Ocean route view from land route 2011 Movie 6min 30sec
Location: Otaru - Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
I shoot the seascape from a train running on the Hakodate Main Line, connecting Sapporo and Otaru stations in Hokkaido. Part of the line was responsible for transporting coal from the mines to the shipping ports. The town of Otaru, which faces Ishikari Bay, thrived as a port of call for Kitamae ships. Kitamaebune is a cargo ship that came and went from the late Edo period to the early Meiji period, mainly on the westbound routes (routes connecting the Sea of Japan, Seto Inland Sea, and Osaka). Kitamae-bune is a type of cargo ship that does not transport goods on consignment, but rather the owner buys the goods at the destination and makes a profit by trading them. These ships leave Osaka in early spring, buy salt and rice at ports along the Seto Inland Sea, and then head to Ezochi along the Sea of Japan from Shimonoseki to sell these goods and buy herring and kelp. On the way back, they returned to Osaka along the route they had taken, selling Ezo products at ports of call. Kitamaebune played a role in the development of an era, but it eventually declined with time. After the Meiji period, with the development of the telegraph, Kitamaebune lost its advantage in futures trading, and railroads became the center of logistics, and Kitamaebune disappeared.