The Ainu were the indigenous people who lived in northernmost Japan, including Hokkaido. They settled in Hokkaido more than 15,00 years ago, surviving through a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The Japanese considered Hokkaido a foreign land and only started migrating there in the 17th century. As a bulwark against Russian encroachment, the Japanese government was eager to develop a thriving agriculture-based community. Japanese authorities consulted the United States in the 19th century for their expertise in farming, lumber, and coal mining techniques.
Many non-Japanese have observed that Hokkaido seems more accepting of foreigners than the main island of Honshu. Why is that? It probably reflects that many people living in Hokkaido are initially from somewhere else in Japan.
“(H)ere, we are all outsiders” was based on a remark of a Japanese restaurant owner in the Hakodate area, in response to Skyler’s lament that no matter how long you live in Japan, a non-Japanese will feel like an outsider.
As well as many birch trees, maple trees are a common sight. Some people there make maple syrup, and cure their own ham reminding the artist of his upbringing in a rural area of Quebec, Canada. There is so much in Hokkaido that feels familiar to the North East area of North America—including Winter's many feet of snow!
