Hakodate

Hakodate (函館市, Hakodate-shi) (formerly written as Hakodadi) is a city and 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 population of 239,813 with 138,807 households, and a population density of 354 persons per km² (920 persons per mi²). The total area is 677.86 square kilometres (261.72 sq mi). The city is the third biggest in Hokkaido after Sapporo and Asahikawa. Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854, as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan. Also, the city had been the biggest city in Hokkaido before Great Fire of Hakodate in 1934. Hakodate (like much of other parts of Hokkaido), was originally populated by the Ainu. They lived in the Oshima Peninsula. 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.[2]