List of Seven Must-Visit Spots in Hakodate

Ranked as one of the three finest night views in the world (the other two are Hong Kong and that of Naples), the night view from the summit of Mount Hakodate is also awarded with the highest rating of 3 stars in Michelin Green Guide: Japan and tourists from around the world flock to Mount Hakodate throughout the year.

Highlights of the night view of Hakodate change with the season. In spring and fall, clear air allows for wider field of vision and even Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture might be visible from here. Often blurred by mist, hazy summer night scenes are also picturesque. Hakodate in winter days is enveloped in silvery white; when night falls, numerous street lights are reflected on thick snow covering the ground and fair-tale romance is in the air...

In the tanks of many restaurants in the market, there are squids freshly caught from the sea. You can easily catch a squid by a rod with a hook on one end. The hooked squid is handed over to a cook, who will use the squid to make sashimi for you.

In some restaurants, you can even watch cooking of living squids, although this might sound “cruel” for some visitors ……(^^;)
The locals call this cuisine as “dance of a squid”. Should you be interested, you can click the following link for details (with videos).

The Donburi Yokocho Market (Dongburi Yokocho Ichiba) is a restaurant arcade housed in the Hakodate Morning Market, which features some 20 seafood restaurants.

Fatty crabs, delicious salmon roes, and fresh sea urchins and scallops offered in the market look quite inviting, while the “seafood rice bowl”, a bowl of rice covered with seafood, is a dish you should try! The dish, normally with an accompaniment of miso soup, is priced between 1,000 and 1,500 yen.

If you do not feel full, you may try shio ramen. With clear broth, it is neither salty nor bland, and recommended as breakfast. Many shio ramen restaurants in Tokyo advertise their dishes as genuine Hakodate ramen, and this also shows the enormous popularity of Hakodate’s shio ramen.

There are many stalls selling fruits and seafood. Among the fruits sold there, melons and corn grown in Hokkaido are especially tasty; if you want to buy seafood, crabs are the first choice, while red king crabs (tarabagani) sell like hot cakes for their delicious and fatty meat!

Various local delicacies, such as grilled seafood, buns filled with seafood, desserts and fresh-squeezed juice, also taste wonderful, and you can make an interesting eating tour. ♪

Goryokaku Park is a nice place for a walk and a rest. There are cherry blossoms in spring, lush greenery in summer, bright foliage in fall and enchanting snowscape in winter. Further, the moat is surrounded by some 1,600 cherry trees, making the Goryokaku one of Hokkaido's top cherry blossom viewing spots.

Right in the center of the star fort stands Hakodate Magistrate's Office (Hako-kan Bugyosho) is a restored building that was once used as a government office run by samurai and destructed in a war. Encompassed by a forest of red pines symbolizing its nobleness, the august office looks solemn.

You may also go inside to see its design and appreciate the exquisite beauty of every structure from the entrance to Japanese-style rooms that were built with traditional craft.

Goryokaku Tower, adjacent to the park, is 107 m high and its observation deck (90 m high) commands a panoramic view of the entrancing star-shaped scene encircled by the moat. In fine days, Mount Hakodate or even the Tsugaru Strait are visible from the observation deck.

The building was used as the British Consulate from 1913 to 1934, and now is a memorial hall commemorating the opening of Hakodate and open to the public to this day. It is characterized by white walls and blue window frames.

On the first floor of the building, there is a space for drink tea or coffee and British-made sundry goods are also offered. The courtyard is planted with 146 roses in 60 varieties, which are pleasing to the eye when they are in full bloom between late June and early August.

If you get off at the stand of Suehiro-cho and walk along the Motoi-zaka, you’ll find Motomachi Park at the end of the road, which used to be the administrative center of Hakodate. As the observation deck of the Park commands a scenic view of Port of Hakodate, the Park is also a nice place for a date. ♡

On the first floor of the Former Hakodate Branch Office of Hokkaido Government in the Park is the tourist information center, which offers free brochures on the tourist attractions around Motomachi. On the second floor was a photo history museum, which has closed since March 31, 2016.

The Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward established in 1910 is acclaimed as the most splendid building among many western-style buildings around Motomachi, and also designated as an important cultural property in Hakodate. The whole building is bilaterally symmetrical, and its exterior in bluish grey and golden looks very noble.

It has a magnificent hall and rooms for distinguished guests, where some members of Japan’s imperial family have stayed during their visit to Hakodate.

