is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

located in

Oshima Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. As of 2004, it had a population of 456,621 and an area of 3,715.38 km2. Hakodate Airport is located in the City of Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port lo ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 239,813 with 138,807

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of . The total area is . The city is the third largest in Hokkaido after

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

and

Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...

History

Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854, as a result of

Convention of Kanagawa The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the or the , was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Unequal treaty#Japan, Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-ye ...

, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan. The city was the biggest city in Hokkaido before the

Great Fire of Hakodate The Great Fire of Hakodate () is a fire that broke out in Hakodate, Hokkaido in Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by t ...

in 1934.

Pre–Meiji Restoration

Hakodate (like other parts of around Hokkaido) was originally populated by the Ainu. The name "Hakodate" may have originated from an Ainu word, "hak-casi" ("shallow fort"). Another possibility is that it means "box" or "building" in Japanese which refers to the castle built by the Kono (Kano) clan in the fifteenth century. Hakodate was founded in 1454, when Kono Kaganokami Masamichi constructed a large manor house in the fishing village of Usukeshi, the word for bay in Ainu. After his death, Masamichi's son, Kono Suemichi, and family were driven out of Hakodate into nearby Kameda during the Ainu rebellion in 1512 and little history was recorded for the area during the next 100 years. There was constant low-level conflict in the Oshima peninsula at the time with the Ainu, as armed merchants, like the Kono family, established bases to control trade in the region. This conflict culminated in an uprising from 1669 to 1672, led by Ainu warrior Shakushain after which the Ainu in the region were suppressed. Hakodate flourished during the Hoei period (1704–11), and many new temples were founded in the area. The town's fortunes received a further boost in 1741 when the

Matsumae clan The was a Japanese aristocratic family who were daimyo of Matsumae Domain, in present-day Matsumae, Hokkaidō, from the Azuchi–Momoyama period until the Meiji Restoration. They were given the domain as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi ...

, which had been granted nearby areas on the

Oshima Peninsula The Oshima Peninsula (渡島半島 ''Oshima-hantō'') is the southernmost part of Hokkaidō, the northernmost of the Japanese islands. Where the peninsula starts is open to interpretation. A more generous interpretation is to draw a line southea ...

as a march fief, moved its Kameda magistracy to Masamichi's house in Hakodate. In 1779, the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

took direct control over Hakodate, which triggered rapid development in the area. Merchant Takadaya Kahei, who is honoured as the founder of Hakodate port, set up trading operations, which included opening the northern Etorofu sea route to the Kuril island fisheries. He is credited with turning Hakodate from a trading outpost into a thriving city. A Hakodate magistracy was established in 1802. By 1807, the power of the Tokugawa government extended to the entire region. However, in 1821, the central government relaxed their control of the area and restored the Matsumae clan to the full powers they had before. File:Hakodate 1856.jpg, Lithograph entitled "View of Hakodate from Snow Peak" looking towards the sea—artist, Wilhelm Heine (1856) File:Port-of-Hakodate-Map-1863.png, Port of Hakodate map

Meiji Restoration

The port of Hakodate was surveyed by a fleet of five U.S. ships in 1854 under the conditions of the Convention of Kanagawa, as negotiated by Commodore

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that Bakumatsu, ended Japan' ...

. Hakodate port partially opened to foreign ships for provisioning in the following year and then completely to foreign trade on 2 June 1859 as one of five Japanese open ports designated in the 1858 Treaty of Amity and Commerce signed with the U.S. The Hakodate foreign settlement is one of the legacies of foreign influence in Hakodate. A mariner in Perry's fleet died during a visit to the area and became the first U.S. citizen to be buried in Japan when he was interred in Hakodate's cemetery for foreigners. File:Naval Battle of Hakodate.jpg,

Naval Battle of Hakodate The was fought from 4 to 10 May 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy. It was one of the last stages of Battle of H ...

(1869) File:A view of the Hakodate Foreign Settlement, c. 1880.jpg, Omachi, one of the neighborhoods in the Hakodate foreign settlement (1880) File:Port of Hakodate, 1897.jpg, Port of Hakodate in 1897, by

Ogawa Kazumasa , also known as Ogawa Kazuma or Ogawa Isshin, was a Japanese photographer, printer and publisher who was a pioneer in photomechanical printing and photography in the Meiji era. Life Ogawa was born in Saitama to the Matsudaira samurai clan ...

