Hokkaido is a rough-cut northern diamond, both in shape and in its hidden natural riches -- as well as the sparkle of snow and ice of its long Siberian winters.
Lying between Sakhalin and Honshu, Hokkaido's climate, culture and natural characteristics lean northward. In its ancient past, Hokkaido was connected by land bridges northward via Sakhalin to the continental coast, whereas between it and Honshu to the south lay the unbridgeable, 450-meter-deep Tsugaru Strait. It is these ancient bridges and divides that have determined the rich biodiversity of this wild frontier that is Japan's second-largest island.
Climate gives significant direction to the cast of characters found here. Prevailing northerly winter winds drive a weather machine that is more Arctic than temperate. For months snow blankets the island, its lakes and rivers freeze over as the mercury dips below minus 30 degrees in the interior -- and overwintering is for hardy species only.