Japan
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
77,984km²
Area
2,227km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,291m
Highest point
Asahi-dake
5,383,579
People
19°C
Warmest sea
August
152km
To the mainland
When to go to Hokkaidō
Best to visit in August.
The sea is warmest in August (19 °C) and coolest in February (3 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of Japan
Hokkaidō is an island in Japan. It belongs to Japanese archipelago. It covers 77,984 km², with 2,227 km of coastline. Its highest point, Asahi-dake, rises to 2,291 m. About 5,383,579 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 152 km away.
Getting there
- New Chitose Airport (CTS)main airport (10 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at CTS airport (Sapporo)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 152 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Hokkaidō.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Hokkaidō in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Hokkaidō, each with its own numbers.
17beaches and covesCoastya
40lakesLakeyas
21waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
270m
Hagoromo Falls
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
78.5km²
Lake Kussharo
118 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Deepest lake
212m
Lake Mashū
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
25.6°C
Miyajima-numa
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
23.7°C
Orito Kaigan
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
17 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Ōmori Hama22.5°C
- Bentenga Hama17.1°C
- Yobito Ura17.2°C
- Orito Kaigan23.7°C
- Ōanzai Hama22.8°C
- Uchigō Hama22.8°C
- Hyakunin Hama19.2°C
- Chōbushi Hama17.7°C
9 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
40 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Kussharo118 m deep78.5km²
- Lake Shikotsu77.7km²
- Lake Tōya70.0km²
- Lake Abashiri16 m deep32.1km²
- Lake Mashū212 m deep18.7km²
- Lake Akan45 m deep12.5km²
- Lake Kutcharo8.2km²
- Lake Kuttara148 m deep4.4km²
32 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
21 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Hagoromo Falls270m
- Garō Falls70m
- Inkura Falls44m
- Shirahige Falls30m
- Kamuiwakka Falls
- Ashiribetsu Falls
- Sakura Falls
- 社台滝
13 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
500 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Sapporo1,973,832 people
- Asahikawa333,530 people
- Hakodate275,730 people
- Tomakomai174,806 people
- Kushiro167,875 people
- Obihiro166,536 people
- Ebetsu133,953 people
- Kitami119,135 people
- Otaru115,333 people
- Chitose97,950 people
- Muroran96,197 people
- Iwamizawa85,107 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -6 | -6 | -1 | 6 | 14 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 11 | 3 | -4 |
| Night low (°C) | -14 | -14 | -9 | -2 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 3 | -4 | -11 |
| Sea (°C) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 70 | 61 | 56 | 52 | 69 | 80 | 119 | 154 | 126 | 107 | 103 | 97 |
| Wet days | 20 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 22 |
| Sun h/day | 2.9 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 1.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 16 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +2.4 | +1.5 | +0.7 |
| 2021 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −0.7 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +1.8 | +1.5 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +1.2 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | −0.8 | +0.1 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +1.6 |
| 2023 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +1.8 | +2.0 | +2.1 | +2.4 | +3.1 | +3.3 | +1.9 | +2.3 | +1.3 |
| 2024 | +1.2 | +0.8 | −0.4 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +1.0 |
| 2025 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +1.5 | +2.3 | +2.0 | +3.5 | +3.4 | +2.3 | +2.0 | ±0.0 | +0.3 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Russia
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q35581) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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