The bus is about to run along the coastline of the Tsugaru Straits! The unexplored bus, with its powerful windows, runs under rough, bare rock cliffs and through a series of tunnels that are just barely wide enough for a car. Local buses will soon disappear from such roads. Due to a revision of the Hokkaido Hakodate Bus timetable, the Hakodate Bus Shimo Kaigan Route (Route 91, 91A) will no longer pass through the Route 41 section of the former town of Keiyama at the end of March. In this section, buses run exactly along the coastline, and the rugged nature can be viewed from the bus, making it a “scenic and unexplored route bus” that has been very popular. First, let’s take a bus through the partially discontinued section, which takes only a few minutes.
Unsurpassed? From the Edo period (1603-1867) to the Meiji and Taisho periods (1912-1926), the only way to travel overland from Hakodate to the town of Keiyama, some 50 km away, was along narrow, stepped-up roads. There were many difficult places along the way, including Cape Shiohimisaki and Cape Tachimayashimisaki, where cliff paths along the coastline were not possible, and the only way to get to Hiura was to cross the steep mountains behind it. Although carriage roads and roads were gradually built, the columnar andesite rock formed by volcanic activity could collapse the entire mountain if it were blown up with dynamite. The construction of tunnels was carried out while using pickaxes, and in 1929, the present section of the prefectural road was completed, including the seven “Hiura-domon” tunnels. 2 years later, buses began service, finally connecting the previously “boat or foot” route between Keizan and Hakodate by land. Around the time of the road construction, the area took on a military flavor. During the Russo-Japanese War, the Tsugaru Straits were breached by the Russian fleet, and this road was used to construct the Tsugaru Fortress, which made it possible to seal the straits, and to transport men and supplies to the battery at Keiyama. In addition to the road, construction of a railroad between Hakodate and Toi was underway to transport supplies to the “Toi Fortress,” which was being built in secret. By this time, the town of Toi was enveloped in an atmosphere of fear, with “photographs not allowed in the vicinity of the fortress” and “permission required for new shrines and buildings” (Toi Town History), and even the extension of the railroad between Toi and Todohoka was discussed. The transportation system along the coastline, which until a few years earlier had depended on boats and horse-drawn carriages, improved at a breakneck pace with the fortification of the straits. However, with the defeat of the war, the railroad facilities, which had only been laid down, were abandoned, and no trains ever ran. However, since the area was famous for its high-grade kelp, many trucks passed through the roads including Hiura-domon, and at one time there was so much traffic that the Hakodate Bus Company and Mutual Automobile Bus Company were competing for bus routes. In 1970, the coastal road was designated National Route 278, and Hiura-domon remained the main route to Kezan and Tofuka until 1985, when the Santaro Tunnel was opened. Even after the opening of the tunnel and new road, buses continued to travel along Hiura-domon as a way to reach the fishing ports along the route, and continue to do so today. However, this section of the road, including the Hiura-domon, is immediately blocked off when waves are high. Buses and cars are sometimes forced to stop in the tunnel when high waves come in, making the route unsafe for traffic. According to Hakodate Bus Company data, the reason for the route change is that “the road conditions are poor, with oncoming traffic having trouble separating from oncoming traffic,” and “the road is often closed during stormy weather due to the danger of waves overtopping. In addition, the three stops (Shimo-Toyoura, Toyoura, and Kami-Toyoura) that are to be discontinued have “no actual usage” (zero users on both weekdays and holidays), and the decision was made to discontinue this section of the route.
© Source travel watch
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.