Ed's Travels in Japan: Hakodate

I went to a conference in Hakodate in Hokkaido in June 2012. We stayed at a ryokan and had a traditional Japanese dinner after our meeting.

After dinner, we went in a bus up Mount Hakodate to see the famous night view. It is rated as one of the best three night views in the world (alongside Naples and Hong Kong). It really was quite beautiful view, with views of the ocean both sides of the peninsula and the city lit up.

The next morning, we had some free time so I took the chance to explore the city. Hakodate has a tram network.

First stop was the famous morning market. Many varieties of crab, shellfish, squid and fish, both local and imported for sale. Hakodate is famous throughout Japan for its seafood.

Those melons are ¥12,000 (about NZ$180)

King crabs and fresh uni (kina in NZ)

A boat full of crabs

A real novelty was a tank where you could fish for live squid swimming around. When you caught one, the lady would cut it and clean it. Less than a minute after being caught squid sashimi is on your plate for ¥500.

I then went for a walk along the waterfront. Hakodate is an old port town and was the first to open up to foreign trade in 1854. Old warehouses still exist, however they've been preserved and converted to trendy shops, cafes and restaurants.

It still operates as a fishing port with squid boats alongside.

The early foreign influence in Hakodate is still evident with Christian churches on the hillside.

The Russian Orthodox Church

The Roman Catholic Church

This is the Higashi Honganji temple

On my walk, I was quite excited to find Japan's first concrete electricity pole. It was set up in 1923, is ten metres tall, 47 centimetres square at the base and 19.5 centimetres square at the top.

I then took the tram to Goryokaku which is a large star shaped fort built from 1857 to 1864. In 1868, one of the last samurai from the Tokugawa shogunate, Enomoto Takeaki fled from Edo (old Tokyo) with eight warships and landed at Hakodate occupying Goryokaku. He declared a northern republic Ezo and Takeaki was elected president. In April 1869, the Imperial Army and Navy sailed North and after a naval engagement in Hakodate Bay, landed 7,000 infantry troops. Enomoto surrendered in May 1869 and the Ezo Republic ceased to exist.