Wakkanai Naval Communications Base (Red Brick Communications Station)
旧海軍大湊通信隊稚内分遣隊幕別送信所（赤れんが通信所）
A former Imperial Japanese Navy communications base in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, established in 1931 as a transmitter station for northern defense. Directly linked to Navy General Headquarters, the station relayed the coded Pearl Harbor attack order "Niitakayama Nobore 1208" in December 1941, received General Kuribayashi's final message from Iwo Jima in March 1945, and remained in contact with the northern front through the end of the war. The distinctive red brick buildings, completed in 1941, were designated Wakkanai Municipal Cultural Properties in 2023.
History
The Wakkanai Naval Communications Base, formally known as the Former Navy Ōminato Communications Unit Wakkanai Detachment Makubetsu Transmitter Station (旧海軍大湊通信隊稚内分遣隊幕別送信所), and colloquially called the Red Brick Communications Station (赤れんが通信所), was one of the most strategically important naval communications facilities in northern Japan during World War II.
The station was established in 1931 (Shōwa 6) as part of Japan's northern defense infrastructure, initially designated as the Ōminato Communications Unit Wakkanai Detachment Makubetsu Transmitter Station. The original facilities consisted of single-story wooden buildings and antenna masts erected discreetly among the trees on a hilltop approximately 5 kilometers south of Wakkanai Airport. In 1937, the facility was upgraded to full detachment status as the Navy Ōminato Communications Unit Wakkanai Detachment, reflecting its growing importance in monitoring northern waters and maintaining contact with forces in Karafuto (southern Sakhalin) and the Kuril Islands.
By 1941, the base had undergone massive expansion. The site grew to encompass 6 hectares surrounded by constant surveillance, taking on the character of a fortress installation. The iconic red brick headquarters building and barracks were completed that year, and personnel were dramatically increased. The station was directly connected to Navy General Headquarters (大本営海軍部) as a key send-and-receive relay base. On December 2, 1941, the coded order "ニイタカヤマノボレ一二〇八" ("Climb Mount Niitaka, 1208") — the signal to launch the Pearl Harbor attack — was reportedly relayed from this station to Admiral Nagumo's strike force assembled in Hitokappu Bay (Tankan Bay) in the Kuril Islands.
Throughout the Pacific War, the Wakkanai station served as a key communications link between mainland Japan and the north. On March 17, 1945, the station intercepted General Tadamichi Kuribayashi's final farewell message during the last assault on Iwo Jima. The city's account describes it as a base that, although the northernmost radio station, was in constant contact with the front lines. (The nine Maoka Post Office telephone operators who died during the Soviet invasion of Karafuto in August 1945 are memorialized separately at the Monument of the Nine Maidens in Wakkanai Park.)
After Japan's surrender, American forces of the 11th Airborne Division and the 1st Cavalry Division Signal Corps were stationed at the facility from 1947 until 1962. The Defense Agency assumed management in 1973, and Wakkanai City acquired ownership in 2006. The three surviving brick buildings (Buildings A, B — with its distinctive watchtower — and C) have been maintained by the Wakkanai History and Town Research Group since 2006. Buildings B and C were designated Wakkanai Municipal Cultural Properties in 2023. The site is currently accessible by advance reservation only due to deteriorating infrastructure.