Geography of Hokkaido


The island of Hokkaidō is located in the north of Japan, near Russia. It has coastlines on the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Pacific Ocean. The center of the island is mountainous, with volcanic plateaux. Hokkaidō has multiple plains such as the Ishikari Plain, Tokachi Plain, the Kushiro Plain and Sarobetsu Plain. Hokkaidō is which makes it the second-largest island of Japan.
The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu ; La Pérouse Strait separates Hokkaidō from the island of Sakhalin in Russia; Nemuro Strait separates Hokkaidō from Kunashir Island in the Russian Kuril Islands.
The governmental jurisdiction of Hokkaidō incorporates several smaller islands, including Rishiri, Okushiri Island, and Rebun. Hokkaidō Prefecture is the largest and northernmost Japanese prefecture. The island ranks 21st in the world by area.

Ecology

Flora and fauna

There are three populations of the Ussuri brown bear 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. The flowering plant Hydrangea hirta is also found on the island.

Geology

Like many areas of Japan, Hokkaidō is seismically active. Aside from numerous earthquakes, the following volcanoes are considered still active :
In 1993, an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 generated a tsunami 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, 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

Shiretoko National Park*知床
Akan Mashu National Park阿寒
Kushiro-shitsugen National Park釧路湿原
Daisetsuzan National Park大雪山
Shikotsu-Tōya National Park支笏洞爺
Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park利尻礼文サロベツ

Abashiri Quasi-National Park網走
Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Quasi-National Park日高山脈襟裳
Niseko-Shakotan-Otaru Kaigan Quasi-National Parkニセコ積丹小樽海岸
Ōnuma Quasi-National Park大沼
Shokanbetsu-Teuri-Yagishiri Quasi-National Park暑寒別天売焼尻

Kushiro Wetland釧路湿原
Lake Kutcharoクッチャロ湖
Lake Utonaiウトナイ湖
Kiritappu Wetland霧多布湿原
Lake Akkeshi, Bekkanbeushi Wetland厚岸湖・別寒辺牛湿原
Miyajima Marsh宮島沼
Uryūnuma Wetland雨竜沼湿原
Sarobetsu plainサロベツ原野
Lake Tōfutsu濤沸湖
Lake Akan阿寒湖
Notsuke Peninsula, Notsuke Bay野付半島・野付湾
Lake Fūren, Shunkunitai風蓮湖・春国岱

Subprefectures

, Hokkaidō has nine General Subprefectural Bureaus and five Subprefectural Bureaus. Hokkaidō is one of eight prefectures in Japan that have subprefectures. However, it is the only one of the eight to have such offices covering the whole of its territory outside the main cities. 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.

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 zone with Köppen climate classification Dfb in most areas but Dfa 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 on the Sea of Okhotsk coast and interior lowlands and up to around on the Pacific side. The generally high quality of powder snow and numerous mountains in Hokkaidō make it a popular region for snow sports. The snowfall usually commences in earnest in November and ski resorts usually operate between December and April. Hokkaidō celebrates its winter weather at the Sapporo Snow Festival.
During the winter, passage through the Sea of Okhotsk is often complicated by large floes of drift ice. 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 May–June monsoon season and the lack of relative humidity and typically warm, rather than hot, summer weather makes its climate an attraction for tourists from other parts of Japan.

Climate data

CityMay
Sapporo
Hakodate
Asahikawa
Kushiro
Wakkanai
Rikubetsu
Saroma
Okushiri
Erimo