AOYAGICHO STREETCAR STOP (HAKODATE, HOKKAIDO)

Streetcar takes slow road back to Meiji era

Photos by Toshikazu Sato, Special to the Daily Yomiuri

By Shoji Ichihara

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

The Aoyagicho streetcar stop is located at the top of a slope in Hakodate, Hokkaido.

When I started walking up the slope, I found that it was not as gentle as it first appeared. I felt a slight sea breeze and saw the bright greenery of the trees on Mt. Hakodate.

A Hakodate city streetcar can travel at 30 kph on a flat road, but only 15 kph on the slope. The train approaching the stop seemed to crawl, seemingly breathing in short gasps.

Hakodate was the only city in the country where female drivers and conductors were employed in the nation's railways during World War II.

Sachiko Sahara, 64, chairwoman of a local streetcar fans' group, said: "During the war, many men were called up for military service. Female conductors in nice-looking uniform were popular role models for young girls back then."

Sahara's group has encouraged the city to restore streetcars of the type that were used in the Meiji era (1868-1912), in addition to having sold products connected with Hakodate city streetcars since the group was established in 1988.

When the first streetcar with karaoke equipment was launched by Sahara's group, it amazed the public of Hakodate and beyond. Passengers enjoy performing their favorite songs on the cars, including Soran-bushi, a traditional Hokkaido folk song accompanied by dancing.

When a karaoke car where people are singing and dancing stops at a crossing, people outside cannot help but applaud their performance.

Hakodate Haikara Go, a red and roundish streetcar that runs seven roundtrips a day at 15 kph to 20 kph, slower than ordinary streetcars, is very popular among tourists. (Haikara translates as "fashionable" in English.)

Haikara Go was restored by the city government following requests from residents, including Sahara's group, in 1993. The car previously was utilized as a streetcar in the city from 1918 to 1936 and had been used to remove snow since 1937.

Haikara Go has a number of different features compared with other streetcars. Drivers wear Meiji era-style uniforms with stand-up collars in the streetcar, and its interior decoration is of wood design.

The conductors on every car punch tickets after asking passengers their destination.

Sahara likes Aoyagicho, too. At the stop, a streetcar appears to emerge out of the blue from behind the slope.

"It's a magical moment as if time has stopped. When I gaze at a streetcar crawling the slope, I always become excited," Sahara said.

Toshio Horii, an 80-year-old poet who was brought up in Hakodate, said the city's slopes were its most attractive feature.

"Hakodate City was formed around Mt. Hakodate, and many roads were built one after another on slopes. There are various slopes, including long, short and steep ones, which are a joy for walkers," Horii said.

"People often say the landscape from the bottom of a slope is more attractive than that from the top of a slope. But I think seeing slopes going down is the best view in Hakodate because people can see the wide sea in front of them," he added.