hokkaido

Hokkaido (北海道 , literally "Northern Sea Circuit")(Japanese: [hokkaꜜidoː] ), formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is the second largest island of Japan, and the largest and northernmost prefecture. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu. The two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. 
- naming of hokkaido

• 「北海道の名付け親」と言われているのが松浦武四郎という人物です。武四郎は、江戸時代の終わりから明治にかけて活躍した探検家で、6度に渡る蝦夷地(北海道)の探査を通じてアイヌの人々とも交流を深め、蝦夷地の詳細な記録を数多く残しました。また、アイヌの人々が蝦夷地で安心して暮らしていけるようにしたいという強い思いを持ち、行動した人でもあります。蝦夷地のことに詳しい第一人者として明治政府の一員となり、1869(明治2)年7月17日、明治政府に対し、蝦夷地に代わる新たな名称として「北海道」のもととなった「北加伊道」を含む6案を提案しました。https://hokkaido150.jp/matsuuratakeshiro/

- When establishing the Development Commission (開拓使 Kaitakushi), the Meiji Government decided to change the name of Ezochi. Matsuura Takeshirō submitted six proposals, including names such as Kaihokudō (海北道) and Hokkaidō (北加伊道), to the government. The government eventually decided to use the name Hokkaidō, but decided to write it as 北海道, as a compromise between 海北道 and because of the similarity with names such as Tōkaidō(東海道). According to Matsuura, the name was thought up because the Ainu called the region Kai. Historically, many peoples who had interactions with the ancestors of the Ainu called them and their islands^[dubious ] Kuyi, Kuye, Qoy, or some similar name, which may have some connection to the early modern form Kai. The Kai element also strongly resembles the On'yomi, or Sino-Japanese, reading of the characters 蝦夷 (on'yomi as [ka.i, カイ], kun'yomi as [e.mi.ɕi, えみし]) which have been used for over a thousand years in China and Japan as the standard orthographic form to be used when referring to Ainu and related peoples; it is possible that Matsuura's Kai was actually an alteration, influenced by the Sino-Japanese reading of 蝦夷 Ka-i, of the Nivkh exonym for the Ainu, namely Qoy or IPA: [kʰuɣi]. There is no known established Ainu language word for the island of Hokkaido. However, the Ainu people did have a name for all of their domain, which included Hokkaido along with the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, and parts of northern Honshu, which was Aynu Mosir (アィヌ・モシリ), a name taken by the modern Ainu to refer to their traditional homeland.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}"Ainu Mosir" literally translates as "The Land Where People (the Ainu) Live", and it was traditionally used to be contrasted with Kamuy Mosir, "The Land of the Kamuy (spirits)". In 1947, Hokkaido became a full-fledged prefecture, but the -ken suffix was never added to its name, so the -dō suffix came to be understood to mean "prefecture". "Hokkai-do-ken" (literally "North Sea Province Prefecture") is therefore, technically speaking, a redundant term, although it is occasionally used to differentiate the government from the island itself. The prefecture's government calls itself the "Hokkaido Government" rather than the "Hokkaido Prefectural Government".

Furano (富良野市, Furano-shi) is a city in the prefecture of Hokkaido, Japan, located in the southern reaches of Kamikawa Subprefecture, under whose jurisdiction it resides. Well known throughout Japan as a tourism destination, it is famous for its lavender fields, the television drama Kita no Kuni kara and the Furano Ski Resort, which held the Snowboarding World Cup in recent years.The city takes its name from the Ainu word "Fura-nui," which means "Stinky Flame" or "Foul-Smelling Place," in the language of the indigenous people of Hokkaido. This is most likely because the valley was associated with sulfuric fumaroles near Tokachi Peak. In 1897 the first homesteaders arrived from Mie Prefecture and settled in what is now the Ogiyama area of the city. The Village of Furano was established as a satellite settlement of the then-preeminent Utashinai Village. In 1899 the settlement was transferred from under the jurisdiction of Sorachi County to Kamikawa County, an official town hall was raised, and Furano Village, Sorachi County was officially established.

