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Daisetsu-zan National Park
Sapporo & Hakodate
Hokkaido’s capital Sapporo dates back only
120 years, and this bright, cosmopolitan city,
well-endowed with gardens and parks, makes the
perfect base from which to head out and explore
the island. In recent times it has played host to
matches in the 2002 football World Cup and the
1972 Winter Olympics, and each February the
city welcomes the world to the wonderful
Sapporo Snow Festival, an ice-sculpting
extravaganza on an epic scale. Further south,
separated from the mainland by the narrow
Tsugaru Straits, is the charming port town of
Hakodate. There is something of the feel of
Nagasaki here, with the intriguing mixture of
Japanese and Western architecture giving an
unexpectedly international atmosphere. Take a
cable-car at dusk to the summit of Mount
Hakodate and watch as the sparkling lights of
the town radiate out into the distance.
Sapporo Snow Festival
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Hokkaido’s National Parks
Hokkaido is blessed with stunning natural scenery,
carved by the elements and sculpted by ongoing
volcanic activity. The island is dotted with national
parks, from the picturesque caldera lakes of
Shikotsu-Toya near Sapporo, home to active
volcanoes, to the rugged wilderness of the
bear-haunted Shiretoko Peninsula that juts out
east into the cold Sea of Okhotsk. The centre of
Hokkaido rises to the high peaks of Daisetsu-zan
Hokkaido’s history
Hokkaido’s history is long and, at times,
dark. The island was not settled upon by
mainlanders until the 1600s, when trade
links were established by the ruling
Shogunate clan. This offered the indigenous
Ainu population a chance for wealth and
commerce but was also ultimately their
undoing; they were persecuted and forced
out of their homelands, with some
restrictions lasting until as late as the 1990s.
During this time the Ainu were forced to
learn Japanese, required to adopt Japanese
names and ordered to cease religious
practices such as animal sacrifice and the
custom of tattooing. It was not until 2008
that the Ainu were officially recognised as
National Park, the largest and perhaps most
beautiful region on the island. In summer this is
wonderful walking country, with cable-cars
offering easy access to summits carpeted with
alpine flowers. For those with an interest in bird
watching, winter brings an influx of rare and
spectacular visitors. One of Japan’s national
symbols, the red-crested crane, spends its winters
at Kushiro Wetland National Park, while Akan
National Park and the eastern regions host the
magnificent Steller’s sea eagles.
Sketch of Ainu men in traditional costume
an indigenous group, resulting in better
relations with the mainland and a renaissance
of Ainu traditions. Several Ainu museums
have been set up in Hokkaido giving visitors
to the island a chance to better understand
their history and customs.