“Man should run across thousands of miles with his resolution. I cannot yearn for the sight of my hometown without suffering away from it. And even during the toughest times, I dream of flowers blooming in my hometown”

Etched into a beautiful monument next to the bay, a minimal Monument translates to these very words quoted by Niijima Jo- a Japanese missionary and educator during the Meiji period.

Nijima Jo came to Hakodate from Edo in 1864 and would teach Japanese to the second bishop of Hakodate’s Russian Orthodox. After a number of setbacks, he finally left the country on 17th July in 1864 from this very place. On his travel, the captain of the ship named him Joseph which later changed to “Jo” and soon he reached the United States after traveling through Shanghai, and China. Niijima studied in the states for 10 years and came back to Japan in 1874 where he started the Doshisha University and the Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts in Kyoto. Come here to see the beautiful words etched into the monument and to admire the view of the bay from the place.

• By Bus stop: Yayoimachi Bus Stop Yayoi Town (bus)
• By Light Rail stop: Suehirocho Station
• By taking a Street Car.
• By renting a Bike.

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