Directory_and_Chronicle_1912 — Page 734

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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 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 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 is about 90,000. The number of foreign residents in 1909 was 330, of whom 33 were British, 75 American, 55 French, 15 German, and 131 Chinese.

The foreign trade of the port is small, but has been steadily growing during the last few years. The value of the imports in 1910 was £16,504 and exports £240,543. 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 wel! 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. About a million and a half tons of coal are annually taken from 41 mines, and the output of the eighteen sulphur mines amounts to about 250,000 tons a year. Manganese is produced to the extent of about five thousand tons a year from five mines between Hakodate and Otaru, and an important export business in this com- modity seems to be developing. Copper has not figured in the export returns since 1904. Timber has during the past few years formed the chief item in the export list, and now represents in value just about half the total. Washing for gold dust has been carried on in Kitami, and the belief is entertained that with proper machinery the gold mines of Hokkaido may be worked with fair profit. 526 lbs. of gold and 385 lbs of gold dust were obtained in 1908; the output of other minerals being, silver, 1,595 Ïbs; copper, four tons; iron, 2,022 tons; manganese, 2.876 tons sulphur, 22,789 tons: magnetic iron, 1,004 tons; and 1,606,082 tons of coal in 1908. The kerosene wealth of this district is considerable, 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 Shiribeshi; at 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.

The output of the district in 1908 was 100,838 gallons. Hakodate is connected with the capital by telegraph, and a line of railway (157 miles) connects Hakodate with Otaru. A railway from Otaru 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 large coal mines, the total length of the line being 56 miles. A branch to Ikushumbetsu, seven miles, has since been laid 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 (26 miles), the Tanko Tetsudo Kaisha established ovens for the manufacture of coke. There are now about 900 miles of railway in the Hokkaido.