Hokkaido and Hakodate! Japan’s Northern Island!

Hokkaido and Hakodate! Japan’s Northern Island!

maritime history, western history, volcanic history, and every kind of food from the sea you can imagine. We’re on the island of Hokkaido and specifically visiting the amazing port city of Hakodate. Hakodate is located on the southern end of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island and sits on a stunning peninsula jutting out into the sea. Getting here is rather easy via the Hokkaido Shinkansen, which travels 14 miles under the sea between Honu and Hokkaido. Hokkaido was one of the earliest points of entry for Westerners after Japan opened up to the western world in the late 1800s. As a result, the city has several outstanding examples of western architecture built during the Maji period. We start off our visit at the Foreigner Hill area of town after a short ride on one of Hakodate’s many street cars. Foreigners Hill is aptly named as it sits at the base of Mount Hakodate with its mountaintop ropeway, which we’ll visit in a moment. The first stop is the former British consulate office. Originally built in 1855, then rebuilt in 1913, it obviously served as the British Empire’s representative in this part of Japan. This, like so many foreign buildings, is of a classic western style that was so popular during the Maji era, 1868 to 1912. The building houses a museum that takes you through various rooms of the console detailing some of its occupants and the history that was made here during the Maji era. On the lower level, it offers a unique map of Hakodate and provides some very creative and enjoyable exhibitions in which you can try taking a unique selfie. During the afternoon hours, the museum offers tea and cakes if you’re hungry. And if you wish, you can even throw a robe over your shoulder and be king of the castle for a moment. Just above the British consulate is the most prominent building in the area. This is the old Hakodate Public Hall. Built in 1910, it was used by citizens as a venue for concerts as well as home to the Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the years, several Japanese emperors have stayed overnight in the building. When walking through this amazing building, you feel as if you could be in England or somewhere in the United States. Although the design and construction was all done by the Japanese. There’s a billiard’s room and displays of artifacts in the former great hall along with bedrooms and the massive banquet hall upstairs, simply referred to as the large hall for concerts and events. The furnishings and displays are all original to the period. Stepping off to one side, you can walk along the sundrrenched passage with views to the outside. Then on the other, step out onto the large balcony for an excellent view of the entire area. You can imagine the emperor addressing the people down below. Surrounding the public hall and British consulate, there are several other historic Maji era buildings to explore. But if you continue east along Motoachi Street, you’ll find yourself being drawn to the many curiosity shops and restaurants. One of the more famous is a smartly branded one called the second most delicious melon bread in the world. Excellent marketing, I must say, and it does in fact have great soft cream. As you walk along the street, you’ll come to a number of Western churches, including the Hakodate Russian Orthodox Church, which has been here since 1860 and is well known for its bell tower. The modernist St. John’s Anglican Church sits next door. And on the other side of the street, across from a delightful ice cream stand, is the Hakodate Catholic Church, built in 1910. Photography is not allowed inside these buildings, so these were captured from their respective websites for use here. Venturing past the churches, you come to the Mount Hakodate ropeway. The gondilas carry up to 125 passengers at a time as it climbs to more than 1,100 ft above sea level. From up on high, there is a substantial visitor center. And of course, the views in all directions are outstanding. This provides you a very good idea as to the geographic layout of Hakodate as a city on a peninsula. Of course, as Mount Hakodate juts out into the sea, you can count on it being windy every day. And be sure to check the website because sometimes the service is stopped due to high winds. Back down in town, you can walk along the waterfront to the brick warehouses, which are former customs houses turned into shops and restaurants. These provide visitors, often cruise ship passengers, with a convenient place to pick up souvenirs and such. Though not as large as the red brick warehouses of Yokohama, which you can see in our Yokohama video, these are nice unto themselves. There are plenty of shops for spending money, and it provides a cool spot to enjoy some gelato or to have a crate custommade when filled with all kinds of goodies to enjoy. Just north of the brick warehouses and within a very short walk of Hakodate station is the Mashu Maru Train Ferry Memorial. This is the last train ferry that operated between the main island of Honshu and Hokkaido until its final crossing in 1988. This 433 foot long ship could carry up to 40 rail cars, 12 passenger vehicles along with,200 passengers during its nearly 4-hour crossings. Something nice about this ship memorial is that the bridge and communications rooms are all just as they were the day the ship stopped sailing. That means you can adjust and play with all the knobs and gadgets, whereas many museums are only uh hands off. I even tried my hand at sending out an SOS signal. There are display areas of historic memorabilia and plenty of places to explore, but the one place I specifically wanted to see is closed to the public, and that is where the rail cars were actually placed during operation. Regardless, a visit to Hokkaido would be incomplete without a visit to the Mashu Maru Memorial. For a bite to eat and some shopping, you can step over to the nearby Hakodate Morning Market, which is largely a seafood market. Here, your senses will be overtaken by the sights and smells of the various offerings. You will see practically everything you can imagine that comes from the sea, crabs, scolops, octopus, conchs, sea urchins, fish row, and every manner of fish out there. The vendors will often allow you to taste a sample, as I did here with a salmon row. And at one stall, you can even hook your own live cuttlefish. The cuttlefish don’t bite any bait, but rather you try snagging them with a hook. We instead chose to just watch this one as we’re not into eating raw cuttlefish. But you will enjoy wandering around the stalls, interacting with the vendors, seeing how they prepare the fish and other goodies. It can be a bit overwhelming if you’re sensitive to the aromomas, but every visitor to Japan should experience a true fish market like this at least once during their time in Japan. If fresh and raw seafood doesn’t do it for you, then walk over to the shopping area next to the train station. This is the Hakodate Ekimay Yoko. Inside, it has been designed to be reminiscent of an old shoa street of narrow lanes lined with small mom and pop eeries. But one place where we thoroughly enjoyed dining was the Lucky Piro. In the dark of night with its flashy signage, we weren’t too sure, but ended up going in and we’re very glad we did. The place was busy, festive, and offered great food at a good price in a somewhat crazy atmosphere. Not only will your sense of taste be overwhelmed by the food, which is a mix of Japanese and Western, but your eyes will likely be overwhelmed by the many works of art and memorabilia you’ll find here. Now, since you’re enjoying this video, we hope you’ll click the like and subscribe buttons. It’s free, it’s easy, and we won’t put you on any mailing lists, so do it now. It encourages us to make more of these videos. And be sure to click the notification button so every time we post a new video, you’re made aware. A visit to Hakodate isn’t complete without a visit to the Goro Kaku. This is an historic fort built in European style in the mid 1800s and is one of only two like it in all of Japan. The best view is from the 350 ft tower that offers panoramic views of the fort and the entire city. Displays inside tell of its history. And had we been there 2 weeks later, we’d have caught the cherry blossoms in full bloom. For a more natural site to visit, take a taxi or rent a car and drive to the Cape Tachi Machi on the far side of town. The day we visited, it was overcast and with the howling winds, it was cold. But this is a beautiful spot to take in the rocky shoreline and expansive Pacific Ocean in all directions. On a warm sunny day, this would be a great place to enjoy a picnic or stroll. But for Josephine, it was a little too chilly, so she stayed in the car. Now, when in Hakodate, you have numerous accommodations from which to choose. After a thorough search, we ended up at a small nondescript condominium project called Condo Stella Site. From the outside and surrounding buildings, it does not appear to be too much. But once we stepped inside, we were overwhelmed by the spaciousness of the place. We stayed on the top floor and had an enormous room with three beds, a sofa, kitchenet, and a large bath. And one of the very nice features is that there is a washer and dryer on each floor. Now, as of the date of this video production in miday, the rate for this room on Booking.com is just $117 US per night. That is astonishing. After visiting Hakodate, we rented a car and drove to Nooi Betsu to view its amazing volcanic steam vents and caldera. We’ll cover that in a future video. But if you plan on visiting Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, we highly recommend a few nights in Hakodate. And please check out our other videos such as this one on Coobe, one of our favorite waterfront cities with the Coobe Port Tower, Mosaic Shopping Area, and Nunobiki ropeway. And until next time, sayanara.

