Short answers, pulled from the story.
Hokkaido sits at the northern end of Japan's main islands, separated from Honshu by the Tsugaru Strait. The Seikan Tunnel connects the two landmasses via railway, allowing travel between them since 1988.
The region experiences a humid continental climate with significant snowfall each winter. Average January temperatures range from -6°C to -4°C depending on elevation and distance from the ocean, while snowfall reaches as much as 3 meters on mountains adjacent to the Sea of Japan but only around 50 centimeters on the Pacific coast.
State-sponsored migration programs systematically displaced the Ainu from their ancestral lands following the Meiji Restoration in 1869. The 1899 Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act forced indigenous people to leave traditional territories and relocate to mountainous regions in the island's center while prohibiting hunting and fishing activities that had sustained communities for generations.
Horace Capron worked to introduce Western agricultural techniques and mining methods to the region from 1871 to 1873 before returning home in frustration over obstacles. William S. Clark arrived in 1876 to establish an agricultural college in Sapporo where he remained for only one year but left a lasting impression through his teachings on agriculture and Christianity.
The annual Sapporo Snow Festival is held each February alongside other regional celebrations like the Sōunkyō Ice Festival. Competitive snowballing matches occur at the Shōwa-Shinzan International Yukigassen, and the region hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo which established the city's reputation for winter sports infrastructure.