Japan is a country that is one of the most beloved among numerous tourists. The magnificent nature of Japan, its unique rich history and unique culture attract many people from all over the Earth.
The peculiarity of the location below the described corner of the Earth in geographical terms is that it is both the most eastern and northernmost island of the Japanese archipelago.
Japan: Hokkaido Island
It is the second largest island in Japan. Its northernmost point, like the whole of Japan, is Cape Soya, and the easternmost is Nosappu-Saki.
The nearest neighboring island is Honshu, separated by the Sangar Strait. The waters of the Sea of Okhotsk wash its northern shore, the Sea of Japan - the western, and the Pacific Ocean - the eastern.
Honshu is an island larger than Hokkaido. Previously, it was known under the names of Hondo and Nippon. It accounts for 60% of the total territory of the country. But only Hokkaido, which is one of the 4 largest islands in Japan, best preserved the pristine nature. About 10% of its territory is occupied by national parks (a total of 20). Therefore, Hokkaido is the center of ecological tourism.
The territory of Hokkaido Island has a total area of more than 83,453 km2.
It is inhabited by 5 507 456 people (according to statistics for 2010).
A Brief History of Hokkaido
The settlement of Hokkaido began about 20 thousand years ago. In those days, the Ainu lived here - one of the most ancient nationalities of the Japanese islands. The history of the development of the Japanese island still holds a lot of mysteries. The very first mention known to scholars today is on the pages of Hong Shoki, a Japanese written monument dating from the eighth century A.D.
There is one rather widespread theory, according to which the island of Vatarishima (which is discussed in this chronicle) is Hokkaido, which was only named that way in 1869.
The islanders (Ainu) were engaged in fishing and hunting at that time, and the trade relations with the neighboring islands at that time enabled them to provide themselves with rice and iron.
Their peaceful, quiet life ended in the XIV-XV centuries, when the Japanese gradually began to populate the neighboring Oshima Peninsula (southwest of Hokkaido). This was aggressively taken by the Ainu, which led to hostilities ending in 1475 when their leader died.
During the heyday of the reign of Prince Matsumae, whose territories were located mainly on about. Oshima, the island of Hokkaido gradually became part of their possessions. And again from that moment on the island, a long-standing struggle broke out between the local indigenous people and the Japanese. Ainu rebelled until the 2nd half of the 18th century, but these actions did not bring any results. The Japanese confidently held an important island in their hands, especially since at that time there was still a chance of an attack by the Russians from the west.
In 1868-1869 in Hokkaido, there was an independent republic of Ezo, which was proclaimed after the resettlement of thousands of soldiers on the island, who elected the head of the republic, Admiral E. Takeaki, after the first Japanese election.
The emperor did not suffer such arbitrariness in his territories, and in March 1869 the Republic of Ezo was abolished, and its head was convicted.
There were difficult times for the island in 1945, when its territories were subjected to a terrible bombing. As a result, many cities and villages suffered greatly.
Relief, mining
Hokkaido Island for the most part has a mountainous terrain. More than half of the territory is occupied by mountains, the rest is covered by plains. Mountain ranges (Hidaka, Tokati, etc.) are elongated in the submeridional direction. The highest point of Hokkaido is Mount Asahi (altitude 2290 meters). There are 8 volcanoes on the island, with active ones. Often here, as in Japan, earthquakes occur.
Coal, iron ore and sulfur are mined on the island.
Cities and ethnic composition
Hokkaido (prefecture) is administratively divided into 14 sub-prefectures.
The capital of the island is Sapporo, which is home to 1,115,542 people (according to 2010 statistics).
Sapporo is Hokkaido's largest city. It is separated from the Kuril Islands by the Straits of Treason and Kunashirsky.
Major cities of the island - Muroran, Tomakomai, Otaru. The ethnic composition is quite simple: the Japanese - 98.5% of the total population, the Koreans - 0.5%, the Chinese - 0.4% and other nationalities (including Ainu) - only 0.6%.
Rivers and lakes
The largest rivers of the island are Ishikari (length 265 km) and Tokati (length 156 km).
The largest lakes are Sikotsu, Toya and Kuttyaro (crater) and Saroma (lagoon origin). There are a significant number of small volcanic lakes in Hokkaido, which are fed by mineral hot springs.
Climate
Hokkaido Island has climatic conditions somewhat different than in other Japanese areas. Here, the average annual temperature is only +8 ° C. Due to the proximity to the Pacific Ocean, on average there are only 17 full sunny days in these places per year. But in the summer, about 149 rainy days are recorded, and in the winter - about 123 snowy days.
And yet, by Japanese standards, the summer climate on Hokkaido is drier and the winter is harsher than in other areas of the country.
And the concept of "north" in Hokkaido is quite relative. For example, the city of Wakkanai, located in the far north of the island, is located south of the city of Paris. In general, this island in Japan is considered the "harsh North."
Flora and fauna
For the most part, Hokkaido's vegetation cover is represented by coniferous forests (fir and spruce) interspersed with bamboo (occupy 60% of the island). Cedar, birch forests and shrubbery are common in the mountains.
Among mammals, foxes, bears, sables, ermines, and weasels are found here. All Japanese islands (Hokkaido among them) are inhabited by a surprisingly diverse world of birds, and their coastal waters abound with numerous species of fish.
sights
What is interesting, besides amazing unique nature, you can still see on the island of Hokkaido? Traveler reviews about this island, as well as about the whole of Japan, are the most positive.
In Sapporo, there are several notable places: the clock tower of the same name - one of the few surviving buildings of the late 19th century in the American colonial style; a botanical garden with a preserved plot of natural forest that once grew on the site of the city; Odori Boulevard; television tower (height 147 meters); Mount Capelin, 8 kilometers from the capital; beer museum (once a factory for its production); Nakajima park.
In the city of Hakodate there is a five-bastion fortress (1864); Koryuji Monastery; the Church of the Resurrection and the Catholic Church of Momomati; Higashi Honganji Monastery.
On the island of Hokkaido there are national parks: Shikotsu-Toya, Kushiro-Sitsugen, Akan, Siretoko, Risiri-Rebun and Taiseiuzan. Quasinational parks - Hidaka, Abashiri, Onuma, Akkeshi natural prefectural park.
In conclusion, some interesting facts
- It used to be that Hokkaido is a Russian island. Japan showed no interest in either the Kuril Islands or Sakhalin until the end of the 18th century. The island used to be officially considered foreign territory in Japan. In 1786, the Japanese arrived there met with local residents who bore Russian surnames and names. These were the ancestors of the same Ainu, who once adopted Russian citizenship and Orthodoxy in the early 18th century.Ainu used to live on the territory of Russia (on Sakhalin, in the south of Kamchatka and on the Kuril Islands). This people has a distinctive feature - a European appearance. Today, approximately 30,000 of their descendants live in Japan, but over this long period they managed to assimilate with the Japanese.
- Sapporo annually hosts the Snow Festival, which was first held in 1950. This is a kind of exhibition of snow figures.
- Hokkaido is teeming with many hot springs. The most interesting of them is Dzigokudani (Valley of Hell). On this site are numerous geysers that periodically soar above the ground.
- In its area, Hokkaido is approximately equal to Austrian territory.
- Since 1859, an Orthodox church has been operating in Sapporo, erected by the mission of the Russian Church - the Church of the Resurrection. Since 1983, it officially belongs to the cultural heritage of Japan.