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Hokkaido is Huge! When the World's 3rd Smallest Country Compared its Size... The Result was Astonishing!
A tweet from the official Nauru Government Tourism Office (@nauru_japan) with the caption "An image that really shows you the size of Hokkaido" is going viral.
This tweet has received about 20,000 reactions, with comments like:
"Isn't it smaller than Lake Shikotsu??"
"It's not that Nauru is small, it's that Hokkaido is just too big."
"How big-hearted of them to compare themselves to Hokkaido!!"
"I wonder why they wanted to compare it with Hokkaido."
People are expressing surprise not only at the difference in size but also at the fact that an official country's Twitter account was making a comparison with Hokkaido.
So, what kind of country is the Republic of Nauru anyway?
The Republic of Nauru has a population of about 10,000 people. It's a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean, located about halfway on a line drawn between Auckland, New Zealand, and Tokyo.
Its land area is a mere 21.1 km², making it the third smallest country in the world. Compared to Hokkaido's area (83,450 km²), it's an incredible 1/3,955th the size!
We looked for places in Hokkaido with a similar size to the Republic of Nauru and found that it's roughly the same size as Atsubetsu Ward in Sapporo (24.38 km²). When compared to Hokkaido's lakes, it's slightly larger than Lake Mashu (19.22 km²) and smaller than Lake Akkeshi (31.8 km²).
We spoke with the person in charge of social media for the Republic of Nauru to ask the question on everyone's mind: why did they compare their country to Hokkaido?
We're curious whether the representative has ever set foot in Hokkaido, but... that recommended spot, Buada Lagoon, looks absolutely wonderful. It seems like a place where you could forget about time and just relax.
Another recommended way to tour the island is to rent a bicycle and spend about 5 to 6 hours circling it, perhaps with some fishing along the way. The orange sunsets seen from the coast must be breathtakingly beautiful!
Thanks to a casual tweet from the tiny, faraway Republic of Nauru, we were able to learn about a foreign country with a completely different climate and culture from Hokkaido, and it sparked a sense of familiarity. The Republic of Nauru has definitely become one of the countries we'd love to visit someday!
(Images courtesy of the Nauru Government Tourism Office Japan)
— ナウル共和国政府観光局（@nauru_japan） February 28, 2022
This tweet has received about 20,000 reactions, with comments like:
"Isn't it smaller than Lake Shikotsu??"
"It's not that Nauru is small, it's that Hokkaido is just too big."
"How big-hearted of them to compare themselves to Hokkaido!!"
"I wonder why they wanted to compare it with Hokkaido."
People are expressing surprise not only at the difference in size but also at the fact that an official country's Twitter account was making a comparison with Hokkaido.
So, what kind of country is the Republic of Nauru anyway?
The Republic of Nauru has a population of about 10,000 people. It's a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean, located about halfway on a line drawn between Auckland, New Zealand, and Tokyo.
Glenn charlie bealish - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Its land area is a mere 21.1 km², making it the third smallest country in the world. Compared to Hokkaido's area (83,450 km²), it's an incredible 1/3,955th the size!
We looked for places in Hokkaido with a similar size to the Republic of Nauru and found that it's roughly the same size as Atsubetsu Ward in Sapporo (24.38 km²). When compared to Hokkaido's lakes, it's slightly larger than Lake Mashu (19.22 km²) and smaller than Lake Akkeshi (31.8 km²).
We spoke with the person in charge of social media for the Republic of Nauru to ask the question on everyone's mind: why did they compare their country to Hokkaido?
--Why did you decide to compare Nauru with Hokkaido?
Nauru Representative: Because Hokkaido is so large, we thought it would emphasize how small the Republic of Nauru is.
--I saw on your website that the area of the Republic of Nauru is 22 km². Elsewhere, I saw it written as 21.1 km²?
Nauru Representative: Please use 21.1 km².
--By the way, have you ever been to Hokkaido?
Nauru Representative: That's a secret.
--Could you tell us about the highlights and recommended spots in the Republic of Nauru?
Nauru Representative: The lush green Buada Lagoon.
Nauru Representative: Because Hokkaido is so large, we thought it would emphasize how small the Republic of Nauru is.
--I saw on your website that the area of the Republic of Nauru is 22 km². Elsewhere, I saw it written as 21.1 km²?
Nauru Representative: Please use 21.1 km².
--By the way, have you ever been to Hokkaido?
Nauru Representative: That's a secret.
--Could you tell us about the highlights and recommended spots in the Republic of Nauru?
Nauru Representative: The lush green Buada Lagoon.
We're curious whether the representative has ever set foot in Hokkaido, but... that recommended spot, Buada Lagoon, looks absolutely wonderful. It seems like a place where you could forget about time and just relax.
Another recommended way to tour the island is to rent a bicycle and spend about 5 to 6 hours circling it, perhaps with some fishing along the way. The orange sunsets seen from the coast must be breathtakingly beautiful!
Thanks to a casual tweet from the tiny, faraway Republic of Nauru, we were able to learn about a foreign country with a completely different climate and culture from Hokkaido, and it sparked a sense of familiarity. The Republic of Nauru has definitely become one of the countries we'd love to visit someday!
(Images courtesy of the Nauru Government Tourism Office Japan)