File:Hakodate Goryokaku Panorama 1.JPG,

Goryōkaku is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main headquarters of the short-lived Republic of Ezo. History ''Goryōkaku'' was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburō, ...

fortress (1866) File:Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse Hakodate Hokkaido pref Japan01n.jpg, Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse (1869) British merchant, naturalist and spy Thomas Blakiston took up residence in Hakodate in the summer of 1861 to establish a saw-milling business. He stayed in Hakodate until 1884, during which time he documented the local natural environment, equipped the local meteorological station and ran guns to the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

rebels. As one of few points of Japanese contact with the outside world, Hakodate was soon host to several overseas consulates. The Russian consulate included a chapel from where

Nicholas of Japan Nicholas (Kasatkin), Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan, born Ivan Dmitrovich Kasatkin (; – 16 February 1912) was a Russian Orthodox priest, monk, and bishop. He introduced the Eastern Orthodox Church to Japan.''"Святый Н� ...

is credited with introducing

Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

to Japan in 1861 (now the

Japanese Orthodox Church The Orthodox Church in Japan or Orthodox Church of Japan (, OCJ), also known as the Japanese Orthodox Church () is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox church within the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. () is a transcription from the Russian ...

). The Orthodox church is neighbored by several other historical missionary churches, including

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Hakodate also played a central role in the

between the

and the

Meiji Emperor , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ended the Tokugawa shogun ...

which followed Perry's opening of Japan. Shogunate rebel

Enomoto Takeaki Viscount was a Japanese samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate and fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War. He later served in the ...

fled to Hakodate with the remnants of his navy and his handful of French advisers in winter 1868, including

Jules Brunet Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French military officer who served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in Japan. Originally sent to Japan as a horse artillery instructor with the French military mission of 1867, ...

. They formally established the

Republic of Ezo The was a short-lived separatist state established in 1869 on the island of Ezo, now Hokkaido, by a part of the former military of the Tokugawa shogunate at the end of the ''Bakumatsu'' period in Japan. It was the first government to attempt t ...

on December 25. The republic tried unsuccessfully to gather international recognition to foreign legations in Hakodate, including the Americans, French, and Russians. The

was fought from 4 to 10 May 1869, between the remnants of the

navy and the newly formed

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

. It was a decisive victory for the Imperial Japanese Navy. On 14 June 1868, Hakodate was designated as an urban prefecture (府 fu), one of the first two, the other being

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. On February 8, 1882, it was enlarged into Hakodate-ken, and then became part of

on January 26, 1886. The rebels occupied Hakodate's famous European-style

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

and used it as the centre of their defences in southern Hokkaido. Government forces defeated the secessionists in the

Battle of Hakodate The was fought in Japan from December 4, 1868 to June 27, 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate army, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the armies of the newly formed Imperial government (composed ...

in 1869 and the city and fort were surrendered to emperor. Military leader,

Hijikata Toshizō was a Japanese swordsman of the ''Bakumatsu'' period and of the ''Shinsengumi''. As Vice-Commander, he served the Tokugawa Shogunate and co-led his group in its resistance against the imperial rule brought about by the Meiji Restoration. He ...

, was one of those slain in the fighting. In 1878,

Isabella Bird Isabella Lucy Bishop (; 15 October 1831 – 7 October 1904) was an English explorer, writer, photographer and naturalist. Alongside fellow Englishwoman Fanny Jane Butler, she founded the John Bishop Memorial Hospital in Srinagar in modern-da ...

reported of the city in her travelogue:

The streets are very wide and clean, but the houses are mean and low. The city looks as if it had just recovered from a conflagration. The houses are nothing but tinder… Stones, however, are its prominent feature. Looking down upon it from above you see miles of grey boulders, and realise that every roof in the windy capital is "hodden doun" by a weight of paving stones.

20th century to present day

Hakodate was awarded

status on August 1, 1922. On March 21, 1934, a serious fire had destroyed around two-thirds of all the buildings in Hakodate. This event also led to many residents leaving and subsequently depopulating the city. The city escaped most of the ravages of World War II. Areas around Hakodate-yama were fortified and access restricted to the public. Many prisoners of war were interned in Hakodate and historians record a total of 10 camps. The city was subjected to two Allied bombing raids on 14 and 15 July 1945. Around 400 homes were destroyed on the western side of Hakodate-yama and an Aomori-Hakodate ferry was attacked with 400 passengers killed. In 1976, a defecting

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

pilot named

Viktor Belenko Viktor Ivanovich Belenko (; February 15, 1947 – September 24, 2023) was a Soviet-born American aerospace engineer and pilot who defected in 1976 to the West while flying his MiG-25 "Foxbat" jet interceptor and landed in Hakodate, Japan. ...

flew his plane into the civilian airport in Hakodate. Hakodate's size nearly doubled on December 1, 2004, when the town of Minamikayabe (from Kayabe District), and the towns of Esan and Toi, and the village of Todohokke (all from Kameda District), were merged into it. The

Hokkaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...

line opened on 26 March 2016. The undersea Seikan Tunnel with the

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

rail line greatly reduced the travel time from

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

to Hakodate. In April 2023, Jun Ōizumi became the mayor of Hakodate. Ōizumi, the older brother of actor

Yo Oizumi is a Japanese actor, comedian, television personality and voice actor. He is a member of the theatrical and musical unit TEAM NACS, and is represented by Creative Office Cue. His wife Kumiko Nakajima is a drama producer at Fuji TV. In 1995, ...

