In Hokkaido, ice-cream is particularly popular in winter!

In which prefecture of Japan is the most ice-cream eaten throughout the year? The answer is Ishikawa in the Hokuriku region. Apparently, the people of the prefecture have a sweet tooth. But, when it comes to just the winter season, Hokkaido tops the ice-cream consumption ranking! It perhaps seems a little surprising that Japan's northernmost prefecture tops the list, but the average room temperatures for January in Japan are the highest in Hokkaido, at over 20 degrees.
In other words, even though it's cold outside, it's nice and warm inside the homes. In some cases, people dress lighter than they would in summer. Which makes for ice-cream and sherbet being eaten indoors, where the temperatures exceed 20 degrees. It's probably safe to say that this particular Hokkaido lifestyle became standard only after the insulation in the homes improved.