Hokkaidō Prefecture
Hokkaidō Prefecture (北海道 Hokkaidō) is a special Japanese prefecture in Hokkaidō region on the island Hokkaidō.[2] It is the most northern prefecture of Japan.
| Hokkaidō | |||||||||
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| Capital | Sapporo | ||||||||
| Region | Hokkaido | ||||||||
| Island | Hokkaidō | ||||||||
| Governor | Harumi Takahashi | ||||||||
| Area (rank) | 83,453.57 km² (1st) | ||||||||
| - % water | 6.4% | ||||||||
| Population (2010-10-01[1]) | |||||||||
| - Population | 5,507,456 (8th) | ||||||||
| - Density | 66.4 /km² | ||||||||
| Districts | 68 | ||||||||
| Municipalities | 180 | ||||||||
| ISO 3166-2 | JP-01 | ||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||
| Prefectural Symbols | |||||||||
| - Flower | Hamanasu (Rugosa Rose, Rosa rugosa) | ||||||||
| - Tree | Ezomatsu (Jezo Spruce, Picea jezoensis) | ||||||||
| - Bird | Tanchō (Red-crowned Crane, Grus japonensis) | ||||||||
| - Fish | Sea Bream | ||||||||
 Symbol of Hokkaidō Prefecture | |||||||||
| Template ■ Discussion | |||||||||
Sapporo is the capital city.[2]
HistoryEdit
Until the Meiji Restoration, the island was called Ezo, Watari-shima, Yeddo, and Yezo. Since 1869, it has been called Hokkaidō.[2]
The population expanded in the late 19th century.[2]
TimelineEdit
- 2008 (Heisei 20): 34th G8 summit at Toyako[4]
GeographyEdit
Hokkaidō is the 2nd largest island of Japan[2] The island is between the Sea of Japan to the west, the Sea of Okhotsk to the northeast, the Pacific Ocean to the southeast, and the Tsugaru Strait to the south.
Hokkaidō is separated from Honshu by the Tsugaru Strait; however, it is connected by the underwater Seikan tunnel.
Some of the Chishima Islands are occupied by Russia, but Japan still considers the islands to be Japanese.
National ParksEdit
Natural Parks are established in about 10% of the total land area of the prefecture.[5]
Shrines and TemplesEdit
Hokkaidō jingū was the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) of Ezo, which was an ancient name for the Hokkaidō region.[6]
Related pagesEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ National Census 2010 Preliminary Results
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002). "Hokkaido" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 343.
- ↑ Travel-around-Japan.com, "Former Hokkaido Government office building"; retrieved 2012-2-14.
- ↑ Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA): 34th G8 summit, overview.
- ↑ Japan Ministry of the Environment, "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture"; retrieved 2012-3-14.
- ↑ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1963). The Vicissitudes of Shinto, p. 328.
