summer and something

Sunday, January 24, 2016

6D5N Hokkaido winter trip - Day 2 Hakodate

Hakodate is 3.5 hr train journey from Sapporo.. It is quite far to do a day trip. So we decided to stay a night in Hakodate. So 'Why' we want to go so far?

1) Hakodate Morning Market, 5:00 am – 12:00 pm. At Hakodate Station and there will be a sigh showing you how to walk to the market. This market is famous in Hokkaido for the freshness of the seafood. Chefs in Hokkaido get their raw ingredients from here. We are not chef, so what we do here? Buy the most fresh seafood in the market and get the restaurant beside the stall to cook for you! And don't forget to buy the fruits and corns from here.

2) Western District Walk - Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse
Open:9:00 AM to 7:30 PM
Access: A 5 minute walk from Jujigai Tram Station
There are a lots of famous Hokkaido pastries, souvenirs shops here. N must eat the Lucky Pierrot Chinese Chicken Burger.It is a chain burger shop which you can find few of them in here. A local hamburger restaurant that originated in Hakodate. Open:10:00 AM to 12:30 AM daily.

3) Motomachi (元町) - you will have to pass by here before you go to visit the highlights of the town, the night view at Mount Hakodate .Motomachi is the area between the sea shore and the mountain. It reminds me of San Francisco. There are three churches nearby to each other, there are Russian Orthodox Church (函館ハリストス正教会),Episcopal Church (聖ヨハネ教会) ,Motomachi Roman Catholic Church (函館カトリック元町教会) which are are beautifully illuminated at night. The Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward is nearby the churches which worth a visit.

4) The highlight of the town - Mount Hakodate has the best night views in the world! You can viewed it at around 10 degrees below eyesight and based on internet research, that this angle coincides with the view of an airplane pilot performing a landing. The best part is there is a ropeway to the summit, good for people like me who lazy to walk..

Open:10:00 AM to 9:00 PM (April 25 to October 15)
10:00 AM to 10:00 PM (October 16 to April 24)
Access:A 10 minute walk from Jujigai Tram Station
Address:19-7 Motomachi, Hakodate

Fee : by cable car, 1160 yen return ticket (show tram day pass to enjoy discount ticket of 1050 yen)

5) Goryokaku Tower

Goryokaku Fort is decorated with illumination to have its star shape stand out. During winter, Dream of Pentagonal Stars event,November 28th to February 29th, there will be lighting of the star-shaped building from 17.00-20.00.
Open: 0900 - 1900 hrs (during the "Dream of Pentagonal Stars" event)
Access:A 15 minute walk from Goryokaku-Koen-Mae Tram Station

Address:43-9 Goryokaku-cho, Hakodate

To move around in Hakodate, we used tram. Get the 1-day tram pass from the tourist information counter in the Hakodate station.

The hotel we stayed in Hakodate is Hotel Dormy Inn Express Hakodate Goryokaku and we were glad that we booked this hotel because:

- Guests of Dormy Inn enjoy free access to the luxurious hot spring baths on the top floor of La Vista Hakodate Bay Hotel. These baths offer sweeping view of Mount Hakodate and Hakodate City. It has an outdoor onsen! It is quite a memorable experience to have a hot spring baths outdoor with the temperature of 1 Celsius. And you get to have free flow of ice cream after the bath at the lounge area outside the onsen! Free taxi services between Dormy Inn and La Vista Hotel are provided during certain time of the day,the last taxi service is 22:30.