Outside the seaport of Muroran, on this northern Pacific Island, the last of a truly unique aboriginal tribe can be seen. They’re called the Ainu—which means “man”, “person”…and the Ainu are physically distinct from the general Japanese population. what sets them apart? The Ainu date back to the New Stone Age and have no written language…. AND… have a light, European-style skin color… and (pause) round eyes—vastly different from the majority Japanese population. But they’ve all but vanished and their ancient village grounds were turned into an Olympic ski slope back in 1972.