During the Tokugawa period ( 1600 – 1868 ) the Ainu became increasingly involved in trade with Japanese who controlled the southern portion of the island that is now called Hokkaido.

The town of Nibutani ( Ainu: Niputay ) in Hidaka area ( Hokkaido prefecture ) has a number of Ainu households and a visit to some of the Ainu owned craft shops close to the Ainu museums ( there are two of them in Nibutani ) is an opportunity to interact with the Ainu people.

The Diomede Islands ( one controlled by Russia, the other by the U. S .) are just apart, and Kunashir Island is about from Hokkaido, Japan.

A novel use for a related species known as oh-titadori ( Polygonum sachalinense ), done in Hokkaido is feeding it to larvae of sea urchins in aquaculture.

This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Hokkaido, features a broth that combines copious amounts of miso and is blended with oily chicken or fish broth – and sometimes with tonkotsu or lard – to create a thick, nutty, slightly sweet and very hearty soup.

Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, is especially famous for its ramen.

* Japanese wild boar Sus scrofa leucomystax: A small, almost maneless, yellowish-brown subspecies from Japan ( except Hokkaido where the wild boar is not naturally present, and the Ryuku Islands where replaced by S. s. riukiuanus ).

The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city.

The Nihon Shoki, finished in 720, is often said to be the first mention of Hokkaido in recorded history.

One of the places Hirafu went to was called Watarishima (), which is often believed to be present-day Hokkaido.

There is no known established Ainu language word for the island of Hokkaido.

The island of Hokkaido is located at the north end of Japan, near Russia, and has coastlines on the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Pacific Ocean.

) Because the prefectural status of Hokkaido is denoted by the dō in its name, it is rarely referred to as " Hokkaido Prefecture ", except when necessary to distinguish the governmental entity from the island.

It is 3. 6 % smaller than the island of Ireland while Hispaniola is 6. 1 % smaller than Hokkaido.

Like many areas of Japan, Hokkaido is seismically active.

The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait.

Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku by tunnels or bridges.

The Chunichi Dragons takes the advantage of such system in the first Climax Series-implemented season, finishing second in regular season, but swept Hanshin Tigers and League Champion Yomiuri Giants in Central League Climax Series, and beat the Champion of Pacific League Climax Series Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to claim their first Japan Series in 52 years.

Laminaria japonica, the important commercial seaweed, was first introduced into China in the late 1920s from Hokkaido, Japan.

" Ainoid " distinguishes the people who are related to, or who are ancestors of, the Ainu, who first emerge as " Ezo " in Hokkaido in the Kamakura period, and then become known as Ainu in the modern period.

Otaru was recognised as a village by the bakufu in 1865, and in 1880 the first railway line in Hokkaido was opened with daily service between Otaru and Sapporo.

Inside Hokkaido, the first syllable in " Furano " is stressed ; however in the rest of Japan the typical pattern of equally and weakly stressed syllables is predominant.

In 1892, the Port of Muroran was opened for the wooden bridge construction at Kaigan ( former Tokikaramoi ); at the same time, the main road began construction from Hakodate to Sapporo as the first step of Hokkaido Colonization Plan.

Hokkaido University ( Hokudai for short ) was originally founded in 1876 as by William S. Clark with the help of five faculty members and a first class size of 24 students.

The name Seikan comes from combining the on ' yomi readings of the first characters of and, the nearest major city on the Hokkaido side.

* August 26, 1872-The first weather station in Japan set up in Hakodate, Hokkaido.

The first cherry blossoms happen in the subtropical southern islands of Okinawa, while on the northern island of Hokkaido, they bloom much later.

One of the first public works of art in honor of Clark's legacy was a bust placed on the campus of the University of Hokkaido in 1926 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of SAC.

Buildings named after Clark include Clark Hall at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, originally constructed in 1905 to house the Department of Botany, and the Clark Memorial Student Center, built on the campus of the University of Hokkaido in 1960, the first and largest western-style collegiate student center in Japan.

In 2006, Sigma Advanced Racing Development and Lexus entered a GS 450h performance hybrid sedan in the 24 Hours of Tokachi race in Hokkaido, Japan, the first time that a hybrid vehicle was introduced.

From 1938 to 1943, Maraini's academic career progressed in Japan, teaching first in Hokkaido ( 1938 – 1941 ) and then in Kyoto ( 1941 – 1943 ); but what he himself observed and learned during those years may be more important than what he may have taught.

On June 17, they moved on from street performances to their first stage performance at Asahikawa Medical University Medic Festival in Hokkaido.

The first stop in Hokkaido is at between 04: 00 and 04: 30 the following day, with arrival in Sapporo just before nine.

On the return trip from Sapporo, the first stop after leaving Hokkaido is at Sendai, around 04: 30 the following day.

They defeated Niigata Prefectural Shibata Agricultural High School, whose battery consisted of right-hander Togashi Kazuhiro ( who later played for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ) and catcher Ken Katoh ( currently with the Yomiuri Giants ), in their first game.

The series was one of the first local variety programs to be produced on Hokkaido ; prior to this series ' launch, local variety programs in Hokkaidō were virtually non-existent.

Hokkaido Development Commission founded the very first agricultural experiment station of the country in Sapporo in 1871, under the advices of O-yatoi gaikokujin ( hired foreign experts ).

* JR Hokkaido KiHa 281 series ( Japan, 1992 ), branded Heat 281 or Furico 281.

* JR Hokkaido KiHa 283 series ( Japan, 1995 ), branded Furico 283.

* JR Hokkaido KiHa 201 series ( Japan, 1996 ), used for local / rapid trains around Sapporo.

* JR Hokkaido KiHa 261 series ( Japan, 1999 ), branded Tilt 261.

A 26-episode anime TV series adaptation, directed by Toshifumi Kawase and Yuzo Sato and produced by Madhouse, aired in Japan between April 7 and September 29, 2002 on the TXN television network on the TV stations TV Osaka, TV Tokyo, TV Hokkaido, TV Aichi, TV Setouchi and TVQ.

* 2007 Japan Series – in a rematch of last year's series, the Chunichi Dragons win 4 – 1 over the 2006 champion Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.