ecovered from a conflagration. The houses are nothing but tinder� Stones, however, are its prominent feature. Looking down upon it from above you see miles of grey boulders, and realise that every roof in the windy capital is �hodden doun� by a weight of paving stones.
20th century to present day
Hakodate was awarded city status on August 1, 1922. The city escaped most of the ravages of World War II. Areas around Hakodate-yama were fortified and access restricted to the public. Many prisoners of war were interned in Hakodate and historians record a total of 10 camps. The city was subjected to two Allied bombing raids on 14 and 15 July 1945. Around 400 homes were destroyed on the western side of Hakodate-yama and an Aomori-Hakodate ferry was attacked with 400 passengers killed.
In 1976, a defecting Soviet pilot named Viktor Belenko flew his plane into the civilian airport in Hakodate.
Hakodate's size nearly doubled on December 1, 2004 when the town of Minamikayabe, from Kayabe District, the towns of Esan and Toi, and the village of Todohokke, all from Kameda District, were merged into it
