Hakodate Transportation Bureau

The Hakodate City Tram Department (函館市企業局交通部, Hakodate-shi Kigyōkyoku Kōtsūbu, lit. "Hakodate City Enterprises Bureau Transportation Division") is a public transport authority in Hakodate, Japan. The bureau currently operates only trams, although until 1 April 2003 it also ran a number of bus routes.

Hakodate Transportation Bureau
A Hakodate City Tram type 9600 at Hackodate Dock-mae station
Overview
Locale	Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan
Transit type	Tram
Number of lines	2 (routes), 4 (lines)
Number of stations	26 (20 shared)
Annual ridership	3,474,783 (2021)
Operation
Began operation	12 December 1897 (horse-drawn), 1913 (electrified)
Rolling stock	32
Technical
System length	10.9 km (6.8 mi)
Track gauge	1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)
Electrification	600 V DC via overhead line
System map A transit diagram of two tram routes in Hakodate (red and blue), alongside other public transport

The Kikan Horsecar Railway (亀函馬車鉄道, Kikan Basha Tetsudō), a private horsecar operating company, opened Hakodate's first tram line in 1897. It was the first tram in Japan to be located north of Tokyo. The network was electrified in 1913. Following several changes of ownership, the Hakodate City Government finally took over control of the lines in 1943.

Hakodate City Tram

There were once twelve routes operating on six lines with a total length of 17.9 km. However, declining ridership led to closure of parts of the network in 1978, 1992, and 1993. The current network consists of two routes operating on four lines with a total length of 10.9 km.

• Lines: Officially, there are four lines:
  • Main Line (本線): Hakodate-Dokku-mae — Jūjigai — Hakodate-Ekimae
  • Yunokawa Line (湯の川線): Matsukazechō — Yunokawa
  • Hōrai-Yachigashira Line (宝来・谷地頭線): Jūjigai — Yachigashira
  • Ōmori Line (大森線): Hakodate-Ekimae — Matsukazechō
• Routes: There are two routes in regular service, using the above lines as follows:

■ Route 2 (2系統): Yunokawa — Matsukazechō — Hakodate-Ekimae — Jūjigai — Yachigashira

■ Route 5 (5系統): Yunokawa — Matsukazechō — Hakodate-Ekimae — Jūjigai — Hakodate-Dokku-mae

For most of the day, trams run every ten minutes on each route, or every five minutes on the section between Yunokawa and Jūjigai, which is shared by both routes. After 19.00 the frequency is reduced to one tram every twenty minutes on each route, or every ten minutes on the shared section.

ICAS nimoca Card, a magnetic prepaid card, is accepted for payment of fares.

Stations

A tram at Jujigai station

A tram at Keibajo-mae station

A tram at Matsukaze-cho station

Both routes run together in parallel from Yunokawa to Jujigai for 20 stations, where they split up, with three stations on each separate branch. In addition to connecting to a vaster network of bus routes criss-crossing the city, the tram system is also linked to the Hakodate Station.

Station	Routes	Nearby	Transfers
Yunokawa		Yukura Shrine	To bus
Yunokawa-onsen
Hakodate arena-mae		Hakodate Arena
Kobama-shako-mae
Keibajo-mae		Hakodate Racecourse	To bus
Fukabori-cho
Kashiwagi-cho
Suginami-cho
Goryokaku-koen-mae			To bus
Chuo-byoin-mae		Hakodate Central General Hospital
Chiyogadai		Chiyogadai Park Athletic Studium
Horikawa-cho
Showabashi			To bus
Chitose-cho
Shinkawa-cho
Matsukaze-cho
Hakodate Ekimae		Hakodate Station	To bus, Hokuto train, Hakodate Main Line (rapid & local)
Shiyakusho-mae
Uoichiba-dori
Jujigai
Suehirocho		Hakodate City Museum of Northern Peoples
Omachi
Hakodate Dock-mae		Hakodate Dock
Horai-cho
Aoyagi-cho		Hakodate Park
Yachigashira

Rolling stock

Hakodate Haikara-gō

Antique car №530 that has appeared in If Cats Disappeared from the World

A 9600 series tramcar, known as Rakkuru-gō

As of 31 March 2023, the bureau owns 37 trams; 32 of them are used for commercial operation, three are decorated and two more are equipped with snowplows. The following types of vehicles are in use:

• Series 30, also known as Haikara-gō. It is a vintage tramcar first operated in the city in 1918 and restored for use on tourist runs in the summer in 1993.
• Series 500 was manufactured between 1948 and 1950 and gradually phased out in the 1980s, with only two vehicles in service. Furthermore, one of those, car №530, is usually kept at a depot and used for filming, plowing snow (see below) and in cases of heavy traffic
• Series 710, once the primary vehicle of the system. It is being gradually replaced, with four trams remaining. Two upgraded vehicles known as Series 7000 were introduced in 2020 and 2024, respectively.
• Series 800, first manufactured between 1962 and 1965. All but one of those were replaced by Series 8000, which are the system's primary tram. A single low-floor model of Series 8100 also exists, converted from a Series 800 model in 2002.
• Series 2000, represented by two cars introduced in 1993 and 1994, respectively.
• Series 3000, the first in Hokkaido to feature air conditioning and regenerative brakes. Those are known as Marine Blue.
• Series 9600, featuring ultra-low-floor access. The trams are known as Rakkuru-gō, and also as Little Dancer.

The following vehicles are not used for commercial purposes:

• Trams №3 and №4, also known as Sasara trams, are used for plowing snow. Six such trams were converted from regular ones in the 1930s. In addition to that, car №530 is also used for clearing snow thanks to its heavier weight.

See also

• List of light-rail transit systems
• Sapporo City Transportation Bureau

External links

• (in Japanese) Official website
• Network map