, defeated 3-term incumbent Toshiki Kudō, receiving more than 80% of the vote. File:Hakodate circa 1930.JPG, Hakodate Port circa 1930 File:TBMs and SB2Cs dropping bombs.jpg, alt=Photograph of a large number of propeller-driven monoplanes dropping bombs, US Navy

Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...

aircraft dropping bombs on Hakodate during July 1945

Geography

Evening view of Hakodate city from Mount Hakodate

Mount Hakodate is an inactive volcanic mountain in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan. The mountain is renowned for its view of the surrounding bay and city. The Michelin Green Guide: Japan gave the experience 3/3 stars in a review, placing it on par with mountain ...

was originally an island that was formed by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. During the course of history a sand bar formed between Mount Hakodate and the peninsula. This landform, which is an example of a

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. It is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. The word ''t ...

, finished forming circa 1000 BCE. The tombolo connects the former Hakodate island with the main island

to the north. The main central area of Hakodate city is located on the sandbar. Hakodate is located at the center of Kameda Peninsula. The city is overlooked by

. The summit can be reached by hiking trail,

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** ...

, or by car. Visitors can also reach the peak of Mount Hakodate by taking tour bus and/or direct bus. that departs from JR Hakodate Station. An obscure local nickname of the bumpy mountain is ''Gagyūzan'' (Mount Cow's Back), alluding to the way the mountain resembles a resting cow. The former

fort is now used in as a public park and is popular in Hokkaido for ''

hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers; in this case almost always mean those of the or, less frequently, trees. From the end of March to early May, cherry trees bloom all over Japan, and around the s ...

'' (cherry blossom viewing). Since April 2006, the park has also featured the tall, white Goryōkaku Tower. Resembling an air traffic control tower, the structure offers a panoramic view of the park, including mainland Japan across the

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...

on clear days.

Nearby cities and towns

* Hokuto to the west * Nanae to the north * Shikabe to the north east

Mountains

Mount E is an active stratovolcano of the Kameda peninsula, which is itself part of the larger Oshima Peninsula. It is in the rural, eastern region of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. Mount E is part of Esan Prefectural Natural Park. Geology Mount E co ...

(): Hokkaido's southernmost volcano *

()

Rivers

* * *

Cityscape

Hakodate has a cityscape that covers the center of the Kameda peninsula. A narrow land area separates Hakodate Bay to the west from

in the south-east side. It is best viewed from the top of

Demographics

The population of Hakodate increased by 402% from 28,825 to 144,749 between 1873 till 1920. Hakodate's population peaked in 1980 at 320,154, but has been gradually in decline due to aging since then.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Hakodate's climate is Hot Summer

humid continental Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

(''Dfa'') of hot summers and winters with regular intense

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

s. With an alternate definition, using the isotherm, Hakodate falls in the

Humid Subtropical Climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa'') commonly found on the east coast of the continents. The warmest month has an average temperature of . And so the city is the limit of hot summer climates for a city on the immediate coast in

(''Cfa''/''Dfa''), although appearing in other interior regions of the province. Hakodate has snowy winters and warm, humid summers. Winters are cold for the latitude (the same as

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

) but milder than much of Hokkaido. Hakodate features four distinct seasons. The city sees a substantial amount of snowfall during the course of the year, averaging roughly of snow annually. Spring typically begins with some snowfall, but sees a gradual warming trend as the season progress. Summers are generally warm but not hot, with average high temperatures in the warmest month (August) hovering around . Fall initially is warm but becomes increasingly colder as the season progress. It is not uncommon to see snowfall in the latter parts of the fall season.

Economy

Prior to its dissolution,

Air Hokkaido was an airline based in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan.会社案内
" ''Air Hokkaido''. J ...

was headquartered in Hakodate. In January 2006, the regional airline Airtransse was headquartered in Hakodate.

