Tips and Attractions When Touring Hakodate
Hakodate is a pretty unassuming city. It is one of the main ports on the western side of Hakkaido and serves as an entrance point from Northern Honshu. It is known as a rather pretty city to visit according to many. The combination of the mountain range to the northeast, the two waterfronts and Mount Hakodate to the south west overlooking the entire city, it is easy to see why it is regarded as so.
History.
If you know anything about Japanese history, you have probably heard about Japan being closed off from much of the western world for nearly 200 years. This was called sakoku, meaning “closed country”. This was done in response to Portuguese traders who arrived in the 17th century and began influencing Japan in some negative ways. First they began sneaking some Japanese citizens away as slaves. They also began spreading Christianity amongst the Japanese population and sold firearms to many daimyo in the western part of Japan. The Bakfu government located in Edo (current day Tokyo), felt threatened by this and began banning the westerners from the country. Only the Dutch would effectively remain in contact in terms of western allies.
Eventually in 1853, with the rise of American whalers in the Sea of Japan and the USA’s need to compete with Britain and France in Asia, they decided to take action. America began sending large fleets to Japan to negotiate through “gunboat diplomacy”. These reasons coupled with their feelings of manifest destiny to show, “backwards Asian country’s” the glories of western culture, would mark the begging of the end for sakoku. Commodore Perry and the Black Fleet forced open the ports of Hakodate and Shimoda with the threat of burning down Edo. A treaty that would come to be known as the Treaty of Kanagawa would be signed on March 31, 1854. Since then, Hakodate has served as a post for international trade and has incredible historical significance. It was the largest city in Hokkaido until a massive fire in 1936.
Besides the history lesson, why should you visit Hakodate? Well here are the draws for coming to this port city at the southern part of Hokkaido.
Food
Being a port city you naturally assume it to have good sea food. Hakodate is known even throughout Japan as having some of the freshest seafood around. This is due to the incredibly cold water that makes for excellent fishing. Hakodate has an incredible abundance of shell fish and crab. In fact, walking around on one of the main streets coming from the JR station you run into multiple shops selling varieties of crabs.
The crabs are incredibly large and the meat is incredibly sweet. The squid and scallops are also undeniably fresh. If you have had raw squid before, it often isn’t chewy but has a little bite to it. If you try super fresh squid that’s been fished out that day or the previous day, it has a silk like texture to it. Same with the scallops. There are also quite a few bars that have oysters they keep in tanks untill being fished out and served.
Attractions
The main attractions of Hakodate is the scenic views you can go see. The formation of the city itself is quite interesting. Being pinched between the two water fronts, it takes somewhat of an hourglass shape to it. There are several parks and small shrines you can visit mainly towards the bases of Mt. Hakodate in the motomachi district.
Many christian and western based architecture, which are quite aesthetically pleasing to look at, are also quite prevelant throughout Hakodate. There are three Christian churches around Mt.Hakodate, although only one is still in use. The other two are historical sites. There is also the hundred and twenty year old former town hall that is quite a spectacle. It boasts a white base and gold trim, making it standout amongst the other buildings. You can take a tour for only 890 yen to visit the inside of the town hall aswell as three other destinations including the History Museum of Northern People, Museum of Northern Literature and the former British Consulate building.
The real draw however for many across Haikkaido is simply the view from Mt. Hakodate. On any given night it will be quite busy as many people come to see the bright city landscape from atop the mountain. There is a rope car you can take for just over a 1000 yen round trip or 700 yen one way. You can see the two water fronts collapsing on the thin plot of land that leads to the mountain. The pictures don’t do the site justice on just how bright it truly is. Perfect for a date night or for the avid photographer, it is the must visit of the city.
Navigating Hakodate
Hakodate is by no means a difficult place to find your way around. There are essentially four main streets. Two run towards Mt. Hakodate, the third and fourth runs prepedicular to these. The Japan Rail and bus station is located near the centre of the of the city. One of the main roads running north/south that is attached to the JR station has the majority of restaurants and bars. A taxi may be useful to you, however you can easily walk all around the city and see most of the sites by foot with no problem. Once again the attractions are all either around the base of Mt.hakodate or on a little hike up the hill. You could take in all the sites in two days easily.
