This was part of our Hokkaido (2016) trip.
(Click here to see all our trips.)
We arrived in Hakodate last night (函館). After the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we left around 8am to explore Hakodate. We first stopped by the JR Hakodate Station to purchase tomorrow’s ticket to Toya (洞爺).
Today’s first destination was Goryokaku Fort (五稜郭), which would require a tram ride. There were only 2 tram lines in Hakodate, and the routes were almost identical except for the last (or first) few stations. We purchased two Hakodate City Tram 1 Day Pass from the driver for convenience. The tickets had “scratched out” date selection on one side and the station map on the other side. You simply scratch out the selected date and show it to the driver when you get off the tram.
We arrived at Goryokaku Tower a few minutes before its 9am opening time. There was already a line of tourists waiting to enter. The entrance to Goryokaku Fort was free, but we would require to purchase tickets (1,200 yen per adult) to enter the tower. Rei complained about the price. However, one would need to go up the tower in order to view the amazing “5-point-star” layout of the fort. The view from the tower was indeed spectacular! We all took many photos to get our money’s worth.
There was also exhibition describing the construction of the fort and the subsequent wars. The place was of historical importance. The capture of Goryokaku Fort marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the beginning of Meiji Restoration. We saw many groups of elementary school students on their fieldtrips.
The observatory had two levels. The main exhibition was on the upper level. On the lower level, there were a gift shop, an ice cream store, and a see-through floor window for looking down.
We spent about 45 minutes in the tower, and then we continued to explore the fort ground. The fort was completely destroyed, but later they reconstructed the Magistrate’s Office faithfully using the traditional method. The fort ground was free, but the entrance to Magistrate’s Office cost 500 yen per adult.
We didn’t plan to enter the office. However, there wasn’t much to see on the ground, so we decided to pay up. There was again exhibition inside, including photos and a film showing the reconstruction effort.
We finally left Goryokaku around 11am to go to the Morning Market to have lunch. There’s a food court at the market. Some ladies pointed us to a stall selling seafood rice bowls. We got a small salmon sashimi bowl and a small crab and salmon roe bowl for 3,280 yen total. The food was very fresh and delicious.
After lunch, we walked to the harbor. There’s a Seikan Ferry Memorial Museum on Mashu-maru, which was a ferry used to connect Hakodate and Aomori. (There’s a under-ocean tunnel connecting the two places now.) We paid 500 yen each to visit the museum. It’s interesting to learn about the history of the ferries.
The famous Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse was nearby. The historical area has become a famous shopping place with many stores. We only browsed but didn’t make any purchases.
Hakodate was an important open port, and many foreigners came here to stay. In Motomachi, there were three churches: Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Russian Orthodox. I considered the Russian Orthodox church the most impressive one from the outside. No photos were allowed inside the churches.
Motomachi was high up on a hill, and there were many steep slopes. When we walked past the Hachiman-zaka Slope, we saw a lot of people gathering there to take photos on the road. This must have been an Instagram spot! Since this was also a car route, there were two city workers onsite to tell the tourists to move aside when cars were arriving. Rei and I thought this hilarious.
Further ahead, we saw a store selling sweet bread with ice cream filling, and there were many people eating outside. So, Rei bought a sweet bread with matcha ice cream filling to share with me (500 yen). It was very delicious. Japanese have always been very creative, especially in snacks.
The area had many beautiful historical buildings. Each charged a few hundred yen entrance fee. We only took photos of Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward and Old British Consulate but didn’t pay to enter. We were tired anyway. Now only “watching night view from Hakodate Mountain” remaining on the to-do list, but that must wait until dark, so we returned to the hotel to rest.
While I was working on the blog, Rei was researching dinner options. He decided to splurge, and we had dinner at Uni Murakami. (Rei overheard people talking about Uni (sea urchin) when we were at the morning market today, so he wanted to try too.) The dishes were delicious, but the dinner was very expensive. (I won’t tell you how much.)
After dinner, we went to watch the famous Hakodate night view. We had to take a tram ride and then walked to the Mt. Hakodate Ropeway station. The round-trip ropeway ticket cost 1,800 yen per person! We arrived after 7pm, and didn’t need to wait. However, when we reached the top, we saw a long line of people waiting to ride down.
The mountain top was super crowded, and we had to wait for the people in front to leave to take photos. Though the night view of Hakodate city and harbor was splendid, both Rei and I thought it over-rated.
Suddenly, a very large group of young people arrived, and the number of people on the viewing platform almost doubled! So, we decided to return to the hotel.
This ended our 1-day sightseeing in Hakodate.
