List of Seven Must-Visit Spots in Hakodate

The cable cars, which leave their station at 10-minutes intervals, can take you from Mountain Foot Station (Sanroku) to Mountaintop Station (Sancho) in only 3 minutes, and thus are chosen by the majority of sightseers. As most of them head there to see night scenes, the cable cars can be crowded around sunset. The operation of the ropeway will be cancelled in case of strong wind. The service will also be suspended for maintenance for about 2 weeks in fall. A round-trip ticket is priced at 1,280 yen (※ Children go half-price).

Mountain buses for Mount Hakodate leave Bus Stop No. 4 in front of JR Hakodate Station at 1-hour intervals and ascend the Mountain through the Bay Area. If no transfer is made and there is no traffic jam, the summit can be reached in only 30 minutes. But, the ascent is normally closed from November to next March of the next year.

The tour buses running on the “route for the romantic night view of Hakodate” are another option for tourists, who can enjoy the scenery along the route and the night view from Mount Hakodate, the terminal. Apart from the route, the bus tickets cover the services by the tour guides provided for this route and the admissions for the scenic spots along the route, so this is a cheaper way (by appointment only), which is a round trip between Yunokawa Onsen Hotel in front of JR Hakodate Station and the terminal. A bus departing from Hakodate Station will arrive at the terminal in about 1 hour 30 minutes; a bus departing from Yunokawa will arrive at the terminal in about 2 hour 15 minutes.

If you take a taxi to get to the summit, you can ask the taxi driver to wait there for around 30 minutes, while you can enjoy the night scene before taking the taxi to descend the mountain. Such a trip by a taxi outside Hakodate Station costs about 12,000 yen (subject to road traffic), and this is not expensive for 3 to 4 people taking the same car. Similar to a bus trip, the mountain trail will be closed in winter (November through March) for the sake of safety.

By rental car, you can go around at your own pace, but there are traffic restraints when the road might get congested (from 5 pm to 10 pm between April and September, and from 4 pm to 9 pm between October and November). In addition, the access is unavailable in winter (November through March), when the ascent is closed. Generally, a car for 4 to 5 persons costs about 8,000 yen a day.

A special pedestrian path is established between the mountain foot and the mountaintop for hikers. If you set off from the Mount Hakodate Information Center, you can reach the summit about 1 hour later. Unlike bus trip and road trip, hike is not subject to traffic restraints. But such anti-skid warm shoes as snow-boots are recommended for hiking the mountain.

Normally, night views can be enjoyed 30 minutes after sunset; you can visit nearby stores if you arrive too early. There are gift stores at the mountain foot and on the mountaintop, which provide duty-free shopping services. On the second floor there is Genova, a restaurant, and Legato, a café, both offering beautiful view outside.