HAKODATE — A harbour that looks two ways

Out to sea and back in time

Foreign ships came through this harbour, and the streets above it kept their churches. The market opens early, and the mountain is for the hour before dark.

06 — HAKODATE — WHAT TO SEE

What to see

What HAKODATE is known for

NIGHT VIEW

The view from Mt. Hakodate

函館山の夜景

The city narrows to a sandbar between two bays, so after dark it reads as a band of light with black water on both sides. A ropeway runs up from Motomachi; going before sunset and staying through it saves you the worst of the queue.

MOTOMACHI

Motomachi, on the slope

元町の坂

One of the first ports Japan opened to foreign trade, and the hillside still shows it — an Orthodox church, a Chinese hall, old consulates and Western houses stacked up streets that end at the sea.

MORNING MARKET

Squid, at the morning market

朝市とイカ

The market beside the station opens early and sells what came in that night. Squid is the local signature, served as sashimi minutes after it leaves the tank, and the rice bowls here are the cheapest good breakfast in the city.

GORYOKAKU

The star fort at Goryokaku

五稜郭

A Western-style star fort built in the 1860s and the site of the last battle of the Boshin War. A tram gets you there in about fifteen minutes, and the tower beside it is the only way to actually see the shape.

PRIVATE TRANSPORT

Your own vehicle, and a driver who knows the roads

移動そのものを楽にする

Hokkaido is large and the trains do not go where the good places are. Every tour we run is private to your group, in our own vehicle, with a nationally-certified driver. You are picked up at your hotel and dropped back at it, and the route can change on the day if the weather does.

06 — HAKODATE — PRACTICALITIES

Practicalities

Before you go to HAKODATE

Best season: All year. Cherry blossom at Goryokaku in late spring; the night view is clearest on cold, dry evenings.
Getting there: The southern tip of Hokkaido. Around four hours from Sapporo by limited express, or a short flight.
Time needed: One or two nights. Worth pairing with Lake Toya or Noboribetsu on the way down.
Getting around: Trams reach Motomachi, Goryokaku and the ropeway. The morning market is beside the station.
Good to know: The ropeway queues after dark. Going up before sunset and staying through it avoids the worst of it.

We do not run a fixed tour here yet — Hakodate trips are put together one at a time around your dates.

06 — HAKODATE — WHAT WE RUN

What we run

We build HAKODATE trips one at a time

We do not run a fixed tour here yet. Tell us your dates and what you would like to see, and we will put together a private itinerary with our own vehicle and an English-speaking guide.

Ask about a private trip

06 — HAKODATE — NEXT

Where else we can take you