One of the most beautiful places in Japan is found on Hokkaido, Japan’s northern main island. We visit Hakodate the island’s second largest city behind Sapporo. Hakodate was one of the first ports to open to the west, and today is a popular cruise ship destination full of history and beautiful scenery. We visit the Hakodate Public House, Goryokaku Castle and the Hakodate Ropeway. Many consider Mt. Hakodate to have the best mountain view in Japan with its 360 degree view and the Hakodate Ropeway. Come with us as we discover the best hidden gems of Japan and less touristy places of Japan.

Links:

Uncharted Japan:
Hakodate Public Hall: https://hakodate-kokaido.jp/
Hakodate Ropeway: https://334.co.jp/en/
Goryokaku: https://www.city.hakodate.hokkaido.jp/docs/2014011601161/
Goryokaku Tower: https://www.goryokaku-tower.co.jp/
Former British Consulate Hakodate: https://www.fbcoh.net/
Noboribetsu Hells: https://noboribetsu-spa.jp/spot/spot0034/
Hakodate Ship Ferry Mashu Maru: https://mashumaru.com/
Hakodate Brick Warehouses: https://hakodate-kanemori.com/
Lucky Pierrot: https://luckypierrot.jp/shop/hakodatest/
Hakodate Ekimae Yokocho: https://hakoviva.com/shop-area/#square_side
Hakodate Orthodox Church: https://www.orthodox-hakodate.jp/
Hakodate Catholic Church: https://motomachi.holy.jp/
Hakodate St. Johns Church: https://www.nskk-hokkaido.jp/church/hakodate.html

Credits:

Maps: Google Maps
Soundtrack: Epidemic Sound
Interior images of churches: (see websites above)

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