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Hokkaido, Japan – Culture, History, Sightseeing an More

Hokkaido, Japan – History, Cities, Festivals, Food and more.

Hokkaido (北海道 Hokkaidō) is Japan’s most northern region island and it’s closest prefecture neighbor is Aomori which is at the very northern part of the island of Honshu. Hokkaido was first ‘stolen’ from the Ainu people and made as a Japanese land mass in 1869 right after the beginning of the Meiji period.

It’s hard to describe the history and the current state of what Hokkaido is without explaining who first lived on this northern island of Japan before even the Japanese themselves occupied the land of what is now known as Japan. The Ainu people were the indigenous people that first inhabited the lands of Japan.

Guide for Traveling Hokkaidou — **HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**: Super Cheap Hokkaido is the perfect companion for a budget holiday to Sapporo and the surrounding Hokkaido prefecture.

They are said to have come over from Russia long time ago when a frozen mass connected the island and Russia, and their ancestry has been said to stem back to the Jomon period, which is basically early man kind. I strongly recommend learning about the Ainu people, click here to learn more about Hokkaido the Ainu and where it’s been.

Hokkaido has been known as several names throughout history. Ezo, Yezo, Yeso and Yesso. It’s their second largest island of Japan and of course the most northern area of Japan before you get to the Kuril Islands and Russia. Hokkaido is separated from the island of Honshu of Japan by the Tsugaru Strait, but the two islands are now connected by an underwater railway called the Seikan Tunnel.

The main capital of Hokkaido is Sapporo, although there are several large cities in Hokkaido this is the only one that is ordinance-designated by the Japanese government. The Meiji period government had a tough decision to make when they came to renaming Hokkaido which was called Ezochi then.

They had a few choices when it came to renaming the island. They had Kaihokudo and Hokkaido, they of course decided to name the island Hokkaido, but they decided to write the kanji in a way to compromise between similar names then like Tokaido. But according to the Matsuura, the name Hokkaido was brought up because the Ainu people called the region Kai.

The food in Hokkaido is said to be some of the best seafood in the world. But the residents of Hokkaido have been able to manage growing crops on soil that’s been said to be hard to grow on because of all the activity with the volcanoes and the huge amount of volcanic ash that is in the area. But Hokkaido is known for garlic, potato’s and Japan’s largest grow area of corn.

It’s said that the seafood is so good though, that if you have any desire or liking of seafood, you should visit Hokkaido at least once in your life!

Hokkaido has a good amount of Earthquakes every year and also has active volcanoes such as:

Mount Meakan
Mount Tarumae
Mount Tokachi
Mount Usu
Mount Koma

But not everything in Hokkaido is a snowy mass or a volcano. The spring, summer and fall times of Hokkaido have a lot of beauty in them as well. In fact many come to Hokkaido during the summer months to come see the flower farms.

There are over 80 different flower farms or flower lands in Hokkaido that you can visit. Because of the unique summers Hokkaido has by not being too hot or too cold, it’s perfect for growing flowers, and because of this, Hokkaido has a huge tourist industry based solely off of Hokkaido’s flowers, and when the trees start to change in September for a festival called Momijigari. Click here to see the different Flower Lands in Hokkaido.

The wildlife in Hokkaido is extremely rugged being that it’s one of the roughest areas during the winter in the world. But, besides this rough wilderness it has more brown bear in the world then anywhere else in Asia. But it’s also known to have large amount deer and red crown crane that still live on the island. Some mountains will incur up to 400 inches of snow fall during the year and because of this Hokkaido is known for it’s snow sports.

There are several ski resorts in Hokkaido such as:

Niseko
Furano
Teine
Rusutsu

Hokkaido Festival:

Since it’s roots are in the winter, it’s not surprising to note that Hokkaido hosts several different festival during the Winter but host some famous Spring, Summer and Fall festivals as well:

