List of Famous people born in Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan
Ryota Igarashi
Ryota Igarashi is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.
Hiroyasu Shimizu
Hiroyasu Shimizu is a Japanese speed skater. He has an Olympic gold medal from 1998 in the 500 m and his win made him a hero in his home country. He currently holds the world record for the 100 m speed skating event in 9.43 seconds. He formerly held the 500 m record (34.32) but was later beaten by fellow Japanese skater Joji Kato.
Yohei Kagiya
Yohei Kagiya is a Japanese professional baseball player. He was born on September 9, 1990. He debuted in 2013 for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He had 42 strikeouts.
Toshihiro Sugiura
Toshihiro Sugiura is a professional Japanese baseball player who currently pitches for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
Ayumi Ogasawara
Ayumi Ogasawara is a Japanese curler, born November 25, 1978 in Tokoro, Kitami, Hokkaido as Ayumi Onodera . She currently skips her own team in Sapporo, Hokkaido, which represented Japan at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Also she is a curling coach.
Nana Takagi
Nana Takagi is a Japanese speed skater who is a member of the Nidec Sankyo speed skating team.
Kaho Onodera
Kaho Onodera is a Japanese curler from Sapporo. She currently plays third on the Hokkaido Bank FORTIUS curling team skipped by Sayaka Yoshimura.
Shokichi Yagi
Shokichi Yagi, better known by his stage name SHOKICHI, is a Japanese singer, dancer, songwriter, composer and actor. He is a vocalist and performer of Exile and Exile The Second. He was also a member of J Soul Brothers' second generation Nidaime J Soul Brothers until their migration to Exile in 2009.
Tsutomu Wakamatsu
Tsutomu Wakamatsu is a Japanese former baseball player, coach, and manager for the Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball. He batted left-handed, and threw right-handed. His number 1 is honoured by the Swallows.
Keizaburo Tejima
Keizaburō Tejima is a Japanese artist and children's picture book author. He is known for his books and their illustrations. Tejima's illustrative technique is woodblock. Books he has written and illustrated include Fox's Dream, Owl Lake, Swan Sky and The Bear's Autumn.