Hokkaido, the site of this year's G8 Summit, is home to the richest natural environment in Japan. If you visit the island's parks and woods, you can see beautifully striped Siberian chipmunks and charming, fluffy-tailed Hokkaido red squirrels. Everyone loves these cute squirrels with their big eyes and the clever way they grasp nuts with both their forepaws. Further into the mountains, you can see Blakiston's fish owls, northern red foxes, and Japanese deer. You can also see the elegant figures of Japanese cranes throughout Hokkaido.

Hokkaido is in the north of Japan, and in winter temperatures often fall below −10 degrees Celsius, and much of the region is covered by snow and ice. Partly because of the extreme climate, Hokkaido didn't use to have many human inhabitants until about 150 years ago.