Not opened up to full-scale settlement until after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the island of Hokkaido is Japan's Far North. 
Hokkaido is an entirely separate island from mainland Japan.
mnli hypothesis: Hokkaido is an entirely separate island from mainland Japan. premise: Not opened up to full-scale settlement until after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the island of Hokkaido is Japan's Far North. 