Kunashir
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Kunashir Island, possibly meaning Black Island or Grass Island in Ainu, is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands archipelago. The island has been under Russian administration since the end of World War II, when Soviet forces took possession of the Kurils. It is claimed by Japan.
View of Kunashir from the Rausu Kunashiri Observatory Deck
Cape Stolbchaty on the western side of the island
Sulfuric River, Kunashir Island
Kunashir Island coastline: photo taken by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in November 2010
Hokkaido
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Hokkaido is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
Former Hokkaidō Government Office in Chūō-ku, Sapporo
The samurai and the Ainu, c. 1775
Matsumae Takahiro, a Matsumae lord of the late Edo period (December 10, 1829 – June 9, 1866)