The Volcanic Islets Of Onuma

Ōnuma Quasi-National Park (Ōnuma Kokutei Kōen 大沼国定公園), Oshima (渡島)  Hokkaido, Japan Summer 2011    Located only twenty kilometers north of Hakodate, Ōnuma Park (Ōnuma Kōen) is a 90.83 square km (35.07 square miles) volcanic park on the Oshima Peninsula in southwest Hokkaidō, Japan. Designated a quasi-national park in 1958, it is known for its picturesque, island dotted lakes and majestic dormant volcano, Mount Komagatake.     ...

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Susukino's Red Lights

Sapporo (札幌), Ishikari (石狩) Hokkaido, Japan Summer 2011 Susukino (すすきの) is a red-light district located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is one of the major red-light districts in Japan along with Kabukichō, Tokyo, and Nakasu, Fukuoka. Currently, the district is congested with many restaurants, bars, hotels, and adult-entertainment establishments. Susukino is not an official designation of any municipality. Rather, it is a commonly...

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Goryōkaku's Wartime Past

Hakodate (函館), Oshima (渡島)  Hokkaido, Japan Summer 2011   Fort Goryōkaku (Goryōkaku 五稜郭) is a massive, star-shaped, Western-style citadel, which was built in the last years of the Edo Period for the defense of Hakodate against the imperialist threat posed by the Western powers. Built by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1857-1866, it was located in the center of the port of Hakodate, on the island of Hokkaidō.  Shaped like a five-pointed...

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