Sapporo Snow Festival	Asahikawa Snow Festival	Sounkyo Ice Festival
Chitose-Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival	Obihiro Ice Festival	Otaru Yukiakari no Michi (Snow Gleaming)
Showashinzan International Yukigassan (Snowball Fight)	Sounkyo Hyobaku (Ice Waterfall) Festival)	Otofuke Tokachigawa Swan Festival Sairinka
Abashiri Okotsk Drift Ice Festival	Lake Akan Ice Festival “Fuyu-hanabi” (Winter Fireworks)	Mombetsu Drift Ice Festival
Sapporo Lilac Festival	Hakodate Goryokaku Festival	Matsumae Cherry Blossom Festival
Non Key Land Moss Phlox Festival	Yosakoi Soran Festival	Hokkaido Shrine Festival
Sapporo Summer Festival	Pacific Music Festival	Otaru Ushio Festival
Lake Shikotsu Lake Water Festival	Hokkai Heso (Belly Button) Festival	Shiretoko Shari Neputa
Noboribetsu Hell Festival	Esashi Ubagami Daijingu Togyo Festival	Furano Wine Festival
Nemuro Crab Festival	Autumn Wine Festival	Momijigari (Leaf Watching)
Marimo Festival	Sapporo White Illumination	Hakodate Christmas Fantasy Festival

Click here to learn more about these festivals.

The cities of Hokkaido are as followed:

Abashiri	Akabira	Asahikawa
Ashibetsu	Bibai	Chitose
Date	Ebetsu	Eniwa
Fukagawa	Furano	Hokdate
Hokuto	Ishikari	Iwamizawa
Kitahiroshima	Kitami	Kushiro
Mikasa	Monbetsu	Muroran
Nayoro	Nemuro	Noboribetsu
Obihiro	Otaru	Rumoi
Sapporo	Shibetsu	Sunagawa
Takikawa	Tomakomai	Utashinai
Wakkanai	Yubari

All Blog Posts, Etiquette in Japan, Learn Japanese, News in Japan

Japanese Schools VS American Schools

What Differences to Expect When Going to School in Japan

Good Japanese Students are Seen Not Heard, American Students are Loud and Opinionated

There are a few things to understand about Japanese Schools and how they relate to American standard schools, and it comes down to the way you are taught, what the teacher expects from you and how you are graded.

In American schools, there is a lot of freedom to expression opinions and to ask questions. In fact, it’s said to be that those who take advantage of this idea are the ones who get the most of out classes in America and get the best grades. Whereas those who go to school in Japan will notice that it’s not as appropriate to ask questions in class, it’s more appropriate to ask questions after class or to ask your friends and classmates instead. It’s more of a virtue to be quiet during class, and by being ‘quiet’ you are seen as a good student in Japan, and with that, your grades can and many times will improve simply based off of that fact alone.

There is no eating or drinking in the class room or sitting on desks in Japan classrooms, whereas in America this custom is beginning to be the normality of going to school. When it comes to studying in Japan be it from 1st grade to University, the teacher will simply write down notes on the blackboard, and you will be responsible for taking down those notes and remembering them. Whereas in America the teachers do not use the blackboard as often and ask questions of the students while teaching. In Japan, it’s not very often you will see a teacher asking questions to their classroom.

When it comes to examinations, American classes rooms will expect you to be able to write down facts, names and history, but not only that but to form your opinion based around it as well. In Japan the notes you took while in class are simply the answers for many examinations, and you simply must just remember the facts. Although these two systems seem very opposite, the formulation of the illegal standards of Common Core in America is quickly leaving American school children behind. At this point although the Japanese system is a bit odd to us westerns, Japan is ranked #2 in schools in education in the world (from 2014) just under South Korea, whereas America was ranked #14.

So either way you want to look at it, Japanese students and the way they teach seem to be working much better then the American standards. No matter what the cultural shock may be, this remains to be a fact. But I often wonder with so much freedom overall given to American students if it creates a different kind of education, more of an opinionated one that could very well be the American spirit of freedom to do what one wishes. If one wishes to become more educated the platforms of doing so are there, as I’m sure it is in Japan if one wishes as well.

If you are interested in going to school in Japan contact us on Facebook and can will help you find a school in the area you’d like to study in. I’d also suggest checking out my free Japanese learning resources here that will help you become more proficient in speaking, reading, writing and understanding Japanese.

So now you know the differences between Japanese Schools and American Schools!

All Blog Posts, Etiquette in Japan

Basic Onsen Etiquette in Japan & How to Onsen with Tattoo’s

Everything You Need to Know About Japanese Onsen Etiquette + How to Onsen with Tattoo’s

Japan in it’s history was lavish with tattoo’s, but as times change in Japan (as they often do), the Japanese culture became more and more strict with the usage of tattoos, until now, still in 2016 we see many onsen, santo (bath houses), gyms and hotels will still turn people away who have tattoos that are visible.

Overall this custom bans anyone from entering their facilities if they have a tattoo. So beyond now knowing that tattoos are considered taboo in Japan over all, what else do we need to know about etiquette when it comes to Japanese onsen? (hot springs). Be sure to read through till the end to find out how you can still enjoy the Japanese hot spring (onsen) experience whilst pimping out your favorite ink!

