Hokkaido

**Hokkaido prefecture (北海道)**
Symbols
Hokkaido prefectural symbol Hokkaido prefectural symbol
Capital	Sapporo
Region:	Hokkaido
Island:	Hokkaido
Area - Total - % water	Ranked 1st 83,452.47 km² 6.4%
Population - Total (Jan 1, 2003) - Density	Ranked 7th 5,702,131 68/km²
Districts:	66
Municipalities:	212
ISO 3166-2:	JP-01
Pref. Flower:	Sweet briar (Rosa rugosa)
Pref. Tree:	Ezomatsu (Picea jezoensis)
Pref. Bird:	Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis)

Hokkaidō (北海道, literal meaning: "North Sea Circuit"), formally known as Yezo, is the second largest island of Japan. The Tsugaru Strait separates it from Honshu, although it is connects to Honshu through a submarine train tunnel, or Seikan tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaido is Sapporo, which is the capital of Hokkaido prefecture.

Hokkaido has been the homeland of the Ainu race since time immemorial. Many place names are in fact derived from Ainu language such as Sapporo.

An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck near the island on September 25, 2003 at 19:50:07 (UTC).

It is divided into four parts:

Eastern Circuit (道東): 網走, 知床, 阿寒湖, 屈斜路湖, 摩周湖, 釧路, 帯広, 十勝川
Southern Circuit (道南): Sapporo(札幌), 定山溪, 支笏湖, 洞爺湖, 登別, 小樽 , 函館, 湯の川;
Central Circuit (道央): 富良野, 美瑛, 旭川, 層雲峽
Northern Circuit (道北): 稚内

There are still many undisturbed forests in Hokkaido, including:

6 national parks:
- 知床 Shiretoko N.P
- 阿寒 Akan N.P.
- 釧路湿原 Kushiro Marshlands N.P.
- 大雪山 Taisetsuzan N.P.
- 支笏洞爺 Shikotsu-Toya N.P.
- 利尻礼文サロベツ Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu N.P
5 quasi-national parks (準国立公園)
12 circuital natural reserves

See the list of cities in Hokkaido

Subprefecture

External links

Official Hokkaido prefecture homepage