Hakodate, Japan

July 23, 2015 -- Hakodate, Japan (9:00AM~11:00PM)

Weather: Overcast

Temperature: 24.5C

We entered the strait that separates the north coast of Honshu and the south coast of Hokkaido this morning. This passage also connects the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. We had an all day stop here until 11:00PM, possibly to give passengers a chance to go up to Mt. Hakodate for the beautiful night view of the city. They claimed that it is the world's third best night scene after Hong Kong and Naples. We decided to skip that because according to Heather, our port lecturer, that there may be problems having adequate transportation back down to port in time for sailing. That's the last thing we want--being left behind in a foreign country.

Our ship was secured alongside the Minatocho Wharf at 8:57AM.

Taxis already lined up near the port.

Which seemed to be quite far away.

There's nothing much around the port area.

We were greeted by friendly volunteers as we stepped off the gangway at around 10:00.

After getting information and maps from the volunteers, we took the very well-organized free shuttle to the JR station.

The Hakodate Morning Market right across the street next to the JR Station.

This is a huge market, unlike the one in Otaru. This place was filled with tourists and locals shopping for fresh seafood and produce. Plenty of restaurant choices scattered around this area.

They sell fresh and dried seafood, plus every other kind of goods here.

Wish we could bring some of these back home.

Grilling fresh scallops

Squid is the featured seafood

One can even fish for their own seafood.

Nice set up in the food court. Notice the cups for people getting drinking water?

Outdoor part of the market

Huh, the national flag of ROC (Taiwan).

Not cheap, but definitely fresh.

After walking around a bit, we found a restaurant near the back of the market which was featured in our guidebook--the sinsen-gumi.

I have to admit that we love seafood, especially fresh raw seafood. That was why fish markets would be the first place we usually check-out. We don't need to be in fancy restaurants, just places where we can get the freshest seafood.

My order

MOR's order

ChC's order

Soup and the little side dishes included.

My order

After the nice lunch, we found the rest of our group and walked up to the tram station nearby. From Hakodate Ekimae station we took the tram that goes towards the Yunokawa direction.

Got off at the Yunokawa-onsen stop to see the Yukura Shrine. About 15 stops away from Hakodate Ekimae Station.

We purchased our one-day tram passes from the driver of this tram as we exit which cost 600Y for adults and 300Y for kids. They also have the one-day combined pass for bus and tram for 1,000Y but I think the tram pass is good enough.

This is not a very popular site and it was kind of quiet that morning but it's still an interesting place to visit if you have time.

We walked around the shrine which seemed to be closed, and just enjoyed the serenity of this place.

A few foreign tourists joined us as we were ready to leave.

Back to the tram station where we took the next tram back. This time we got off at the Goryokaku-koen-mae station.

Then we walked for about 15 minutes to Fort Goryokaku, the main attraction of the city.

Goryokaku Tower

For 800Y you can go up to the top of the tower.

This star-shaped historical site would be very pretty during cherry blossom season.

Hakodate Magistrate's Office was build at the end of the Edo era.

We took a short walk around the moat of the star-shape fort which kind of reminded me of the fort in Tainan.

Then we went back to the gift shop of the fort. Very expensive but rare watermelon on sale.

Some statues along the street as we walked back to the tram station.

Our next stop was the Motomachi area. This time we got off the tram at the Jujigai station and walked down to the waterfront.

This city seems to have a lot of western influence.

A wall painting inside one of the Red Brick Warehouses.

Good place for shopping. They even have a Sweets Factory here.

Across from the Red Brick Warehouses

Red Brick Warehouses

Mt. Hakodate in the background

Mt. Hakodate--the place to be for the night view.

We did some shopping here. These Hokkaido milk cakes were wonderful.

For a minute I thought we were at a seaside town in Oregon.

The famous slops which we did not challenge. Western churches and consulate buildings are up that way.

Art Museum

The 'market' where we got our milk cakes.

Green Island on the left

Resting our tired feet here and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Should we or should we not? No!

Following our guidebook, we planned on trying out this ramen place nearby. 

This is suppose to be a famous local salt ramen--Shio Ramen which is Hakodate's signature dish, a salt-based soup with straight noodles reminiscent of original Chinese noodle soups.

After waiting a while we changed our mind...

...because ChC wanted to try this place--Lucky Pierrot, which is famous for their giant deep-fried hamburger.

I only got a drink. Even the can shows the 'million-dollar Night View of Hakodate'.

Table with a view

ChC really enjoyed the 'hamburger' which, instead of beef, it's fried chicken pieces inside. One example of Yoshoku, which is the Japanese take on Western food. It only cost about 300Y each. Worth a try!

Then we met up with everyone and took the tram back to the JR Station.

And took the shuttle back to port. We had spent about nine hours in this city and did a lot of walking. We were tired and ready for a good rest.

It was open-seating in the main dining room that night, so we went and had dinner at the buffet instead.

Night view of Hakodate from the ship.