Hokkaido is Japan's second-largest and northernmost main island, covering about 83,400 km² — roughly 22% of the country's total land area — but with a population of only around 5 million, making it by far Japan's least densely populated main island. Its capital and largest city is Sapporo, home to nearly two million people.
Historically called Ezo, Hokkaido was for centuries home to the Indigenous Ainu people, whose distinct language and culture predate Japanese settlement of the island. Large-scale Japanese migration and development began in earnest after the Meiji government formally incorporated Hokkaido in 1869, following the suppression of Ainu resistance; a small Ainu community and cultural presence remains today, with growing recognition of Ainu heritage in recent decades.
The island's cooler climate, open landscapes, and lower population density set it apart from the rest of Japan — it is known nationally for skiing and winter sports, dairy farming, seafood, and national parks such as Daisetsuzan and Shiretoko, and it draws large numbers of visitors for both its snowy winters and mild, low-humidity summers.
