To think of a big city in Hokkaido is invariably to think of the place that fondly plants a prominent white, red or black star on the labels of the beers it brews. But back in the early part of the last century, the spot in Hokkaido that was top dog in terms of population and economic clout was not Sapporo, but the nearby port of Otaru.
In the latter third of the 19th century, the industries of Japan were busily making their great leap forward, and the fuel for that rapid industrialization was, as in the West, coal. Ishikari, in central Hokkaido, is where the largest, most productive coalfields in the country were located, and back then Otaru was the port that shipped the black stuff to other parts of Japan.
More than coal, though, the thing that brought real prosperity to Otaru came with fins. The waters around Hokkaido are rich fishing grounds, and it was the vast schools of herring that helped make Otaru into the economic hub of the region.
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