Founding was Meiji 33rd year (1900 year), it begins from the point where the first generation Asahara Hisakichi opened a glass manufacturing factory in Tomioka-cho, Otaru City, and manufactured glass-made daily necessities such as lamps and medicine bottles. After that, he devised glass floats for fishing use, and contributed to herring fishing and Northern Pacific fishing. Subsequently, due to the rise of plastic-made glass floats and also the poor physical condition of the third generation at that time, the factory scaled down in size. However, taking the opportunity of the passing away of the third generation, the eldest son Saichirō decided on the succession of the family business, and assumed office as the fourth generation. In order to leave the technology of Otaru's glass float manufacturing to future generations, glass manufacturing is being continued.

What played a role in the prosperity of Northern Pacific fishing in the early Showa period was the glass float for fishing use, and what developed Otaru's industry, and what rooted the free-blowing technique in Otaru, actually, without this "glass float", it is a thing that cannot be spoken of.

Meiji to Taisho era, glass floats that were used as a marker for nets when doing herring fishing. Asahara Hisakichi gathered relatives, taught the technique of making glass, and spread Asahara Glass factories to various places within Hokkaido. (Otaru・Muroran・Kushiro・Asahikawa・Karafuto) It is said that glass floats had a production volume of 1056 tons in Showa 22nd year in, but actually it can be speculated that it was more than that.

When Northern Pacific fishing shrunk, and herring fishing declined, the demand for glass floats fell sharply, and then, it changed to plastic-made glass floats (orange-colored buoys). Factories that manufactured glass floats that were in various places nationwide decreased, and currently, only the Asahara Glass Manufacturing Plant, the sole domestic one, remains.

Asahara Glass, which can also be called the originator of Otaru Glass. Raw materials are recycled raw materials (cullet), and in order to produce colors that blend into the transparent-feeling sea, colors and materials are selected, washed, and put into a melting furnace of approximately 1300°C. The "navel" that is attached in order to plug the glass's blowhole is charming, and in beachcombing (it is picking up sea glass etc. on the beach), there are also times when this part is picked up as a valuable item. If you pick it up, let's try to check if characters are entered on the back side of the navel.

At Asahara Glass Manufacturing Plant, in addition to the sales of glass-made glass floats and glass float candles, they also conduct glass blowing experiences where you can actually experience the production of glass craft, which is Otaru's traditional industry.