Culture and landmarks

In Funami-cho there is the Koryu-ji temple. It's the oldest Buddhist temple (affiliated with the Soto school) in the region which was built in 1633. It was badly damaged during the

and moved to its current location in 1879. The existing main building was built in 1900. The city is well known for seafood and

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

. Hakodate shio (salt)

ramen is a Chinese noodle dish popularized in Japan. It includes served in several flavors of broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen h ...

is also a famous specialty of the city. Shio ramen has a pale, clear, broth made with plenty of salt and any combination of chicken, pork bone, vegetables, fish, and

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

. On a similar note, Hakodate's city fish is the squid. Hakodate is famous for the restaurant Ikkatei Tabiji, which serves a dish called "dancing squid": - a recently deceased squid is served with soy sauce, the sodium of the soy sauce causes a

cadaveric spasm Cadaveric spasm, also known as postmortem spasm, instantaneous rigor mortis, cataleptic rigidity, or instantaneous rigidity, is a rare form of muscular stiffening that occurs at the moment of death and persists into the period of rigor mortis. C ...

when it is poured over the squid. Every year (August) the city gets together for the Hakodate Port Festival. Many citizens gather in the streets to dance a wiggly dance known as the ''Ika-odori'' (Squid Dance), the name of which describes the dance appropriately. The glowing lights of squid-catching boats can be seen in the waters surrounding the city. The bell of Haristos Orthodox Church is one of the

100 Soundscapes of Japan The are a number of noises selected by the Ministry of the Environment (Japan), Ministry of the Environment as particularly representative of the country. They were chosen in 1996, as part of government efforts to combat noise pollution and to prot ...

. The Hakodate Fish Market (otherwise known as the Asaichi or the Morning Market) is approximately 10-minute walk from the JR Hakodate Station. It is open daily and boasts hundreds of fish and sea food stands in addition to restaurants. Popular fares include sea urchin and calamari, the famous Japanese snow crab from the famous Hokkaido waters. * Hakodate City Museum * Hakodate City Museum of Literature *

Hakodate City Museum of Northern Peoples first opened as the in Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated popul ...

* Hakodate Hachiman Shrine * Hakodate Museum of Art, Hokkaido * Hakodate Jōmon Culture Center * Hakodate Park * Mount Hakodate Ropeway * Our Lady of the Angels Trappistine Abbey * Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church * Shinori-date * Shiryōkaku

Transportation

Hakodate Transportation Bureau type 9600 tramcar

Hakodate Transportation Bureau operates

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

lines. The

opened in March 2016. It currently runs to

Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station is a railway station on the Hakodate Main Line in Hokuto, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The station – rebuilt and very extensively enlarged to serve from March 2016 as the northern terminal of the new ...

through the Seikan Tunnel from

Shin-Aomori Station is a railway station in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). Lines Shin-Aomori Station is the northern terminus of the Ōu Main Line ...

. The new terminal is away from Hakodate Station. There are plans to extend the Hokkaido Shinkansen north to

Sapporo Station is a major railway station in Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It is served by Hakodate Main Line and other lines of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), and is also connected to the Subway Sapporo Station. Sapporo Station is the star ...

by 2038. *

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

station **

Hakodate Main Line The is a railway line connecting the cities of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hakodate and Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines that is operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawa ...

Hakodate Station is a railway station on the Hakodate Main Line in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). Lines * South Hokkaido Railway Company's Dōnan Isaribi Tetsudō Line (nominally ends at Goryōkaku, but trai ...

Goryōkaku Station is a railway station on the Hakodate Main Line and South Hokkaido Railway Line in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) and South Hokkaido Railway Company. The station is named after Goryōkaku fort, lo ...

- Kikyō Station **

South Hokkaido Railway Company The is a third-sector railway company based in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. Ownership of the stock is shared in the following proportions: *Hokkaido Prefecture 80%; * Hokuto City 11.2%; *Hakodate City 4.4%; * Kikonai Town 4.4%. Dōnan Isar ...

: Goryōkaku Station *

Hakodate Airport is an airport located eastAIS Japan
of Hakodate Station in Hakodate, a city in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is owned by the Mi ...

Port of Hakodate The is one of the main ports in northern Japan, located in Hakodate, on the northern island of Hokkaido. The port was damaged in the March 2011 earthquake. References External links Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of ...

Hokkaido Expressway is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

Media

In Hakodate, there are mass media and information and telecommunications providers such as newspaper companies, TV broadcasters, community broadcasters, and cable TV operators.

Newspapers

* Hakodate Newspaper

Television

* HBC Hakodate Broadcasting Station * NHK Hakodate Broadcasting Station * STV Hakodate Broadcasting Station

Radio

* FM Iruka

Cable TV

* NCV Hakodate Center

Education

Universities

National *

Hokkaido University , or , is a public research university in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Founded in 1918, it is the fifth-oldest government-authorised university in Japan and one of the former Imperial Universities. The university finds its roots in Sapporo A ...

