Category talk:Tourist attractions in Hokkaido

How to define visitor attraction

How do we define what is a visitor attraction? Should every mountain in Hokkaido really be added to this list? Right now there are more than a dozen mountains from the Hidaka mountains here. The Hidaka mountains are beautiful and they are part of the Hidaka Mountains Quasi National Park, but does it make sense to list them all individually? I would suggest that we instead list the Hidaka Mountains Quasi National Park, the Hidaka Mountains, and maybe a few select mountains that tourists particularly like to visit, like Mount Appoi. The countryside here is pretty rugged and some of the mountains are not very easy to get to.imars (talk) 14:31, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Not being easy to get to only makes them more interesting to many hikers because they'll be less likely to run into other people, making them able to enjoy the scenery without interruption. I have created a new category, Category:Geography of Hokkaidō Prefecture, into which I've placed Category:Mountains of Hokkaidō Prefecture. Category:Mountains of Hokkaidō Prefecture is also a sub-category of Category:Visitor attractions in Hokkaidō Prefecture, so none of the articles in it have that category directly. Does that make you happier? I still don't understand why you can't see that mountains would be a visitor attraction, but perhaps you aren't the outdoors type. ···日本穣^{? · Talk to Nihonjoe} 19:47, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

I appreciate your sense of wonder. :-) Not that it matters for the discussion, but I do like mountains very much. That is why I created some of those articles. That said, there is a saying, "if everyone is special, then no one is special." If we mark all mountains as being attractive to visitors, we are putting them all on par with each other. Climbing to the top of Tokachidake or Youteizan is not the same as climbing to the top of little Nakayama. But then again, perhaps the flora, fauna, historical significance, or the view from little Nakayama is so unique that it does bear special mention. Here is another perspective. You like mountains. What if I like villages. Should we mark each and every village article in Hokkaido as attractive to visitors. Then the next person has their own favorite. Perhaps it would save time if we put all Hokkaido related articles in this category. ;-)

Let's also put this another way. You have flown 10000 km to Hokkaido for a 2 week hiking visit. A guide book that lists every single mountain in Hokkaido does not help you decide which mountains to go climb. A good guide book will provide you with guidance: Here are a dozen enjoyable experiences to choose from. You then pick the one or two that you want. But then again, this is an encyclopedia and not a guide book.

But back to your suggestion. I think simply putting the category mountains of Hokkaido in the category visitor attractions is too broad, for the reasons I explained above (everyone special = no one special). My suggestion would be to choose mountains that are particularly known to attract weekend wanderers and tourists. From the area that I used to live, Mount Appoi would be an excellent example. Mount Youtei, Mount Rishiri, Mount Rausu, Mount Asahi, heck a lot of the mountains of the Daisetsuzan group would be candidates. Any from the list of 100 mountains would be good. There is a volcano near Lake Shikotsu, the name of which escapes me. There are many many more. Hiking guidebooks would an excellent source. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Imars (talk • contribs)

I already explained that putting municipalities in the category was a bad idea, and that I didn't do that (except in one or two cases where the municipalities were special somehow (such as historical village exhibits). Again, I think you are taking things to the extreme by suggesting that. I have never indicated that municipalities should be in this category. Categories aren't meant to bequeath a sense of "special", but rather allow people to find particular articles in a variety of ways. This allows for that, and it is not a stretch at all to consider mountains as something which would attract visitors to an area. Yes, some will attract more visitors, but even those that don't attract as many visitors can still considered attractions. ···日本穣^{? · Talk to Nihonjoe} 21:12, 3 March 2008 (UTC)