Simon & Schuster - Hokkaido by Tom Fay

[Globe Pequot Publishing] New from Bradt is the first ever, standalone English-language guide to Hokkaido, Japan’s second-largest island and northernmost prefecture. Roughly the size of Maine, Hokkaido is home to under 5% of the country’s population: a land of vast, wild expanses that demands exploration at any season – and feels a world away from Tokyo. Penned by an outdoors-loving travel writer resident in Japan, Bradt’s Hokkaido delves far deeper into this frontier land than country-wide guidebooks can possibly do. Author Tom Fay provides detailed coverage of the island’s history, unique wildlife, local food, the Ainu (indigenous people), outdoor activities, skiing logistics, hiking courses and the practicalities of visiting in winter, when deep snow carpets the ground and the sea turns to ice. Hokkaido’s varied landscapes include remote mountain ranges, fertile lowland plains, sweeping forests and enormous wetlands home to rare birds and other wildlife. Even for the Japan