Surrounded by the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean, Hokkaido is the northernmost of the four islands of Japan. With its volcanic landscapes and its wooded areas, it is also the wildest and most unspoiled island in the Japanese archipelago. A couple of years back, the Ainu, meaning “human” in the Ainu language, were officially recognised as an indigenous people of Japan. They are a population of fishermen and hunters whose ancestors migrated to Hokkaido, Sakhalin Island, the Kurils and Kamchatka.