Origin of Hokkaido prefectural name
HOKKAIDO – North Sea Road 北海道 The only prefecture that’s a “do” (道) instead of a ken (県). It’s also the only prefectural name where we always pronounce the “do”…
Cruise ship ports in Japan
Overview of Japan’s cruise ship ports. Being a stretched-out archipelago with a long coastline (34,600 km or 21,500 mi.) and hundreds of inhabited islands, Japan has many sea ports and…
Port of Hakodate (函館港)
Facing the northern end of Japan’s main island of Honshu, Hakodate has long been Hokkaido’s main gateway by the sea and everyone’s favorite port town. The city has many tourist…
Remote Rebun and Rishiri, Hokkaido
Way up near the northern tip of Hokkaido is a pair of small islands called Rebun and Rishiri. It’s one of the most remote places I’ve ever been to in…
Sapporo Snow Festival highlighted by Hawaiian TV show
New book called “The Companies We Keep 2” by Bob Sigall has been published with my photo of the Iolani Palace snow sculpture at the Sapporo Snow Festival is highlighted…