Kitaichi Garasu (Glassworks), a Leader of Otaru Glassware Otaru glassware, along with the canal, is a symbolic character of Otaru, and various glass workshops dot the city. A leader of glassware in Otaru is the traditional Kitaichi Glassworks Company. It was established as the Asahara Glassworks in 1901 and mainly manufactured oil lamps, a necessity among the settlers of Hokkaido. It then made the glass buoys used in fishing during the great fishing period and greatly contributed to the economy of Otaru. It changed the company name to the present Kitaichi Garasu (glassworks) in 1971 and also started making glass assessories and crafts. In the 1950s, it built a new head office and opened a gallery, an arts and craft museum called the "Sangokan (third bulding)," and the Otaru Venecia Art Museum. The Sangokan, which opened in 1958 in a stone warehouse, is said to have sparked the people's interest in glass arts and crafts.