Hakone

**Hakone** (Japanese: 箱根市 *Hakone-shi*; Mandarin: 箱根市 *Xiānggēn shì*; Dutch: *Hakone-stad*) is a city in the state of Hakone. The city is home to 8.7 million people and is the second-largest city in Kawagoeland.

Hakone is the Halloween capital of Kawagoeland (and Granhaul) itself, and Hakone also serves as the primary witch capital of the country. The country's secondary witch capital is located in Kagamisei, a medium-sized city, and the vampire capital of Kawagoeland is in Tochigi. Hakone, along with two medium-sized cities (Tochigi and Kagamisei) and seven towns and small-sized cities make up the Hakone Metropolitan Area.

## History

The city of Hakone is located in the southern portion of the state of Hakone, which was originally the German colony of Lower Windsheim. The city was founded in 1616 and when the country gained independence in 1730, it was renamed Hakone, after a city in Japan.

The city built a port for vampires (Hakone Vampire Port) in 1809. The first 120,000 vampires were arrived in Hakone in 1810. The city became a major port for witches, vampires and bats in 1844.

## Businesses

Hakone is home to several businesses.

* **Ayumi Dress Factory Co., Ltd.** (Japanese: 愛弓仮装製作所株式会社 *Ayumi kasō seisakusho kabushikigaisha*) — Ayumi Dress Factory Co., Ltd. was the Kawagoenese equivalent of Ben Cooper. The business was founded in 1925, and continues to exist to this date. Unlike Ben Cooper, who made strangely inaccurate costumes, complete with masks, Ayumi Dress Factory made elaborate costumes of various creatures, and officially licenced cosplay outfits in both child- and adult-sized forms, which were on sale during the Halloween season up to 30 October and during the Carnival season (Shrovetide). Ayumi Dress Factory is included as a Kawagoenese symbol of both Halloween and Carnival.
* **Toei Kawagoeland Co., Ltd.** (Japanese: 東映川越国株式会社 *Tōei Kawagoe-koku kabushikigaisha*) — The Kawagoenese subsidiary of Toei Company, Ltd. of Japan.
* **Toei Animation Kawagoeland Co., Ltd.** (Japanese: 東映アニメーション川越国株式会社 *Tōei animēshon Kawagoe-koku kabushikigaisha*; former Japanese name: 東映動画川越国株式会社 *Tōeidōga Kawagoe-koku kabushikigaisha*) — The company's Kawagoenese division that provides animation assistance for the majority of Toei-produced anime, it also produced Halloween specials featuring Toei's magical girls from 1972 to 1984.
* **Hakone General Automobile Co., Ltd.** (Japanese: 箱根ゼネラル自動車株式会社 *Hakone zeneraru jidōsha kabushikigaisha*)
* **Futamisha Co., Ltd.** (Japanese: 株式会社双海社 *Kabushikigaisha Futami-sha*) — A book publishing company.

### Organisations

* **State of Hakone Bureau of Witches** (Japanese: 箱根州魔女局 *Hakone-shū majo-kyoku*)
* **State of Hakone Magical Academy Committee** (Japanese: 箱根州魔法学園委員会 *Hakone-shū mahō gakuen iinkai*)
* **State of Hakone Potion Institute** (Japanese: 箱根州薬水研究所 *Hakone-shū yosu kenkyūjo*)
* **State of Hakone Halloween Association** (Japanese: 箱根州ハロウィン協会 *Hakone-shū harōwin kyōkai*)
* **State of Hakone Bureau of Vampires** (Japanese: 箱根州吸血鬼局 *Hakone-shū kyūketsuki-kyoku*)
* **State of Hakone Bats Council** (Japanese: 箱根州バット評議会 *Hakone-shū batto hyōgi-kai*)
* **State of Hakone Ghost Hunting Association** (Japanese: 箱根州幽霊狩協会 *Hakone-shū yūrei kari kyōkai*)

In July 2015, Hakone's Bureau of Witches, Bureau of Vampires, Halloween Association and the Bats Council started industrial action waves for a safer trick-or-treating. This is in response to sweets poisoning that hospitalised more than 2,000 children in Caraga, Philippines. Years earlier, in 1982, a similar industrial action occurred, in response to the tylenol incident in Chicago, US.

## Transport

Hakone is the terminal point for four highways: Hakone–Kawagoe Highway, Hakone–Himeji Highway, Hakone–Yamaka Highway and the Watanabe Highway.

It is also the mid point for Aidō–Kyōba Highway and 15 other highways.

