A Hokkaido music fan is making ukuleles out of Sakhalin spruce, a tree found in the wild on Japan's northernmost main island.

Eisuke Miyagi, 52, of Sapporo, said he became fascinated by the "powerful" sound of ukuleles at a music shop about 10 years ago.

His preconception that the instrument was just a "toy with fewer strings than a guitar" was shattered, he said.

Miyagi, who heads Quiam, a semiconductor-related service provider in Chitose, Hokkaido, has won praise for his instruments, which he sells for ¥92,000 or more.

The owner of a musical instrument store in Sapporo said the instruments produce "a soft but distinctive tone."

Miyagi's white-colored ukulele, which strikes a contrast with the usual brown color of the instrument, is light and easy to handle, the store owner said.

Ukuleles are usually made of mahogany or brown wood from other trees not grown in Japan. But Miyagi decided to use local materials out of affection for his hometown.

His chosen wood is also used for violins.

With the help of a guitar artisan, he created a prototype of his ukulele around the end of 2014. Currently, his firm produces some 10 ukuleles a month and also sells them in Hawaii as well as Tokyo and Osaka.

"There are some sounds only Sakhalin spruce can produce," Miyagi said. "I want people, from children to the elderly, to feel and enjoy" his instruments.