Hakodate

Hakodate (函館) is a port city in Southern Hokkaidō, Japan. Separated by the 20-km long Tsugaru Strait (津軽海峡) from Honshu, Japan's main island, the city has naturally been seen as an entrance to Hokkaido. Like Kanazawa and Nagasaki, Hakodate is one of the hidden gems of Japanese tourism. Everyone should see Kyoto and Tokyo, because they're amazing cities. But Japanese domestic tourists, having done those cities before, come in droves to some places that international tourists may not have heard of and appreciate the fabulous food, culture and history of some of Japan's lesser known cities. Hakodate should not be missed on a trip to Hokkaido.

Understand
Hakodate is located on the south coast of the Southern Circuit in Hokkaido, the northernmost major island of Japan. As one of the first cities in Japan to be opened to trade, like Yokohama and Kobe, there are numerous signs of foreign influence in Hakodate, notably in architecture.

Hakodate used to be the largest settlement of explorers in Hokkaido Island through and after the Meiji era, following the few years of the Republic of Ezo since 1868 (see box). The city-wide fire in 1934 significantly reduced its influence and population with many moving north. Despite continued depopulation, as of 2023, it is still the third largest city on the island with a population of roughly 240,000 people, surpassed only by Sapporo and Asahikawa.

Tourist information site
The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site.

By plane


Hakodate Airport is connected to notable spots in the city by buses through these stops:


 * Bus Stop 1: Line 7A, 7B, 7E, and 7F to Goryokaku Park.
 * Bus Stop 2: Line 5 to Trappistine Convent and Goryokaku Tower, Line 96 to Yunokawa Onsen.
 * Bus Stop 3: Shuttle buses to Hakodate Station and Onuma Quasi-National Park.

Otherwise, National Route 278 follows the south coast towards Hakodate Station while Prefectural Route 100 goes through the northern edges of the city proper towards Hokuto. Taxis are plentiful, if relatively expensive. Price estimates are as follows (20% surcharge added between 22:00 and 05:00):


 * Airport Area (Trappistine Convent, Hakodate Arena, Yunokawa Onsen): ¥1,500-2,000.
 * Central Area (Goryokaku Park, Goryokaku Tower, Central Library, Hakodate Museum): ¥2,500-3,500.
 * Station Area (Hakodate Station, Morning Market, Red Brick Warehouses, Old Town, Mount Hakodate): ¥3,000-3,500.
 * Ferry Area (Tsugaru Kaikyo Ferry Terminal): ¥4,000-5,000.
 * Hokuto Area (Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station, Trappist Convent): ¥8,500-11,000.
 * Onuma Area (Onuma Quasi-National Park): ¥10,000-13,000.

By train
Hakodate has three train stations of note: Hakodate Liner (はこだてライナー) shuttle trains connect these stations, timed to match the bullet train schedule. Hokuto limited express train connect these stations northbound to Onuma Quasi-National Park, Toyako, Noboribetsu, and Sapporo.
 * Hakodate Station (函館駅) is downtown and served by conventional trains.
 * Goryōkaku Station (五稜郭駅) is northwest of the city and connects with the Isaribi Line towards Kikonai. Not to be confused with Goryōkaku Park or Goryōkaku Tower several kilometers east.
 * Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station (新函館北斗駅) is 18 km north of Hakodate Station and is the northernmost terminal for the bullet train.

It takes approximately 4½ hours to reach Hakodate from Tokyo using the Hayabusa bullet train and the Hakodate Liner. A one-way trip costs ¥23,500 in standard class, and is fully covered by the national Japan Rail Pass. With the bullet train expanding north to Otaru and Sapporo, the new mayor of Hakodate is considering a plan to connect Hakodate Station directly to the network. If enacted, it will be available around 2030. If you are just traveling between Tokyo and Hokkaido, consider the JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass, which is slightly cheaper than the national pass (¥35,000). This pass covers bullet train travel between Tokyo and Hakodate as well as the Hokuto between Hakodate and Sapporo. It can be used on a consecutive 6-day period. Unlike the national pass, however, the JR East-South Hokkaido Pass only comes in one version for standard class travel.

Seishun 18 Ticket
Seishun 18 ticket users who want to go to Hakodate from Honshu must purchase a separate ticket for ¥2,500. This includes bullet train travel between Okutsugaru-Imabetsu (the last stop in Honshu) and Kikonai (the first stop in Hokkaido), as well as travel on the Isaribi Line between Kikonai and Goryokaku Station.

By boat
Hakodate's main ferry terminal is roughly halfway between Hakodate Station and Goryokaku Station, and a 20-minute walk from Nanae-hama Station on the Isaribi line. Line 16 and 16A buses connect it to Goryokaku Park, while shuttle buses timed to match ferry arrivals connect it directly to Hakodate Station. National Route 227 follows the west coast connecting it to Hakodate Station, while taxis around the ferry terminal are best booked in advance for cheaper set prices.

Seikan Ferry and Tsugaru Kaikyo Ferry operate ferry services from Hakodate to Aomori with multiple departures daily. Trips take 3 hours and 40 minutes. One-way fares are cheaper on the Seikan; ¥2,200-2,700 depending on the travel season. Tsugaru offers several classes of service, from standard carpet space (similar to Seikan, ¥2,900-3,900) up to a suite with two beds and an in-room shower and toilet (¥5,700-7,900). Tsugaru also sails to Ōma on the remote Shimokita Peninsula, with two daily round-trips. Fares range from ¥2,400 to ¥4,100 for the 1 hour and 30 minute ride. Vehicles can be brought to these ferries for ¥12,000-30,000.

