HOKKAIDO

Hokkaido at a glance

Japan's northernmost and second largest island, Hokkaido's vast nature make it a popular tourist destination. The peak travel seasons are summer, when the mild weather attracts campers, cyclists, and hikers, and winter, when thick snow powders the island's ski slopes and rising steam beckons visitors to its many hot springs. The Sapporo Snow Festival (Yuki Matsuri) held every year in February is one of the most popular festivals in Japan.

Hokkaido is also home to Japan's indigenous people, the Ainu, who are said to have settled the area some 20,000 years ago. The Japanese, on the other hand, began moving to the area in earnest during the Meiji Period, when the government promoted migration to Hokkaido to protect Japan's northern front from Russian expansionism. Ainu culture has played an important role in shaping Hokkaido's history and many of the area names, including the capital of Sapporo, come from the Ainu language.

After heavily discriminating against the Ainu for over a century, the Japanese government finally passed a law in 1998 to use government funds to research and promote Ainu language and culture. The past few decades has seen a resurgence in Ainu culture and many children of Ainu who hid their identity due to cultural persecution now take pride in their Ainu heritage.

Today, Hokkaido is famous for some of Japan's tastiest foods, including crab, Sapporo ramen noodles, salmon roe, sea urchin, and Sapporo Beer.

EXPERIENCE SAPHORO

Winter programs will be updated soon

Most of our winter programs are currently off season and not available.
There will be the same programs for the coming winter.
However, there maybe some changes in the details (prices, time, etc.).
So please come back again to check the latest information in late November.

Dog Sledding, Snowmobiling, ice Fishing, Snowshoeing

sumber : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokkaido