Modern civil engineering heritage inspired by Roman architectural styles

This large breakwater, approximately 14 meters high and 427 meters long, is located in Wakkanai Port in Wakkanai City, Hokkaido. Wakkanai experiences strong winds and high waves year-round, making it impossible to protect against the waves with existing breakwaters, thus necessitating the construction of a new one. Toshio Hirao, the director of the Wakkanai Port Construction Office, proposed to Minoru Tsuchiya, a young engineer from the Hokkaido Prefectural Government who had been assigned to the site, a plan to support a dome-shaped canopy that would withstand the waves with concrete piles. Tsuchiya, who had studied civil engineering, completed the breakwater with a group of 70 columns and a semi-arched corridor. After its completion, the railway line was extended from Wakkanai Station to near the dome, and "Wakkanai Pier Station" was opened. It was also used as a passageway to the pier for boarding the railway ferry connecting Wakkanai and Southern Sakhalin. After World War II, the railway line to Pier Station disappeared along with the ferry. It faced the threat of demolition, but a citizens' movement led to its restoration. It is now designated as a Hokkaido Heritage site, and the surrounding area is a park.

Wakkanai Port North Breakwater Dome
・Architect : Minoru Tsuchiya
・Location: 1-2-2 Kaiun, Wakkanai City, Hokkaido
・Use : Breakwater
・Completed : 1936

Text: Yoshinao Yamada