Hokkaido is the northernmost prefecture of Japan, and is one of the four main islands of the Japanese archipelago. The island has a population of 5.58 million people, and its capital city, Sapporo, has 1.89 million people. Hokkaido is particularly known for its open nature, and Sapporo for its winter festival. The island is also the home of the Ainu people, the indigenous people of Japan, similar to the First Nations of Canada. Alberta is twinined with the province of Hokkaido and municipalities are also twined.. For example, the town of Shikaoi is a sister town to Stony Plain in Alberta. See Alberta Japan Twinned Municipalities Association website at
http://www.ajtma.com for other relationships.
