Located in the southwest of Hokkaido and facing the Tsugaru Strait, Hakodate developed as a port town for trade with foreign countries at the end of the 19th century, and is a gateway connecting Hokkaido with Honshu by the Seikan Tunnel.
A morning market is held at the bay area near the railway station, where more than 360 stalls packed tightly together attract shoppers with freshly caught squid, scallops, salmon eggs, Atka mackerel, and many other kinds of fresh fish and shellfish. A five-minute walk will take you to the moored Seikan Strait ferryboat, named the Mashu-maru Memorial Ship, which used to link Aomori in Honshu with Hokkaido. There is a restaurant and a coffee shop at its bow where you can spend a nice, relaxing time viewing the scenery around the port.
The area around Motomachi maintains a congenial blend of Japanese and Western cultures, being home to the Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward, an important cultural property, the old British Consulate with its tea lounge, Hakodate Russian Orthodox church, as well as the Higashi-Hongan-ji Temple, a branch temple of the Higashi-Hongan-ji Temple in Kyoto. At the waterfront overlooking the Hakodate Port, there is a shopping mall inside remodeled red brick warehouses, gift shops and the Hakodate Beer Hall.
Getting Here
From Tokyo:
[Air] 1h 20 min from Haneda to Hakodate Airport.
From Osaka:
[Air] 2h 10 min from Kansai International Airport to Hakodate Airport.
