Every Pokémon region is inspired by a real place. Kanto and Johto drew on central Japan; Sinnoh takes after the northernmost island of the archipelago, Hokkaido, with its mountains, volcanic lakes, marshes, flower fields and long snowy winters. Here are the most commonly noted correspondences between Sinnoh and Japan.
The developers have confirmed the Hokkaido inspiration, but do not publish any official city-by-city correspondence. The comparisons below are the ones fans and observers have drawn by comparing the map, the landscapes and the atmosphere of each place.
The very shape of the region gives away its model: a large island cut by a central mountain range, a peninsula in the southwest, islands in the northeast.
