Addendum to the Hokkaido Presentation (Climate and Nature)

Hey folks, this is what you were supposed to see today.

The weather in Hokkaido is still very warm even in the winter months (compared to temperatures throughout European and North American countries). With a typical low of -8 C (18 F) and a high of -1 C (30 F) Hokkaido sees about 111 mm (4.37 in) of precipitation which generally comes in the form of snow. The sun sets at around 5pm during the winter for all of Japan but Hokkaido only sees about 100 hours of sunlight a month, think about this; there are 744 hours in a month, if the sun was out for 12 hours a day you’d have 372 hours of light. Hokkaido averages just over 3 hours of light a day during the winter.

During the summer, Hokkaido is a very temperate environment with a high of 26 C (79 F) and a low of 19 C (65 F). Precipitation is only slightly higher during August making the weather very dry at around 137 mm (5.39 in). Possibly due to the elevation of the region, Hokkaido has an unseemly low amount of sunlight even during its hottest month with only 174 hours of sun or just less than 6 hours a day.

Hokkaido is the pristine natural island of Japan hearkening back to the days of Feudal lords and a sense of isolationism. Daisetsuzan is the largest national park of Hokkaido and the most popular in all of Japan for lovers of the outdoors, hikers, and enormous brown bears (they also enjoy the hikers). Spanning an area of 10 times the size of Osaka city (around 900 square miles) the park is located in the center of the island.

Though not nearly as large, the islands of Rishirito and Rebunto are also preserved national parks. Rishirito springs up from the ocean to a peak of 1721 m (about 1 vertical mile) and is littered with hiking trails and small fishing villages. As you ascend the mountain to reach the dormant volcano at its center you can look out on the coastline and enjoy the cloud cover and sapphire ocean. The attached picture is of Rishirito viewed from one of the many trails on Rebunto.

Rebunto is a veritable cornucopia of alpine flowers that grow directly at sea level since it is much flatter and longer still than its sibling Rishirito. Both of these islands can be found on the western side of Hokkaido’s northernmost peninsula. While maintaining such wondrous spectacles is understandably pricy, it’s best not to bring a car across the ferry or you may find yourself shelling out $150 or more for a one-way trip.