Sakhalin Russian: Сахали́н, suh-khah-LEEN, formerly known as Karafuto 樺太, kah-rah-foo-toh to the Japanese, is a large and very sparsely populated island which was the center of a long power struggle between Russia/USSR and Japan for control of its large oil and gas resources. Sakhalin is beautiful, but has an undeveloped tourist sector. Because of the energy business, however, good food and hotels catering to foreigners are available.
