How many Foreigners Live in Hakodate?

As part of our research on Hakodate real estate, we present some data on the estimated numbers of foreigners living in Hakodate, as well as the percentage of foreign born population in Hakodate from each country.

The Population of Hakodate is 99.4% Japanese

Hakodate is the third largest city in Hokkaido. As of 2023 estimates, the total population of Hakodate is 243,942. The ethnic background of the residents of Hakodate is 99.4% Japanese. It is a very homogenous city.

Of Hakodate’s total population, approximately 1,400 people are foreign-born; the percentage of foreigners living in Hakodate is 0.6%.

The percentage of foreigners living in Hakodate is increasing, but remains a very small percentage.

Population of Foreigners in Hakodate, by Year

There is a small population of foreign-born people living in Hakodate. Here is the annual data for foreigners residing in Hakodate.

Source: City of Hakodate

This table presents data for foreign and international Hakodate residents only. For more complete data about the total population of Hakodate, see our report on the Hakodate population by year.

Hakodate’s Foreign-Born Population by Country

While Niseko has more English-speaking foreign residents, most of the foreigners living in Hakodate are from Asian countries. Based on demographic statistics from 2022, the primary country of origin for foreigners living in Hakodate is Vietnam (31.7% of the foreign population), followed by China (19.2%) and Korea (15.4%).

Compared to other Hokkaido city populations, the relative numbers of Vietnamese living in Hakodate is surprising. When we look at foreigners living in Sapporo there is a much bigger focus on the Chinese. It is part of The Niseko story that the foreign population of the Niseko region has largely been about Australians and westerners coming for the snow and tourism.

As our team did in-house research for this report, we spoked with the “International & Intercity Affairs Section” of the local Hakodate government. An official with that department said that many of the Vietnamese are short-term residents, and reside in Hakodate as participants in technical training programs. From other research, we can also report census data shows the Vietnamese as the fastest growing foreign population in Japan, with a 10X increase from 2010 to 2020.

The first English-speaking country on the list of foreigners living in Hakodate is the United States (3.2% of the foreign population). Great Britain (1.6% of the foreign population) and Australia (1.1%) also have a few citizens living in Hakodate.

Foreigners Buying Real Estate in Hakodate

Hakodate is a small city. There is a university there and a real economy, but it is not a high growth area. As we saw in the statistics on land prices in Hakodate, real estate values in Hakodate have declined somewhat (even as land prices are increasing in Sapporo and other Hokkaido cities).

In our work with clients, we do get requests to buy Hakodate property and interest in apartments for rent in Hakodate. We have good contacts in the area and we are happy to introduce you to local Hakodate real estate agents.

For help finding local real estate agents in Hakodate, please contact us. We are happy to help.

We work for you, not the real estate companies.

We provide person-to-person introductions to prescreened agents that help you sell, buy, lease, or rent property in Hokkaido. We search our custom database to connect you to real estate professionals that speak your language, address your needs and are available now to help you find what you want.

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For More Information:

— Statistics on The Population of Hakodate
— Recent data on Housing Prices in Hakodate
— Our report on the Cost to Rent an Apartment in Hakodate
— Details on The Price of Land in Hakodate
— Complete Sapporo Population Statistics report
— Recent data on the Population of Niseko and Foreign Populations Living in Niseko
— The Population of Otaru
— International Schools in Sapporo
— Find Lawyers in Hokkaido
— Our Taxes in Japan page
— Buying Property in Hokkaido as a Foreigner