Horai-Yachigashira Line

Hakodate's tramways began not with electricity but with horses. In 1897 a private operator, the Kikan Horsecar Railway, opened the city's first tram line, and the system passed through several owners over the following years. In October 1911 the horse-tram business was bought by Hakodate Suiden (Hakodate Hydroelectric), the utility that would carry out the conversion to electric traction.

Electrification came in 1913. On 29 June 1913 the stretch between Shinonomechō and Yukawa was electrified — the first electric streetcar in Hokkaido — and on 31 October the same year the line through Bentenchō, Jūjigai and Shinonomechō was electrified as well. By 31 October 1914 electric running had been extended across the whole Hakodate network.

The stop now called Hōraichō first opened on 17 June 1913 under the name Hōraichō written with different characters (蓬莱町). It was relocated on 15 September 1936, becoming at the same time the junction with the Shinonome Line, and was given its present name and spelling (宝来町) on 1 July 1965. The terminus, Yachigashira, opened on 30 October 1913 and carries stop number Y26, the highest on the system.

The Great Hakodate Fire of 21 March 1934 destroyed forty-eight tramcars along with the Shinkawa depot and other facilities needed to run services. Operations were partly restored within a week, and the whole network was running again by the end of the month, after which a replacement depot was built to make up for the one lost in the fire.

Municipal ownership arrived during the Second World War. After further changes of ownership the lines passed to the city of Hakodate on 1 November 1943, when the Hakodate City Office Transportation Bureau was established to run the trams (and, until 2003, the city buses). From the 1970s onward, declining ridership forced the city to cut back the network, with closures of various sections in 1978, 1992 and 1993. The Shinonome Line, which branched off at Hōraichō, was one of the casualties, closing on 1 April 1992.

The present network totals 10.9 kilometres over 26 stops. Trams reach Yachigashira, near the hot spring of the same name, via the Jūjigai junction, where the line meets the rest of the system. The operating body was renamed the Hakodate City Enterprises Bureau Transportation Division on 1 April 2011, when the former transport bureau merged with the waterworks bureau. Together with the Sapporo tram, the Hakodate tram has been selected as Hokkaido Heritage.

4 stations tracked on the map, listed alphabetically. Select any to read its page.

• Aoyagicho青柳町
• Horai-Cho宝来町
• Jujigai十字街
• Yachigashira谷地頭

• 1897The private Kikan Horsecar Railway opens Hakodate's first tram line, a horse-drawn service.
• 19111 October: Hakodate Suiden (Hakodate Hydroelectric) buys the Hakodate Horsecar Railway, the horse-tram business that would be electrified.
• 191317 June: the stop now called Hōraichō opens under the earlier spelling 蓬莱町; 30 October: the Yachigashira stop opens.
• 191329 June: the Shinonomechō–Yukawa section is electrified — Hokkaido's first electric streetcar; 31 October: the Bentenchō–Jūjigai–Shinonomechō line is electrified.
• 191431 October: electric running is extended across the whole Hakodate network.
• 193421 March: the Great Hakodate Fire destroys 48 tramcars and the Shinkawa depot; services are fully restored by the end of the month.
• 193615 September: the Hōraichō stop (then written 蓬莱町) is relocated and becomes the junction with the Shinonome Line.
• 19431 November: the lines are transferred to the city of Hakodate; the Hakodate City Office Transportation Bureau is established to operate them.
• 19651 July: the Hōraichō stop, until then written 蓬莱町, is renamed with its present spelling, 宝来町.
• 19921 April: the Shinonome Line, which branched off at Hōraichō, is abolished.
• 19992 January: a skidding tram overruns the buffer stop at Yachigashira; a sturdier concrete buffer stop and cushioning ballast are installed afterwards.
• 200930 January: the rebuilding of the Hōraichō stop is completed and the stop is brought into use.
• 20111 April: the Transportation Bureau merges with the waterworks bureau; the operator becomes the Hakodate City Enterprises Bureau Transportation Division.
• 201730 November: track renovation work, including the turn-back track, is carried out at the Yachigashira stop; all Jūjigai–Yachigashira trams are cancelled from the first service of the day, and substitute buses run.