Otaru canal 2
The Otaru port was the most imprtant port in Meiji period. The third railway
in Japan connected Otaru and Sapporo in 1880.
Otaru city was the center of Hokkaidou economy at that time. Many magnificent
buildings of banks, companies and merchants were built.
The volume of traffic had increased in Meiji period. Then port capacity
became insufficient in around 1900. There was a long discusion about the
plan of port enlargement. Finaly The construction of the Otaru Canal started
in 1914.