kawashira, Kamoenai, Furuu District, Hokkaido

- [nhk news] houses with steep thatched roofs People
- 松浦 武四郎（まつうら たけしろう、文化15年2月6日（1818年3月12日） - 明治21年（1888年）2月10日）は、江戸時代末期（幕末）から明治にかけての探検家、浮世絵師、著述家、好古家。名前の表記は竹四郎とも。諱は弘。雅号は北海道人（ほっかいどうじん）、多気志楼など多数。蝦夷地を探査し、北海道という名前を考案した。

• 文化15年（1818年）、伊勢国一志郡須川村（現在の三重県松阪市小野江町）にて郷士・松浦桂介ととく子の四男として生まれる。松浦家は、肥前国平戸の松浦氏の一族で中世に伊勢国へ移住してきたといわれている。別書では、代々百姓で、父・桂祐の次男として生まれたとしている。父親は庄屋を営んでおり、比較的恵まれた中、武四郎は後の探検家として役に立つ文化的な素養を身に付けたとされる^[4]。13歳から3年間、平松楽斎（漢学者・伊勢津藩士）のもとで学び、猪飼敬所、梁川星巌らと知己を得る。山本亡羊に本草学を学び、16歳から日本国内の諸国をめぐった。天保9年（1838年）に平戸で僧となり文桂と名乗るが、故郷を離れている間に親兄弟が亡くなり天涯孤独になったのを契機に、弘化元年（1844年）に還俗して蝦夷地探検に出発する。1846年には樺太詰となった松前藩医・西川春庵の下僕として同行し^[5]、その探査は北海道だけでは無く択捉島や樺太にまで及んだ。蝦夷では詩人の頼三樹三郎と旅することもあった^[5]。安政2年（1855年）に江戸幕府から蝦夷御用御雇に抜擢された。そして、再び蝦夷地を踏査し、「東西蝦夷山川地理取調図」を出版した。明治2年（1869年）には開拓判官となり、蝦夷地に「北海道」の名（当初は「北加伊道」）を命名した。更にアイヌ語の地名を参考にして国名・郡名を選定した。翌明治3年（1870年）に北海道の開拓の方針を巡って、従五位の官位を返上した^[6]。この間、北海道へは6度赴き、150冊の調査記録書を遺した。
• Only japanese wikipedia version

Niseko (ニセコ町 Niseko-chō) is a town located in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. To Japanese people, Niseko principally refers to a mountain range and a municipal area. However, overseas the name has come to refer to a wider area of ski resorts encompassing Hokkaido's Mount Yōtei, often referred to as the "Mt. Fuji of Hokkaido", and Annupuri ranges. The name Niseko derives from the Ainu language, and it means "a cliff jutting over a riverbank deep in the mountains".^{[citation needed]} The Niseko town's main industries are agriculture and tourism. The resort itself, Niseko United, is part of the Mountain Collective. Moreover, the town is renowned for its quality powder snow and world-class facilities, including traditional onsen and restaurants.ニセコはアイヌ語の「ニセイ・コ・アン・ペツ」（峡谷にある川）に由来する。この川とは地区の正面に聳えるニセコ連峰に源を発して南に流れ、尻別川に合流するニセコアンベツ川のことで、ニセコアンペツの水源である山はアイヌ語で山を意味するヌプリの語を付け「ニセコアンヌプリ」とされた。ニセコ町は1964年（昭和39年）までは「狩太町」（かりぶと）という名称であった。1901年（明治34年）に真狩村（まっかりむら）から分村して誕生した際に、それまで真狩村で最も栄えていた地区は「真狩太（まっかりぶと）」と呼ばれていた。これは真狩村の地名語源である川「マク・カリ・ペツ」（奥の方で曲がる川、現在の真狩別川）と尻別川の合流点が付近にあり、アイヌ語で「マク・カリ・プトゥ」と呼ばれていたことにちなむ（プトゥは合流点の意）。

