HAKODATE.
This, the most northerly of the treaty ports of Japan, is situated in the south of Yesso on the Straits of Tsugar, which divide that island from Hondo. The port lies in latitude 41 deg. 47 min. 8 sec. N., and longitude 140 deg. 45 min. 34 sec. E., and the harbour is nearly land-locked. The town clusters at the foot and on the slope of a bold rock known to foreigners as Hakodate Head, 1,106 feet in height. The surrounding country is hilly, volcanic, and striking, but the town itself possesses few attractions. A destructive fire in December, 1879, led to great improvements and the widening of the streets. The foreign concession has never been built upon, the few foreign residents in the port having taken up their quarters in Japanese buildings. A row of fine temples, with lofty picturesque roofs, occupying higher ground than the rest of the town, are the most conspicuous buildings. There are some Public Gardens at the eastern end of the town, which contain a small but interesting Museum. The climate of Hakodate is healthy and bracing. The hottest month is August, but the thermometer then rarely rises above 90 degrees Fahr.; in the winter it sometimes sinks to 18 degrees. The mean temperature throughout the year is about 48 degrees. The population of Hakodate in 1886 was 48,366. The number of foreign residents in 1886 was 77, of whom 37 were Europeans and Americans, and 43 Chinese; there are 13 more Europeans in other parts of Yesso.
The
The foreign trade of the port is small and has never been important. The foreign shipping is annually decreasing and the direct imports have fallen off largely. The imports in 1886 amounted to £3,316 as compared with £1,386 in 1885. The exports for 1886 amounted to £112,958, compared with £119,447 in 1885. The agricultural resources of Yesso have
have been to some extent developed under the auspices of the Kaitakushi or Colonization Department. rich pasture lands are well adapted for breeding cattle. In the valuable and extensive fisheries on the coast, however, the chief exports of the future from Hakodate are to be looked for. Increasing quantities of dried fish and seaweed are exported annually, mostly to China. The mineral resources of Yesso, said to be large, may also some day yield a valuable addition to the exports of this port. Hakodate is connected with the capital by telegraph. A railway from Otarunai to Sapporo, 22 miles long, was opened to public traffic on the 28th November, 1880, and has since been carried on to Poronai, where are some coal mines, the total length of the line being 56 miles.
DIRECTORY.
HOKKAIDO CHO ADMINISTRATION.
IMPERIAL CUSTOMS.
Noda Takao, superintendent
KENCHO.
BRITISH CONSULATE.
Iwamura Michitoshi, chief
Takito Tamemoto, Chiji
Hori Kimpo, chief secretary
Terada Rioski, assist. do.
HAKODATE KOSO IN (COURT OF APPEAL.)
Nomura Isho, president
Haruki Yoshiakira, procurer general
HAKODATE SHISHIN SAIBANSHO (COURT
of First InsTANCE),
Saito Kinpe, president
Nishimura Minoru, chief commissary
Consul J. J. Quin
Constable-H. B. Lucas
Austro-Hungarian Consulate.
Acting Consul-J. J. Quin
DANISH CONSULAS.
Consul--John H. Dūūs