Tomakomai, Hokkaido

Unlike all other regions, Hokkaido has only one prefecture with the same name, so it is the largest prefecture in Japan. Despite this, it remains one of the least populated areas of the country.Historically, the Japanese themselves first came to Hokkaido only in the XV century, and their few settlements were located in the southern part of the island. Before the Japanese, the main inhabitants of Hokkaido were the Ainu, who occupied its territory since the Japanese Paleolithic (approximately 30 - 10 millennium BC), which makes them the oldest inhabitants of the Japanese islands. Scientists, having conducted archaeological and toponymic studies, came to the conclusion that previously the Ainu lived throughout modern Japan, and then went north, settling in Hokkaido, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The Ainu lived in small groups and were famous as excellent hunters and fishermen.The Japanese sought to include Hokkaido in their country, and the Ainu strongly opposed this, staging numerous uprisings. After the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese began to seriously take up the indigenous population, trying to assimilate it as quickly as possible: the Ainu were united into large reservations, where bans on traditional clothing, beliefs and occupations were introduced, thereby destroying their way of life that had developed many centuries ago. Because of this, the rich Ainu culture was in danger of extinction. Many tried not to show their belonging to them in any way, so the number of speakers of the Ainu language has rapidly decreased, and some dialects have completely disappeared by now. Ainu folklore also suffered significantly, since there was no one to tell oral traditions to. Since the beginning of the XXI century, the Japanese Government has taken a number of measures to preserve the traditions and cultural characteristics of the Ainu and reduce their discrimination.Hokkaido has a number of museums and parks dedicated to this people. The first of them was the Pope, on whose territory the National Ainu Museum and the traditional Ainu village of Kotan are located. The pope regularly holds various events aimed at spreading knowledge about the Ainu, as well as meetings of scientists studying this people.You can also learn about Ainu and their life in the city of Noboribetsu. There is an Ainu village where you can look at their houses and household items. It is located in a stunning bear park, where a lot of clubfoot are always happy to demonstrate to new guests their skills to climb various wooden structures.In addition, you can participate in duck races in the park, and if your chosen duck gets to the finish line without any problems in one go, get a special souvenir from the park. There is also a museum dedicated to brown bears, and from its observation deck you can admire the beautiful Kuttara Lake. There are also hot springs in Noboribetsu, which are a popular resort.Not far from it is the famous Toya Lake , which is part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park from the UNESCO list of geoparks. You can take a cruise on the lake, and visit a museum on one of the islands in its center, the exposition of which tells about the nature and inhabitants of the lake and the surrounding forests.Another famous body of water in Hokkaido is the blue pond Biei, which has water of an unusual bright blue color. It was formed quite recently in 1989 as a result of the construction of a dam to prevent global destruction from a volcanic eruption, and no one knows exactly why its water has such a color. Scientists suggest that this happened because of the large number of certain chemical compounds that saturate the sources that feed the pond.In the city of Abashiri there is a famous prison, the northernmost in the country and the only institution of this type in Japan, turned into a museum. Abashiri was one of the harshest prisons, but despite this, the heroes of most Yakuza films easily escape from there. The image of the prison became massively used in films, manga and anime, which made Abashiri a very popular place among tourists.The center of Hokkaido Prefecture and its largest city is Sapporo, where a Snow festival is held annually. About 2 million people come to see the ice and snow sculptures.In Sapporo there is one of the oldest botanical gardens in Japan, where you can see several thousand plants. There is also a museum on the territory of the garden, which opened in Hokkaido earlier than others.In the Mannen-ji temple of Iwamizawa there is a doll Okiku, a character of a famous urban legend. More than 100 years ago, a boy gave this doll to his sister, whom she loved very much. But soon the girl died, and strange things began to happen to the doll. Inconsolable parents once noticed that her hair was growing. They didn't