"in sunny Hokkaido" or "in a sunny Hokkaido"

Question

Voter turnout was sluggish amid poor weather nationwide. It was either rainy or cloudy throughout most of Japan, except in sunny Hokkaido, evidently discouraging people--especially the so-called "floating voters."

(1) except in sunny Hokkaido
(2) except in a sunny Hokkaido

Hi. Is (2) also possible in the context?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

(2) will do in a pinch, but it wouldn't be my first choice!

CJ

Teleostomi · Answer

(3) We spent a very interesting week in a deserted Tokyo over the New Year period.

Hi Calif S. Jim (do you remember what "S" stands for? "Sultan"

)
I saw sentence (3). I'm wondering in what kind of case "a" is possible for place names.

Mister Micawber · Answer

As we discussed in the other forum in which you posted this, the epithet, rather than the modified adjective, is appropriate where it is an accepted quality of the place. Hokkaido has a reputation in Japan for being sunny, where the rest of the country has unreliable weather-- hence, in sunny Hokkaido, in sunny Florida.

If the conditions are more open to variation, use the article to distinguish a sunny Tuesday from a rainy Tuesday.

I really hate repeating myself.

CalifJim · Answer

I wonder the same thing!

It seems to me that it's possible for Hokkaido to be naturally sunny, but not possible for Tokyo to be naturally deserted. a/an can be used to call attention to something really unusual.

If you say a sunny Hokkaido, you say that it is not a normal thing for Hokkaido to be sunny. In the context you cited, I don't think this is what the author intended.
When you say a deserted Tokyo, you say that it is not a normal thing for Tokyo to be deserted. In the context you cited, I think this is what the author intended.

You can also use sunny Hokkaido to mean Hokkaido, which is always sunny by nature.
You can also use deserted Tokyo to mean Tokyo, which is always deserted by nature.
Clearly (to me) sunny Hokkaido makes more sense than deserted Tokyo.

On the other hand, I'm not familiar with the weather in Hokkaido. If, in fact, Hokkaido is a rather dark and gloomy city most of the time, and it's somewhat unusual for it to be sunny there, then a sunny Hokkaido does make a lot of sense, because it gives the idea of Hokkaido in an unusual state: sunny. But I don't think this is what the authors of your original example were trying to say, because that was just a rather neutral weather report.

Imagine that Chicago is a very exciting and active place, always bustling, and that Podunk is a small town of fewer than 100 inhabitants where hardly anything ever happens -- never bustling. Now suppose that we want to describe these places on the occasion of a big party.

We held a big celebration in bustling Chicago. [Chicago is by nature always bustling.]
But:
It was a bustling Podunk the night of our celebration. [Podunk became bustling for a short time. (It became a new kind of Podunk.)]

CJ

Teleostomi · Answer

I've never taken note of "a + Proper Noun" in my life! CalifJim, you opened up my eyes on new grammar point about articles!

"Hokkaido" is a big island located northernmost of Japan. It's not particularly known for being sunny. It has three very distinct weather patterns: one with seaside wet weather where it snows a lot during winter due to Okhotsk Current (a cold current). Another is dry inland weather pattern. The other is mild warm Pacific weather pattern due to Black Stream (a warm current).

What I quoted in #1 was written for Japan Times, and the writer is not a native speaker of English, although he attended high school in America and his father is half American. I'm not sure what he actually had in mind when he wrote "sunny Hokkaido", but remembering that Hokkaido is usually not known for its fine weather among Japanese, I thought he just meant "it was sunny in Hokkaido on that particular day of election".

But reading your posts carefully, I should take the interpretation that the writer meant "Hokkaido is usually sunny, not only on that day."

Thank you very much! It is a great honor and pleasure to read your answer!

Mister Micawber, I'm sorry for multiposting a same question around. It's like my desire to listen to "Pictures at an Exhibition" by a lot of musicians. I believe discoveries I can get from various posts make my English improve.

"in sunny Hokkaido" or "in a sunny Hokkaido"

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