In the Haikara Studio (Haikara Isho-kan), you can wear a princess-like dress, strike any pose you like, and take photos with your own camera. Costumes for men and children are also available. (※ payment is required)

The Old Soma Residence was a private residence built by Soma Teppei, a wealthy merchant in Hakodate, in 1908; and the construction of the nearby Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward was also funded by his generous donation. The Residence is a lavish mansion representative of Japan’s architectural style. It is established with an art gallery called History Gallery, where such Japanese drawings as those of Ainu are on display.

This Orthodox church is built on a hill and once used as the Russian Consulate. The existing building, built in 1916, is praised as representative of western-style buildings in Hakodate. It is characterized by an onion-shaped dome. Tourists can visit the church decorated with beautiful icons.

The Motomachi Roman Catholic Church was founded in 1877 and the existing building was rebuilt in 1924. Being one of the three most ancient Catholic churches in Japan, it enjoys the same fame as those in Nagahama and Yokohama. The building features a triangular clock tower and a magnificent altar that was presented by the Pope.

The Hakodate St John Church is above all the other churches at Motomachi. It was a St John Church founded by an English priest who visited Hakodate in 1874, but destroyed in two huge fires. The existing building was completed in 1979. It features milky-white outer walls and an impressive cross-shaped roof when looked from a height.

At the foot of Mt. Hakodate, there are 19 sloping streets running straight to the Port of Hakodate, which are called “zaka” in Japanese. Many of those slopes are well worth a visit. Hachiman-zaka, Motoi-zaka and Daisan-zaka are most famous.

Michelin Green Guide: Japan has given a one-star recommendation to a tour of the Bay Area of Hakodate, which is famed for its expansive vista of the port and a long-standing red brick warehouse. Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse facing the sea was established in 1909 and has been used for more than one hundred years. The canal, in which numerous cargo lay at anchor or sail, and the stone bridge near the Warehouse create an ambience reminding visitors of the history. The red-brick buildings are now home to some 40 stores with distinctive features, where items such as sundry goods and accessories are sold.♪

Hakodate Meijikan, built as Hakodate Post Office in 1911, now is a two-storied shopping mall where varieties of handicrafts are sold. The greenery on the wall of the building distinguishes it from Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse. By the way, you can try your hand at making a musical box.

Lucky Pierrot (Rakki Piero) is a chain of burger restaurants exclusive to Hakodate. With more than 10 branches across Hakodate, it is a favorite with local young people! Its Bay Area Base is located near Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse♪

The Chinese chicken burger (350 yen) and the Hakodate snow burger (550 yen) are very popular, while the snow burger is strongly recommended! (But it is really high-calorie...)

You can take the Blue Moon for a pleasure cruise on the sea. In daytime, the ship sails round Hakodate Bay, and at night, its run extends to the neighborhood of the Tsugaru Strait. Compared with the scene overlooked from Mount Hakodate, the scenery of Hakodate viewed from a ship also has much to recommend it. ♡

Milkissimo, a gelato brand, established its first store at Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse, before opening branches in other regions in Japan, now it also has a flagship store in Hong Kong. Colorful soft serve ice creams with a wide range of flavors are artfully showcased in the store. Made with finest milk from the suburb of Hakodate, they are definitely palatable.♪

Rusama-ya Sweets, located in the center of the Bay Area, is an exceedingly popular dessert store in Hakodate.

Besides varieties of desserts, the store offers popular local snacks and desserts of Hokkaido, and it is a place for shopping, tasting of desserts, and resting. ♪

Hasegawa Stores are convenience stores found only in Hakodate. Each has a kitchen where various bentos and ready-to-serve foods are cooked. Among them, the Yakitori-Bento (458 yen) is most popular with the locals, and in fact, it is rice topped with skewered and grilled pieces of bite-sized pork. Its name is a mystery because "tori" means "chicken"! (smile)

Hasegawa Store Bay Area is located beside above-mentioned Lucky Pierrot Bay Area Base.

Cisco Rice, a low-priced delicacy offered in Hakodate! The dish is buttered rice topped with two big sausages and Italian minced meat sauce. This dish features a large amount of food like that in a dish served in the west coast of the United States. California Baby has an atmosphere also resembling that of a restaurant of the west coast of the United States, so it is known as Cali Baby among the locals.

This is a restaurant reconstructed from a post office established in the Taisho period, and it traces its history to over 30 years ago. The signature dish, Cisco Rice, is priced only 770 yen! You are sure to realize that seafood is not the only delicacy served in Hakodate if you have tried the said dish! (´∀｀)