believe it with their eyes at first, but soon became convinced that it was true. Before moving, they took the doll to the temple, where they told about its features. Since then, she has always been there, standing in the main hall, and the temple servants cut her hair every March. Someone thinks that the girl's soul has moved into the doll, and someone thinks that this is all fiction. Nevertheless, Okiku has firmly entered the life of the Japanese: books are written about her and performances are staged.Hakodate is one of the oldest cities in Hokkaido, with a rich history. It can rightfully be called the most Russian city in Japan, since our compatriots arrived there back in 1793, returning Japanese sailors who came to Russia as a result of a storm to their homeland. This story served as the basis for Yasushi Inoue's novel "Dreams about Russia" and the film of the same name. The Russian diplomatic mission appeared in Hakodate in 1858. At first, the diplomats lived in the Horyuji Temple, the oldest temple in Hokkaido, and the mission itself was located in the Jitsuge-ji temple.In the same 1858, diplomats built a hospital and laid the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, which opened its doors in 1859 and became the first Orthodox church in Japan. Since 1861, Nikolai Kasatkin, later canonized as equal-to-the-Apostles and better known as Nicholas of Japan, served in this church. In 1865, Takuma Sawabe, a cousin of the national hero of Japan Sakamoto Ryoma, tried to kill him, but Nikolai told him about Orthodoxy and after some time Sawabe was baptized, and later became the first Japanese Orthodox priest.The staff of the consulate and the priests of the church made every effort to establish friendly relations between Japan and Russia: they founded schools, libraries, organized holidays, treated the sick, taught the Japanese how to use Western technology. So, Odo Kenzo Consul I.A. Goshkevich, who got into the Russian hospital There, was taught to use a camera together with the doctor, and soon he opened the first photo studio in Hakodate. Russian Russian authorities are still in contact with Russia, and it will be easy for a Russian tourist to navigate in the city: signs on the street, menus in cafes and restaurants are almost always duplicated in Russian.Hakodate is famous not only for its ties with Russia. To the Japanese themselves, it is better known as the place of the end of the Boshin Civil War, which completed the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and marked the onset of the Meiji Restoration. In 1868, the army supporting the shogunate retreated to Hokkaido. They founded a republic in Hokkaido with its capital in Hakodate. Admiral Enomoto Takeaki, who had previously hijacked almost the entire Tokugawa fleet, was chosen as its president. The Enomoto government was supported by France, which benefited from the existence of two Japanese states. The main French consultant was Jules Brunet, who became one of the prototypes of Tom Cruise's character in The Last Samurai.But it's not Enomoto or Brunet who attracts the crowds of Japanese in Hakodate. The symbol of Hakodate's defense was Hijikata Toshizo, known as the demonic deputy commander of the Shinsengumi, who, due to his frenzied popularity, was made the advertising face of the city. Now he is considered a model of loyalty and samurai honor.The main site of the battle for Hakodate was the pentagonal Gorekaku Fort, the first fortress built in Japan on the Western model to resist European-type artillery. During the last stage of the battle, the Gorekaku garrison was cut off from the part located on the Benten coastal battery. Hijikata, along with a small detachment, tried to break through to Benten, thanks to his unsurpassed tactical abilities, they even managed to achieve superiority on the battlefield, but Hijikata was killed by a stray bullet. After his death, the defense collapsed and a week later the republic ceased to exist.The rest of the leaders of the republic were pardoned instead of the death penalty, almost all of them subsequently took high positions. For example, Enomoto became an ambassador to Russia, and after that he was a minister and a member of the Privy Council.Now there is no Gorekaku Fort, there is a park on its territory that gathers thousands of people during cherry blossoms, a Boshin war museum and an observation deck. The main event taking place there is the Hakodate-Gorekaku-Matsuri Festival dedicated to the Boshin War and its heroes. Its culmination is a parade of Hidekata Toshizo's doubles, as a result of which the most similar one is chosen.The Benten battery also does not exist, but the stones located at its location have a peculiarity: they are hot all the time. The locals put together a legend that it happened because of the blood shed by its defenders during the Bosin War.