Japan Heritage story
Coal, steel and port: Hokkaido's northern industrial revolution
本邦国策を北海道に観よ！
In the Meiji era, Japan built Hokkaido's industry from scratch: coal mines in Sorachi, steelworks in Muroran and the port of Otaru, all linked by rail and less than 100 km apart. Hokkaido's population grew about a hundredfold in a century, and the mine towers, canal and factories of that boom still stand.
Key facts
- Theme
- Sea and waterside, Food and sake, Mines and minerals
- Era
- Meiji
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Official name in Japanese
- 本邦国策を北海道に観よ！
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～北の産業革命「炭鉄港」～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 北海道（小樽市、室蘭市、夕張市、岩見沢市、美唄市、芦別市、江別市、赤平市、三笠市、歌志内市、栗山町、月形町、沼田町、安平町）
The story
After surveys found rich coal in Sorachi, the Horonai mine opened in 1879, and by 1882 a railway of about 90 km, then the longest in Japan, carried its coal to Otaru. The railway later reached Muroran, which grew from a coal port into a steel town using Sorachi's coal. Otaru built Japan's first full-scale harbour breakwater and became Hokkaido's leading port, while Ebetsu's brick works supplied all three.
After the Second World War, Hokkaido's coal and steel helped rebuild Japan. Then oil replaced coal, most mines closed and about 50,000 miners left Sorachi. Otaru led the comeback by turning its canal and old streets into one of Hokkaido's most visited towns, and Sorachi and Muroran now use their industrial heritage the same way.
What to see
- Sumitomo Akabira mine shaft tower: a 44 m tower that lifted coal from 650 m underground, with tours by former miners.Google Maps 旧住友赤平炭鉱立坑櫓 (opens in a new tab)
- Otaru Canal and old town: warehouses and stone streets from the port's boom years.Google Maps 小樽運河 (opens in a new tab)
- Muroran's factory landscape: the steel town that grew on Sorachi coal.
- Ebetsu brick buildings: the brick town that supplied Hokkaido's modern buildings.
Plan your trip with the Hokkaido guide and see more history and heritage.
Good to know
- Join a tour at the Akabira shaft tower to hear the mine's story from people who worked there.
- Try local dishes born in this era, such as nanko (horse-offal stew) and Muroran yakitori.
- Otaru, Sorachi and Muroran are all within about 100 km, so a road trip links them easily.
Questions travellers ask
What does Tan-Tetsu-Ko mean?
Coal (tan), steel (tetsu) and port (ko): the three industries of Sorachi, Muroran and Otaru, linked by rail, that built modern Hokkaido.
Why did the mines close?
From the 1960s oil replaced coal, and despite big investments most Sorachi mines closed.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Esashi: the herring town that outshone Edo
- Gyoda: the town of tabi storehouses
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Masuda: a medieval masterpiece of Japan
- Otaru, the heart of Hokkaido: a merchant city saved by its people
- Sacred land of salmon: 10,000 years on the Nemuro Strait
- Takaoka: the castle town that became a merchant town
- The Kamikawa Ainu: living with the kamuy of Daisetsuzan
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.