Directory_and_Chronicle_1907 — Page 642

HAKODATE

This, the most northerly of the old treaty ports of Japan, is situated in the south of Yezo, in the Straits of Tsugaru, which divide that island from Honshiu. The port lies in latitude 41 deg. 47 min. 8 sec. N., and longitude 149 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, 1,103 feet in height. The surrounding country is hilly, volcanic, and striking, but the town itself possesses few attractions. 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. Water- works for supplying the town with pure water were completed in 1889. The climate of Hakodate is healthy and bracing. The hottest month is August, but the thermome· ter there 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 1902 was 88,886. The number of foreign residents on December 31st, 1902, was 209, of whom 38 were British, 40 American, 32 French and 89 Chinese.

The foreign trade of the port is small. The value of the imports declined from 8676,534 in 1890 to $12,101 in 1892, but increased by an average of slightly over a hundred per cent. each year to Yen 1,744,181 in 1899 and Yen 3,009,284 in 1900. The imports for 1904 were Yen 827,903. The exports in 1904 amounted to Yen 2,034,158 against Yen 3,008,906 in 1903. Trade showed an improvement in 1905, the figures for imports being yen 900,541, and for exports yen 2,316,534. Twenty-three steamers of 45,358 tons and 13 sailing vessels (including junks) of 3,290 tons entered, and 27 steamers of 48,493, tons and sailing vessels (including junks) aggregating 2,821 tons, cleared during the year 1905. The agricultural resources of Yezo have been to some extent developed under the auspices of the Kaitakushi or Colonization Department. The 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 Yezo are large, and may also some day yield a valuable addition to the exports of this port. Sulphur is at present the most valuable item in the list of exports. There are now four large coal mines in operation, one in Poronai, one at Ikushumbetsu, one at Yubari and a fourth at Sorachi. The quantity of coal contained in the fields of the Hokkaido is approximately estimated at 600,000,000 tons. Washing for gold dust is being energetically carried on in Kitami and there is reason to believe with proper machinery the gold mines of Hokkaido may be worked with fair profit. Up till the summer of 1899 but little interest was taken by the public in the oil production of Hokkaido, but since then a great deal has been heard of the kerosene wealth of this district, and it is even stated the prospects are not inferior to those of Echigo. The places where oil is said to exist are numerous. At Nukimi-Mura on Soya Strait-in the extreme North-oil wells were discovered long ago, and have been worked by hand for some years. The oil, in fact, overflows into the sea, and in stormy weather boats take refuge at Nukimi Mura, as the sea is rendered smooth by the oil. Oil also exists at Nigori-Kawa, near Hakodate; at Kayamagori, near Shiribeshiat Itaibetsu, on a tributary of the Urin River (output 800 gallons per day); at Kotamimura and Tsukisama Mura (Imperial property), near Sapporo; and near Abashira, where the wells are considered rich. Hakodate is connected with the capital by telegraph, and a new line of railway (157 miles) connects Hakodate with Otaru. A railway from Otaru to Sapporo, 22 iniles long, was opened to public traffic on the 28th November, 1880, and has since been carried on to Poronai, where are some large coal mines, the total length of the line being 56 miles. A branch to Ikushumbetsu, seven miles, has since been made, and another line from the coal mines to Muroran, a port on the south-east of the island, a distance of 143 miles, was opened to traffic in July, 1892. At the station of Oiwake, from which point there is a branch line to Yubari (263 miles), the Tanko Tetsudo Kaisha established ovens for the manufacture of coke. There are now about 900 miles of railway in the Hokkaido. The Hakodate Harbour Improvement works were completed in 1900, and a patent slip capable of taking vessels up to 1,500 tons was also finished. There is also under construction a dry dock to accommodate ships up to 10,000 tons at ordinary spring tides, and at highest spring tides the dock will be capable of receiving the largest battleships in the Japanese Navy. Harbour improvements are also being carried on at Otaru, where a massive breakwater, about 3,500 feet long, is under construction.

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