Port of Noshiro

The Port of Noshiro (能代港, Noshiro-kō) is a seaport on the Sea of Japan coast of Akita Prefecture, in the city of Noshiro in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū, Japan.

Per the Nihon Shoki and other ancient chronicles, Noshiro is the location where an expedition sent by the imperial court led by Abe no Hirafu landed in 658 AD with orders to force the local Emishi tribes into submission.

Trade vessels from Balhae were calling at Noshiro Port as late as 771 AD.

During the Edo period, Noshiro port was an important port of call on the Kitamaebune route of coastal trade from Osaka to Hokkaido and an important source of revenue for the Satake clan’s Kubota Domain based at nearby Akita, who exported lumber from the clans holdings in Dewa Province.

Coal imports can take up a large percentage of the cargo handling capacity of the port at present.