### Public transport

Hakone Metro is the city of Hakone's metro system.

Hakone Tramways is the city of Hakone's tramway system, originally operated as a horse-drawn tramway from 1863. It is still in operation.

Buses within the city of Hakone are operated by contractors nowadays, but the bus network management is done by the Hakone Public Transport Management Commission. In the past, Hakone Bus Office Company provided all bus services within the city of Hakone. Hakone Bus Office Company was liquidated in the 1990s, and as a result, contractors took over bus services.

See Hakone public transport routes for the list of bus, tram and metro routes within the city of Hakone.

#### Future fleet

The city of Hakone teamed up with Hyundai Motors, Alexander Dennis, Volvo and Custom Denning to put new electric bus fleets through a committee known as Hakone Public Transport No.1 Joint Committee. The committee's listed bus fleet models included:

* Alexander Dennis Enviro400 electric double-decker bus, 12.8 m long, 4.4 m tall, 2.5 m wide
* Alexander Dennis Enviro500 electric double-decker bus, 12.8 m long, 4.4 m tall, 2.5 m wide
* Hyundai Motors Elec City electric double-decker bus, 12.8 m long, 4.4 m tall, 2.4 m wide
* Volvo BZL electric single-decker bus, 11.8 m long, 2.5 m wide
* Custom Denning Element electric single-decker bus, 12.5 m long, 2.5 m wide

Hakone is the first and the only city in Kawagoeland to make such an announcement about purchasing Custom Denning Element buses.

## Education

The city of Hakone is home to two major wizarding schools (Hakone Central School for Wizards and Ōfuki Wizarding School) and 18 minor wizarding schools, as well as one major school for witches (Tōsō School for Witches). These schools are members of the State of Hakone Magical Academy Committee and the State of Hakone Magic Education Council.

Hakone also operates over 1,800 primary, 1,200 middle and 1,000 high schools.

## Languages

The Constitution of Kawagoeland states that "Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, English and Dutch are the official languages of Kawagoeland, and out of the four languages, Japanese, English and Dutch are traditional languages. Japanese and English are only languages allowed in road signage settings, as do writing addresses." As a result, messages written in Dutch or Chinese must have the address written in English, with the use of addresses written in Japanese restricted to Japanese-language messages.

### Japanese

The city's own Japanese dialect is called the Central Hakone dialect, which includes nasal vowels and whistled sibilants. Mora 'n' (ん/ン) indicates vowel nasalisation.

## Celebrations

Since the 1840s, Halloween is popular in Kawagoeland. Like the rest of Kawagoeland, the city of Hakone has marked Halloween as a public holiday, unlike the United States. The city of Hakone has a Halloween parade that is held annually since 1923. The city of Hakone (and the state itself) prohibits any stores from having employees on 31 October and 1 November, and all stores must close down by 7 p.m. on 30 October.

Halloween is also the day the witches will change their age. Witches start at 1 year old on the date of birth and do not add a year on their birthday but rather on Halloween night. For example, a female witch whose age is 65 would be around age 63 or 64 in the human age system. Once the witch turns 20 on Halloween night (equivalent to 18 or 19 in the human age system), a document declaring coming of age and a quill are given to the witch and her hand is stamped at the same time.

On 28, 29 or 30 October (depending on the year) students from Grade 1 to Grade 10 are compulsory to join the Halloween parade. (Kawagoeland is the sole remaining country to do so after most schools in America cancelled Halloween events.) In magic schools, the approach is different: students get the Witches and Wizards Declaration instead. The Halloween season ends on 15 November.

Christmas is also widely celebrated in the city of Hakone, as do Gregorian New Year and Easter, as well as the Kawagoenese Independence Day. Christmas markets are set up in the city of Hakone. Oktoberfest is also popular in Hakone as well.

Also, festivals of Chinese culture, like Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are celebrated in Hakone, but like the rest of Kawagoeland, only Chinese New Year is marked as a public holiday.

## Films set in Hakone

* *A Majokko Film* (1998) — A Toei Kawagoeland production set in Year 2 of Kesennuma Primary School (Japanese: 気仙沼小学校 *Kesen'numa shōgakkō*) during the Halloween parade on 30 October. Features students dressed as Sailor Moon, Honey, Megu, Lalabel, Lunlun, Mako, Sally and Chappy (the magical girl series that aired in Kawagoeland).

## Gallery

124 Katsuka St, Mokusei at nightAitsuko Street, Honōtama at night