Get around
Hakodate is connected by two (practically one that branches to the SW of the city) streetcar lines and roughly two-hundred bus lines. Take a ticket or tap the IC card reader when boarding, then drop the ticket in the ticket box or tap again when getting off.

Nationwide IC cards can be used in Hakodate, but using the local ICAS nimoca cuts ¥160 off bus-bus/bus-streetcar transfers, though it's probably not worth the hassle for travelers to create a card for this discount alone.

Pay exact amounts in cash, and use the 両替 machine next to the ticket box to exchange coins or ¥1000 bills to smaller denominations if needed. Larger bills and the new (silver core with gold ring) ¥500 coins can only be exchanged with the driver.

Day passes costs ¥600 for the streetcar, ¥800 for the bus, or ¥1,000 for both. Most passes can only be purchased from the [https://sp.cstm.dohna.jp/tabs/home DohNa!!! website], but streetcar-only paper passes can still be purchased from the driver when delighting. The two streetcar lines are Route 2 (Y, red), and Route 5 (D, blue). Both lines run from 湯の川 (Yunokawa) until it branches in 十字街 (Jūjigai). Stops on these lines are as follows: 1Some cars terminate here later in the day. Avoid these cars when traveling westward.

2Nearest stop to Goryōkaku Park and Goryōkaku Tower. Not to be confused with Goryōkaku Station (五稜郭駅)

3Adjacent to Hakodate Station (函館駅)

4Not to be confused with the ferry terminal.

See




Buy

 * Glasswares and musicboxes can be bought at the old Meijikan Post Office (明治館 meiji-kan). Meijikan is near the vicinity of the red brick warehouses (akarenga) and the Hakodate Beer Hall. Get off at the streetcar's jujigai (十字街) stop.
 * Glasswares and musicboxes can be bought at the old Meijikan Post Office (明治館 meiji-kan). Meijikan is near the vicinity of the red brick warehouses (akarenga) and the Hakodate Beer Hall. Get off at the streetcar's jujigai (十字街) stop.

Department stores
Two department stores sandwiching the 五稜郭公園前 (Goryōkaku-kōen-mae) streetcar stop are available in Hakodate:


 * Marui Imai (丸井今井) is the oldest and most popular chain in Hokkaido. They are also available in Sapporo.
 * Share Star (シエスタ) hosts rotating small local businesses, Starbucks, JINS, MUJI, as well as a public community space on the fourth floor.

Convenience stores

 * Seicomart (セイコーマート) is a convenience store chain that is almost exclusively available in Hokkaido. It sells many Hokkaido-specific foods and knick-knacks. 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson are also available in decreasing order.
 * Hasegawa Store (ハセガワストア) is a convenience store chain only available in the Hakodate area. They are well known for やきとり弁当 (yakitori-bentō). It is a grilled pork skewer lunch set despite やきとり (yakitori) in the name, though grilled chicken skewers are also available.

Drug stores

 * Tsuruha Drug (ツルハドラッグ) is a nationwide chain with duty-free shopping available.
 * Sapporo Drug Store (サッポロドラッグストアー) is a local chain exclusively available on the island.

Eat
Hakodate's signature fish is squid and its signature dish is Hakodate shio rāmen (noodle with salty soup. not to be confused with shoyu ramen), a version of the ubiquitous noodle dish prepared with &mdash; you guessed it &mdash; squid stock instead of the usual pork. Nearby Mori-machi is also reputed to have Japan's finest ika-meshi, rice-stuffed squid. If you dare, eat the odori-don or ike ika-don dish, where a live squid is caught from the fish tank, its head removed, sliced and served as a side dish, and the rest placed on top of a rice bowl. The squid is so fresh that you can still see it change colours and move its tentacles on the plate as you pour the soy sauce!



Drink
There are two main drinking districts in Hakodate, Daimon, which is close to the station, and Goryōkaku, in particular Hon-Cho. Foreigners seem to be more catered to in the Goryōkaku area.



Stay safe
Visitors unused to icy conditions should be careful in winter of the icy conditions, particularly of black ice. Cars may skid in the streets and pedestrians can fall victim to it on the sidewalks. Do as the Japanese do: simply stand up and keep walking like nothing happened.

As elsewhere in Japan, Hakodate is comparatively very safe when it comes to petty crime. One exception that seems to happen in Hokkaido, albeit rarely even then, is being approached by a foreigner claiming to be in distress and needing cash. They will tell you that an ATM swallowed their card or some other sob story and that they cannot speak Japanese but strangely are not interested in being accompanied to the police so you can translate for them. This will likely occur in a touristy area and they don't pose any danger. Simply direct them to the nearest police box, there is one near the station.

Go next

 * Lake Onuma (大沼 ōnuma), a "quasi-national park" that's about half an hour to the north by express train, offers a pleasant quick gateway. If you wish to go to Lake Ōnuma by local train, make sure to check the train schedule since local trains only come every 2 hours or so.
 * Matsumae (松前), 1½ hour drive from Hakodate along the coast, has the only castle in Hokkaidō, which is in Matsumae park, famed in southern Hokkaidō (南北海道 minami hokkaidō or 道南 dōnan) for excellent cherry blossom viewing in late April/early May.
 * Esan (恵山), known for its Tsutsuji (Azalea) festival in late May/early June, it's about a 45-minute car ride east of Hakodate city proper (but still within the city limits). The drive will take you mostly along the coast with scenic views of northern Aomori on clear days.
 * Esashi
 * Hokuto
 * Kikonai
 * Shiriuchi
 * Imabetsu
 * Aomori
 * Tomakomai
 * Otaru
 * Sapporo