Check out all the Japanese Onsen here in this directory.

Or I highly recommend a hand-book guide to the best onsens in Japan below:

Best Onsens in Japan Book — I highly recommend this book for those who are serious about doing some traveling in Japan. Onsen is one of those things one should do while in Japan. Just like eating sushi or drinking sake, visiting a shrine or going to the sky tree in Tokyo. If you miss out on an onsen experience you’re missing out on Japan!

Etiquette Rules #1

Be sure to fully wash yourself before entering into an onsen or santo. You’ll want to scrub yourself down, then rinse yourself. Many times there will be a stool you can use to sit on while washing.

Remember that in Japanese culture, baths are not for cleaning yourself, they are for relaxing. Many onsen and bath houses will expect you to bring your own towels and soap for cleaning, so be sure to do so. Plus you can save money by avoiding having to purchase the bath houses soap and towels.

Once you’ve cleaned yourself before entering, clean up your area and make it ready for the next customer after you. Also note that taking pictures in an onsen is kind of weird and you should not do it. Although some will allow, I’d say, be respectful of the naked people around you!

Etiquette Rules #2

You can use your towel to cover yourself whilst walking about the onsen or santo. Do not dive or splash in the water, do not wring your towel out in the water. And when you are in the water place your towel on your head. You can also set the towel to the side on a rock if you’d rather. If you need to wring out your towel, don’t do it in the onsen.

Don’t be a pervert. Pretty simple

Do not swim in the onsen, this is time for relaxing, if you want to swim go to a pool.

Etiquette Rules #3

Do not wear a swimming suit or bring a towel into the water to cover yourself. You’ll need to get over being naked in the onsen or santo. This is how things are in Japan, no body really cares. Overall bringing things into the water is shown as dirtying the water. So don’t do it!

If you want shared gender bathing experience go to a konyoku bath. You can also look for a kashikiri-buro bath which is used for families and must be reserved beforehand.

Etiquette Rule #4

Remove your shoes, many onsen have traditional Japanese flooring called tatami mats. It’s customary to remove your shoes before entering upon a tatami mat, so before entering the onsen area with the tatami mat, take off your shoes, and don’t label yourself the biggest gaijin in the world.

Etiquette Rule #5

Be sure to understand what changing room is yours. The women’s dressing room will usually be a large red curtain with the kanji for woman on it 女. If you end up going into the woman’s changing area, you’ll get slapped, head butted then possibly arrested for being a hentai 😛 so don’t do that.

Etiquette Rule #6

Since all onsen and santo are basically buck ass (nude only), you’ll need to place your clothes in a certain location. In the changing rooms you’ll find baskets that you can place your clothes in, many times you’ll have a locker. Don’t leave your stuff just hanging out all over the place, it looks trashy and it’s super rude!

Etiquette Rules #7

If in doubt, ask. Many onsen will have specific rules about their onsen or santo. You can read signs on the wall or simply ask if you are unclear.

This is where many times people with tattoos will need to address the issue if they are unsure the onsen allows tattoos. Still to date, many of these onsen do not allow tattoos but its become more common now days that you can find onsen that allow tattoos or at least be able to cover them up.

So unless you want to reserve a private onsen experience, you’ll need to know the rules of the onsen about tattoos. Tattoos in Japan have a few bad connotations. First is that the famous Japanese gang the Yakuzas have tattoos and second people were tattooed when they were in prison to show that they are criminals. So these ideas are still somewhat strong in Japan and thusly why some onsen don’t want to deal with Japanese or foreigners with tattoos!

But there are a few things you can do if you have a tattoo in Japan and want to enjoy an onsen or santo, gym or hotel. You can simply find locations that allow tattoos (Use Tattoo Spot (it’s in Japanese)) or if your tattoo is small enough you can use a water proof sticker to cover up your tattoo.

Still check with the onsen before hand to avoid any conflicts with patching your tattoo, but many onsen are now allowing patching up their tattoos.

You can purchase Japanese onsen tattoo patches here.

You can also check out this product here about how to remove your tattoo naturally at home!

Now you know some simple Japanese bathing etiquette! By following these basic etiquette rules you will impress the owners and the Japanese, and help pave the way to more leniency for tattoos and foreigners moving into the future. Being someone that has a small arm tattoo I’ve been doing my research very thoroughly so I hope you can trust my advice and you can also enjoy the Onsen experience in Japan!

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