OTARU STATION (HOKKAIDO)
Otaru shines light on region's recent past
| Lanterns illuminate the concourse below. |
| Tourists take a photograph on Platform No. 4, known as the "Yujiro Platform" after the late movie star Yujiro Ishihara, who grew up in Otaru. On the platform stands a monument to the actor, at which his songs are played throughout the day. |
| The Kita Canal remains as it originally was, in contrast to the bustling Otaru Canal, which has been recast as a tourist spot. |
| Tourists wish a newlywed couple the best of luck in their new life after a ceremony held as part of the Otaru Yukiakari no Michi, a winter lights festival in the port city.
|
Photos by Yomiuri Shimbun Photographer Yasunari Itayama
By Kazuhiro Katayama
Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Emerging from Hariusu Tunnel, one can see from the right side of the train from Sapporo the outstretched ocean butting up against the city of Otaru, a city surrounded on three sides by mountains.
Built in 1934, the current JR Otaru Station is decorated with lamps, which are hung from pillars along the platform, casting a soft, brilliant light. Near the ticket gate, the lamps are hung like curtains in front of the windows.
"The lamps create a nostalgic atmosphere of the Taisho era (1912-1926)--but most of them were installed as recently as in the 1998 renovation," said Hirofumi Saito, the stationmaster at that time.
"Otaru is the city of glass art, and I reckoned the lamps should be the station's trademark," he continued. "So I asked Kitaichi Glass Co. to install their lanterns in the station."
Kitaichi Glass, an Otaru-based glass firm, is nationally renowned for its glasswork.
Despite its fame, Otaru's history of glass is relatively short.
Originally centered around its port, from which coal was shipped, Otaru was developed in the Meiji era (1868-1912), later becoming a gateway for trade with the Asian continent between the Taisho era and the early days of the Showa era (1926-1989).
The industrial town's glitter, however, began to fade after the country's defeat in the Pacific War.
It was only in the early 1970s when lanterns and glass fishing net buoys, which had been produced in Otaru since the early 20th century, began drawing attention.
"With increased domestic tourism, a number of younger visitors to Otaru began purchasing the lanterns and buoys to decorate their rooms," said Makoto Sato, publicist for Kitaichi Glass.
Otaru glass has since been promoted as a brand, thereby attracting younger generations to the tradition. The lanterns, which were used by people working to develop the northern wilderness, now provide income for the city in the form of souvenirs.
(March. 10, 2006)
JAPANESE
The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun
