The Ainu people were the original inhabitants of Hokkaido before recorded history. They have faced long-term discrimination as the indigenous people of Japan despite having a distinct physical appearance and culture from the Japanese, including traditional hunter-gatherer practices, body modifications, and worship of bears. The annual Marimo Festival in Hokkaido celebrates the endangered algae found in Lake Akan and provides an opportunity to experience performances of Ainu dance and folk songs, helping to preserve their endangered culture and language.

1. Before recorded history, Hokkaido was settled by the Ainu - Japan's
forgotten indigenous people. But like the native people of America,
Australia and other countries, the Ainu have long suffered discrimination.
They are physically and culturally very different from the Japanese.
Know for having a lot of body hair, the men have beards which they leave
unshaven. While women’s mouths are tattooed. These people are traditionally
hunter-gatherers. They have their own language, but fewer than 100 people
still speak it, and it is classified as endangered.
They practice arctolatry - the worship of bears. They hunted them for food but
also kept them as pets.
Every autumn, on the shores of Lake Akan in Hokkaido, the marimo festival
takes place, and the Ainu people play a key part in the celebrations.
The festival began in 1950 as a means to save the endangered marimo algae
found in Lake Akan. Marimo are giant green balls of algae (growing up to 30cm
in diameter).
The highlight of the three-day festival is a 1,000 torch parade. It's a rare
opportunity to see, firsthand, the customs of the Ainu, their traditional dance,
and to hear their folk songs.
After many decades of discrimination, in 2008 that the Japanese government
officialy recognised the Ainu as indigenous people, with their own language
and culture.