Discovering Hokkaido's Past: From the Hokkaido Museum to the Historical Village

Our tour of Hokkaido was not just about enjoying delicious food and breathtaking scenery. We also made time for an educational experience. In the afternoon of 10 July, we visited the Hokkaido Museum in Sapporo, which provided an excellent introduction to the history, nature and people of Japan's northernmost island.

More than a collection of historical artefacts, the museum tells the story of Hokkaido from prehistoric times to the present day. We learnt about the island's unique geology, volcanoes, diverse wildlife, early human settlements, and the transformation of Hokkaido following the Meiji period. It gave us a much deeper appreciation of the places we had been visiting throughout our journey.

Japan is often perceived as one of the world's most ethnically homogeneous nations, unlike many other Asian countries that are distinctly multicultural and multi-ethnic. Yet one of the museum's most fascinating sections introduced us to the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido. Long before Japanese settlement, the Ainu lived in close harmony with nature, relying on fishing, hunting and gathering for their livelihood. Their beliefs reflected a profound respect for the natural world, with rivers, forests, bears and salmon regarded as gifts from the spiritual beings, or kamuy.

The museum also presents the more difficult chapters of Ainu history. Following the settlement of Hokkaido by the Japanese in the late 19th century, many Ainu people lost their traditional lands and experienced discrimination and strong pressures to assimilate into mainstream Japanese society. Today, however, there is growing recognition of the Ainu as Japan's indigenous people, and significant efforts are being made to preserve and revitalise their language, traditions and cultural heritage.

Our visit to the Hokkaido Museum reminded us that travel is not only about seeing beautiful places or tasting local cuisine. It is also about understanding the people, cultures and histories that have shaped those places. Learning about the Ainu added a meaningful chapter of our Hokkaido journey.

The exhibit is believed to be a fossilized lower jaw with molar teeth, belonging to Naumann’s elephant (Palaeoloxodon naumanni), an Ice Age elephant that lived in Japan about 350,000 to 24,000 years ago. Its large, ridged molars were adapted for grinding vegetation. Standing around 2.5m-3m tall, this prehistoric elephant coexisted with other Ice Age animals.

Among the highlights were displays of traditional Ainu clothing woven from natural fibres, hunting and fishing implements, beautifully carved wooden utensils, ceremonial objects, musical instruments, and models of the cise, the traditional Ainu house. Interactive exhibits and multimedia presentations provided further insights into Ainu customs, family life, beliefs and artistic traditions, while also showcasing ongoing efforts to preserve the Ainu language.

Overall, the Hokkaido Museum provides far more than a collection of exhibits. It helps us understand how the island's landscape, wildlife and diverse peoples have shaped its identity over the years.

The cise is the traditional house of the Ainu people.

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From the Hokkaido Museum, we continued to the nearby Historical Village of Hokkaido, an open-air museum covering 54 hectares. The village features more than 50 historic buildings that have been relocated from different parts of the island and carefully preserved to showcase the architecture and way of life during Hokkaido's pioneering era, from the late 19th to the early 20th century.

The village is divided into four districts: the Town Area, Farming Village, Fishing Village, and Mountain Village. We spent a leisurely afternoon wandering from building to building, exploring traditional homes, shops, a post office, a police station, and other restored structures. Many of them are furnished with original household items, tools, and everyday artefacts, providing a fascinating glimpse into the lives of Hokkaido's early settlers more than a century ago.

The Historical Village of Hokkaido offers an engaging journey through the island's rich history and cultural heritage. Together with the nearby Hokkaido Museum, it provided us with a deeper appreciation of how Hokkaido developed into the vibrant region it is today.

Former Kondo Dye Shop.

We ended our tour of the Historical Village of Hokkaido at the Former Kondo Dye Shop. Originally established in Asahikawa in 1898, the building was relocated and reconstructed in the village to preserve an example of a traditional dyeing business from Hokkaido's pioneering era. It served not only as a shop but also as the owner's residence.

A highlight of our visit was watching a couple demonstrate the traditional dyeing technique. Their skillful hands transformed a small piece of plain paper into a coloured paper using age-old methods. As a lovely souvenir, each visitor was presented with a small piece of that paper dyed during the demonstration - a simple but memorable keepsake from our visit.