- hk

• https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/3041483/niseko-hong-kong-developer-banks-luxury-hotels-bullet A Hong Kong-based luxury property developer is making the Hanazono village in Niseko its next launch pad to profitability as the Japanese ski resort town grows in popularity.Odin Properties sold eight of the 88 plots at the Odin Hills residential project in the popular Hokkaido ski resort at the opening sales in Hong Kong on December 6, according to co-founder Chris Fjelddahl. They were snapped up by buyers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines.The developer is banking on a slew of luxury developments in Niseko to attract buyers to its Japanese and European-styled mountain village project. They include the Park Hyatt hotel by Richard Li’s Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD) and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve by the YTL group from Malaysia, while a new bullet railway station in the vicinity could also add value to the surrounding properties.

• Hackworth, an Australian who ran resorts in his home country, was part of a group of investors who in 2004 acquired Hanazomo, one of four primary sections of Niseko. Three years later, Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group bought out Hackworth and his partners, but put him in charge of operations as the real estate conglomerate began to invest in improving the facilities. Today, there are new restaurants and lifts. A Park Hyatt hotel will open later this month.https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3046892/worst-winter-decades-japans-ski-resorts

占冠村（しむかっぷむら ^{Shimukappu mura */?}）是位於日本北海道上川綜合振興局最南端山區的一個村；轄區面積的94％為森林。村名源自阿伊努語的「si-mo-ka-pet」，意思是平靜河川（指鵡川）的上游。Tomamu in the eastern part of the village area is the site of the Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, one of Hokkaido's major ski resorts, located on the southern slopes of Mount Tomamu. The resort is dominated by four 40-storey (121 metre) high-rise towers built during the boom of the late 1980s. The exteriors of these buildings have recently been redecorated by Klein Dytham architecture (KDa) of Shibuya, Tokyo to make them harmonize better with their surroundings.Shimukappu and Tomamu have a student exchange/sister city program with Aspen, Colorado.

Shiretoko Peninsula (知床半島, Shiretoko-hantō) is located on the easternmost portion of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, protruding into the Sea of Okhotsk. It is separated from Kunashir Island of Russia by the Nemuro Strait. The name Shiretoko is derived from the Ainuword sir etok, meaning "the end of the Earth"^[1] or "the place where the Earth protrudes". The towns of Rausu and Shari are found on the peninsula.

Shiribeshi Subprefecture (後志総合振興局, Shiribeshi-sōgō-shinkō-kyoku) is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. 

- Kutchan (倶知安町, Kutchan-chō) is a town located in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Kutchan's name comes from the language of the Hokkaido's native Ainu people. It attempts to mimic the pronunciation of the Ainu word ku-shan-i (which roughly translates as “the place where the channel flows”), but some claim that the name is derived from kucha-an-nai (“stream of a hunting lodge”).

- 積丹半島（しゃこたんはんとう）是唯一北海道西部後志支廳的一個半島，地名來自阿伊努語的「sak-kotan」（夏天的村落）。

- Yoichi (余市町, Yoichi-chō) 余市町には縄文時代の早期以降から各年代の遺跡やストーンサークルが発見されている。ヨイチのアイヌコタンは西蝦夷地は最大規模の人口であり、ヨイチアイヌは他の地方のアイヌの伝承にも大勢力としてたびたび登場する。近世から現代においても北海道内有数の交易場所、ニシンの千石場所として栄えた^[4]。ところが、ニシンは1954年（昭和29年）の漁を最後に余市湾への回遊が途絶えてしまい、「幻の魚」となってしまった^[19]。

• The cave paintings at Fugoppe Cave in Yoichi are the first known signs of prehistoric life on Hokkaido. Their origin remains a mystery.

local administration

- Hokkaido Prefecture had 14 branch offices called 支庁 (shichō) in Japanese, which is often translated in English as subprefectures. Normally, a subprefecture consists of a few to a dozen cities, towns, and/or villages. From April 2010, Hokkaido has 9 General Subprefectural Bureaus (総合振興局) and 5 Subprefectural Bureaus (振興局). For historical reasons, some older people in Hokkaido use the subprefecture name suffixed by -kannai in their address.