Gotoken Main Building - Restaurant Sekkatei

Located halfway up Nijuukken-zaka, one of Hakodate’s most iconic slopes, this long-established Western-style restaurant has deep roots in the city’s culinary history. Founded in 1879 as a shop specializing in Russian cuisine and bread, Gotoken later evolved into a full-fledged Western restaurant, preserving its traditions and time-honored flavors to this day.

The menu is extensive, offering everything from casual à la carte dishes and Western-style set meals to full Russian and French courses. Among them, the enduring signature of Gotoken-both past and present-is its lineup of curry dishes, especially the English-style curry whose recipe was perfected in the Taisho era. With a refined balance of rich bouillon and aromatic spices, this curry is truly one of a kind. In 1989, during an official visit to Hokkaido, the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita also dined here, enjoying the rich duck curry created by the restaurant’s second-generation owner.

Next door stands the Gotoken Main Building, a Western-style structure built in 1935 and designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. Inside, you’ll find stained-glass works, paintings, sculptures, and more-all available for visitors to freely explore.