, Hakodate Campus *

Hokkaido University of Education is a national public university administered by the government of Japan. It has five campuses in Hokkaido, Japan. The main campus is on the outskirts of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. Hokkaido University of Education, Sapporo (HUES) is the la ...

, Hakodate Campus Public *

Future University Hakodate is a public university in the city of Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan an ...

Private * Hakodate Junior College * Hakodate Otani College * Hakodate University * Russia Kyokutou University Hakodate school

Colleges

National * National Institute of Technology, Hakodate College

High schools

Public

* Hakodate City High School * Hokkaido Hakodate Chubu High School * Hokkaido Hakodate Commercial High School * Hokkaido Hakodate Nishi High School * Hokkaido Hakodate Ryohoku High School * Hokkaido Hakodate Technical High School * Hokkaido Minamikayabe High School * Hokkaido Toi High School

Private

* Hakodate La Salle Junior High School & Senior High School * Hakodate Shirayuri Gakuen Junior High School & Senior High School * Hakodate Otani High School * Hakuryo High School affiliated with Hakodate University * Iai Joshi Women's Academy * Otsuma High School * Seisho Gakuin High School * Yuto High School affiliated with Hakodate University

Sister cities

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, Canada (since 1982) *

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

, Russia (since 1992) *

City of Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area (LGA) in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city on 7 September 1984. It is adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is part of the Greater Newcastle area. ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia (since 1992) *

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (, , ) is a city and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, north of Japan. Gas and oil extraction as well as processing are amongst the main industries on ...

Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalinskaya oblastʹ, p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the Russian ...

, Russia (since 1997) *

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

(since 1992) *

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, China (since 2001) *

Goyang Goyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's Satellite city, satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, w ...

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous administrative divisions of South Korea, province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a list of provinc ...

, South Korea (since 2011)

Notable people

Glay Glay (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Hakodate in 1988. The core four members, vocalist Teru (singer), Teru, guitarists Takuro (musician), Takuro and Hisashi (musician), Hisashi, and bassist Jiro (musician), ...

, rock/pop band *

Great Kojika , known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He co-founded the promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW). Kojika is the oldest active Japanese wrestler as well as the one with the longest career, having debuted in 1963. He is al ...

, Japanese professional wrestler, founder and chairman of

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagas ...

(Real Name: Shinya Koshika,

Nihongo is the principal language of the Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora worldwide. ...

: 小鹿信也, ''Koshika Shinya'') * Juran Hisao, mystery writer *

Kōhan Kawauchi (February 26, 1920 – April 6, 2008), also known as Yasunori Kawauchi, was a Japanese screenwriter who created various tokusatsu series, including the first, '' Moonlight Mask'', in 1958. He was originally from Hakodate, Hokkaido. His series ' ...

, screenwriter *

Saburō Kitajima is a Japanese enka singer, lyricist, actor and composer. Background He was born Minoru Ōno (大野穣), in Shiriuchi, Hokkaidō, to a fisherman. He was very poor due to the effects of World War II, and was forced to work while he studied. ...

, singer * Hidemi Kon, literary critic *

Naoko Matsui is a Japanese voice actress and narrator from Hakodate, Hokkaido. Matsui was a member of Production Baobab for 20 years before becoming a freelancer. Matsui is most notable for the roles of Uru Chie in '' High School! Kimengumi'', Rem Ayano ...

, voice actress * Gorô Naya, voice actor * Kogo Noda, screenwriter *

Kazuo Ohno was a Japanese dancer who became a guru and inspirational figure in the dance form known as Butoh. He is the author of several books on Butoh, including ''The Palace Soars through the Sky'', ''Dessin'', ''Words of Workshop'', and ''Food for th ...

, Butoh dancer * Menso-re Oyaji, Japanese professional wrestler (Real Name: Yohei Nakajima,

: 中島洋平, ''Nakajima Yōhei'') *

Hideko Takamine was a Japanese actress who began as a child actress and maintained her fame in a career that spanned 50 years. She is particularly known for her collaborations with directors Mikio Naruse and Keisuke Kinoshita, with ''Twenty-Four Eyes'' (1954) a ...

, actress * Yuki, musician (Real Name: Yuki Kuramochi,

: 倉持有希, ''Kuramochi Yuki'')

References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hakodate, Hokkaido Populated places established in the 1450s Cities in Hokkaido Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Capitals of former nations 1454 establishments in Asia 1450s establishments in Japan