彼は北海道にいたことがある。

he; him; his; boyfriend

topic marker particle; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis

Hokkaido (island, prefectural-level administrative unit)

at (place, time); in; on; during; to (direction, state); toward; into; for (purpose); because of (reason); for; with; by; from; as (i.e. in the role of); per; in; for; a (e.g. "once a month"); and; in addition to; if; although

to need; to want

thing; matter; incident; occurrence; event; something serious; trouble; crisis; circumstances; situation; state of affairs; work; business; affair; after an inflectable word, creates a noun phrase indicating something the speaker does not feel close to; nominalizing suffix; pretending to ...; playing make-believe ...; alias; aka; nickname; alternative name; also known as

indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; still; and

to be (usu. of inanimate objects); to exist; to live; to have; to be located; to be equipped with; to happen; to come about