Coal Mines in Hokkaido

The pioneering of Hokkaido was greatly advanced by the development of coal mines. Railways for transporting mined coal and iron mills which used the coal were opened, and Hokkaido developed rapidly. In other words, the very history of Hokkaido’s coal mine development is the history of Hokkaido’s modernization.

In this blog, we’ll introduce three of the many coal mines in Hokkaido. We hope you will be interested in the history of Hokkaido.

 

About the Yubari coal mine

It has been about one hundred fifty years since the Yubari coal was discovered by Benjamin Smith Lyman. And some companies launched development of the Yubari coal in 1890s. In the 1950s, the Yubari coal was in its golden time because high quality coking coal for iron making coke was produced, the Yubari coal and the Yubari city prospered. On the other hand, there were many disasters caused by natural gas at the Yubari pit and many workers died. Especially, the accident in 1981 was extensive and it was the third largest accident after WWⅡ in Japan.
(Ryoma)

Horonai coal mine

Horonai coal mine is the oldest coal mine in Hokkaido,　opened in 1879. A lot of good quality coal was mined there, but it was closed in 1987 due to falling demand and the energy revolution.

Today, you can see some remnants in Horonai coal mine park. And Mikasa City Museum exhibits items related to the history of it, such as machinery used in mining.

Would you like to visit and have a look there?
(Chihiro)

The Itomuka Coal Mine

I’ll introduce Itomuka Coal Mine. The Itomuka Coal Mine was a mine located in the town of Rubeso, Tokoro District. From around 1941, full-scale mining began with the capital of the Nomura conglomerate at that time. This was a place where good quality mercury could be obtained. At its peak, it was the Japan largest producer. Itomuka is an Ainu word meaning shining spring. However, mining ceased in 1974.

 

There is a monument now, so why don’t you go to the Itomuka Coal Mine?
(Ryunosuke)

Thank you for reading!