Article

01236 ／ほくとし

Hokuto City

Fired here: "Made in Hakodate" bricks.

Moheji brick, "Made in Hakodate"

Photo by 栗原岳 (Gaku Kurihara) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Fortress ruins

A four-cornered fortshaped like a turtle with its head out.

Fortress ruins in Hokuto City — Photo by One of resercher (CC BY 4.0)

The city says the Matsumae domain's Hekirichi fort was begun in June 1855 (Ansei 2) and finished that October. It stands on a plateau about 70 m high, with 17 building sites inside and six gun emplacements at the "head." Earthworks and dry moats remain, and it is a National Historic Site.

Begun June 1855, finished October
About 70 m above sea level
National Historic Site, 1965

02 ／ Pottery

A vessel with a doughnut-shaped bodyand four faces.

This spouted vessel from the Late Jomon period was unearthed at the Moheji site and is a National Important Cultural Property. Its neck splits in two and joins a doughnut-shaped body, with one face at the front, back, left and right, four in all. The Tokyo National Museum holds it.

17.9 cm tall
Late Jomon period
National Important Cultural Property, 1973

03 ／ Weeping cherry

A weeping cherry said to beabout 300 years old.

Weeping cherry in Hokuto City — Photo by おちむしゃ20150505 (Public domain)

The city describes the weeping cherry at Hokiji temple as "said to be about 300 years old, among the largest weeping cherries in Hokkaido." It is about 12 m tall, and its hanging branches fill with blossoms. It stands in Mukaino 1-chome, Hokuto City.

Said to be about 300 years old
About 12 m tall

Hokuto City from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot June 2024)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

3 hours 57 minutes from Tokyo by Hokkaido Shinkansen.

about 40,000 people
Shinkansen stops here

In the JR East timetable (November 2026 edition), the fastest daily service is Hayabusa 5, leaving Tokyo at 8:18 and reaching Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station at 12:15, 3 hours 57 minutes. The city's own guide says about 4 hours. The gateway is Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station.

People living here: 44,302people
Area: 397.44km²
Households: 18,337households
Rent (average for rentals): 41,757yen
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 25 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —9 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Hokuto City in Japan41.824°N 140.653°E

to TokyoHokkaido Shinkansen237min

Travel times follow JR東日本の駅の時刻表（timetables.jreast.co.jp/2611・東京駅下り tt1039 平日1039020・土曜休日1039021）の列車ページを hokkaido-prep/jr/trains-1039.json（512件）から数え直し、はやぶさ5号（5B・train/110/111081）とはやぶさ11号（11B・train/110/111091）の列車ページを直接読んで確かめた。東京の発→新函館北斗の着で、運転日の欄が空（臨時でない）の毎日運転の最速は237分：5B（東京08:18発→新函館北斗12:15着）と11B（東京09:36発→新函館北斗13:33着）。平日と土曜・休日の両方に同じ10本（1号3001B 261分・5号5B 237分・11号11B 237分・17号17B 256分・23号3023B 250分・25号3025B 267分・27号3027B 249分・31号3031B 264分・35号3035B 264分・39号3039B 249分）が載る。下ごしらえの本体の数え（237分・毎日10本）と一致 (checked 2026-10-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Territory of Hokuto City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

30.8km

Assabu Town, Nanae Town, Kikonai Town, Mori Town, Hakodate City

Hokuto City isthis kind of town.

01The Hokkaido Development Commission began firing bricks at Moheji in 1872 (Meiji 5) and closed the works in 1880. Cultural Heritage Online records that bricks of the former Hakodate branch office record house in Hakodate carry stamps such as "Meiji 7, made in Hakodate"
02A fort site that the city counts among the Twelve Forts of southern Hokkaido is a National Historic Site. A survey stone in Hokuto from the Development Commission's triangulation is a Hokkaido-designated historic site. The Jomon spouted vessel unearthed at Moheji is a National Important Cultural Property
03The city's list of cultural properties includes the Birthplace of Paddy Fields in Hokkaido and its monument as a city-designated historic site. The city describes the weeping cherry at Hokiji temple as among the largest weeping cherries in Hokkaido

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Hokuto City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes