After 1.5 hours of domestic flight from Haneda Airport, we began our 8-day holiday on the northern island of Japan at the most southern-tip city of Hokkaido -
Hakodate (函館). The main motivation for me to visit this city is the world famous night view (alongside with Hong Kong and Naples, Italy) from the top of
Mt Hakodate (函館山).
We targeted to reach the top of Mt Hakodate before sunset (which was around 4pm+) so that we could have a ‘before and after’ night fall view of the cityscape. After checking in at Hakodate Kokusai Hotel at 2pm, we went in search for a quick lunch. In our haste to silence our rumbling stomach, we entered restaurant
Gotoken (五島軒) blindly which was along our way to Mt Hakodate, only to realize at the end of our meal that we had dined at a restaurant with a long-standing history of over 120 years! No wonder our lunch was so yummy and satisfying! Gosh the curry dishes still make me drool just thinking of it ; p
The supposedly 10-minute walk from Jujigai tram stop to the Mt Hakodate Ropeway base station took me almost 2 times to complete (yes it was an uphill walk and the slope’s about 30 degree), I would have given up if not for the carrot dangling on top of Mt Hakodate.
It started to snow heavily when we reached the top, marring the much-awaited view of the city. Though disappointed, we still enjoyed the quiet moments on top of the mountain taking pictures and playing with snow. While we were still full from the late lunch, hubby suggested that we took some light dinner before making our way down and guessed what… …the sky began to clear up half way through our dinner rewarding us with the spectacular night view! We stayed at the Legato Baal café till it closed at 6pm because we could enjoy the night view in a cosy environment rather than squeezing with busloads full of tourists who came later and crowding the observatory platform out in the cold!
It was indeed a sparkling night for us.
The challenging uphill walk
View of Mt Hakodate from base station
The Ropeway
A rare family photo
Heavy snowfall marring the city view
Clearing…clearing…
Tada...the awesome night view!
The cosy corner at Legato Baal cafe
I wanted to visit the
Merlion Park after chancing upon an article in the ST but gave up the thought after finding out from the tourist counter that the park is not near to the city and the frequency of the buses plying to that area is low in winter. And instead of visiting churches, memorial halls or some old government buildings in the picturesque neighbourhood of Motomachi which would bore both hubby and Nic, we started the day with a visit to the morning market (a stone throw away from our hotel), followed by a trip to
Goryokaku Fort and ended the day with a shopping trip at the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses.
This morning market is similar to the
Nijo Ichiba Market in Sapporo but is much bigger and has more than 360 tightly-packed stalls offering for sale various types of fresh seafood such as crabs, salmon eggs and sea urchin, and fresh produce such as melons. Also in the market area are several restaurants which offer fresh seafood breakfasts too!
Fort Goryokaku, meaning 'pentagonal' from its star shape, was constructed in Hakodate from 1857 to 1864 as Japan's first Western style fortress. Its ruins are now the site of Goryokaku Park, which in May becomes one of Hokkaido's most popular spots for cherry blossom viewing with its 1,600 trees. The fort and the park can be viewed from the Goryokaku Tower, which stands about 50 meters (over 160 ft.) high by the park entrance.
The Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses were originally built in 1909 and remodelled in 1988 as part of a waterfront area redevelopment with a theme of "the old and the new". The area was where shipyards and foreign settlements were once located, but since about 1879 it prospered as a warehouse area. The Kanemori logo on these buildings once symbolized the trade-port of Hakodate. The plaza on the site is where the Hakodate Beer Hall, Kanemori-tei, a seafood and wine restaurant, Kanemori Hall, a multipurpose facility, and more are located.
We wrapped up our two-day trip to Hakodate with an oishii crab and 3-in-1 (fresh squid, salmon roe and sea urchin) dinner.
Past day’s itinerary:
First to fourth day:
Disneyland and Disneysea Hakodate morning market
At the Goryokaku Fort park
Guess what am I doing? A snow angel!
Inside the Goryokaku Tower
Bird eye’s view of the Goryokaku Fort and Hakodate City
I was here with my mommy!
Piping hot ramen, our other favourite in cold cold winter!
Snack attack! Grilled squid and scallop, yummy!
Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses
There’s even a shop that sells X’mas stuff 365 days a year!
Kawaii manhole cover!
Hakodate tramway
Yummy dinner for three : )