fox, brown bear, crane, brown frog, flying squirrel, fish owl, sable, as well as many other representatives of wildlife.
The climate is temperate, oceanic, monsoon. According to the Japanese, the weather is harsher than in other parts of the Japanese archipelago. Its formation is influenced by the currents of the Pacific Ocean. The temperature range is 60 °C (-30 to +30 °C). There is a lot of snow falling. Winter on the island is very snowy and long, which gives the island’s landscapes a special charm.
