The terrain of the peninsula is mountainous, with settlements mostly located in flat, lowland areas. Oshima Peninsula is home to several active volcanoes such as Mount E and Hokkaido Koma-ga-take. The area also contains several onsen hot springs. The peninsula is home to two cities: Hakodate and the smaller adjacent Hokuto, as well as numerous small fishing and agricultural towns.[1]
Matsumae Castle, the northernmost castle in Japan and only castle on the island of Hokkaido, is located on the Oshima peninsula.
The climate is humid continental (Dfa/Dfb) except along the coast of the Matsumae Peninsula where it is oceanic (Cfb,) The hardiness zone is high for an east-coast Northern Hemisphere location at such a latitude and ranges up to 8b on the Matsumae.[2]
Oshima Peninsula is separated from the rest of the island of Hokkaido by the Kuromatsunai Depression - an area of intensive agricultural development that forms a natural, northern boundary to the area.[3] The peninsula has an active Ussuri brown bear population, which have historically caused major damages to livestock and crops, and thus have been indiscriminately hunted for over 120 years.[4]
