In August 2022, I planned a 3-night, 4-day Hokkaido car trip. The year before I'd ridden the SR400 around Hokkaido — this time I wanted to take it slower, in a car.
Day 1 began after work in Aomori. I caught the evening Hokkaido Shinkansen from Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, then took the JR line into Hakodate. By the time I arrived, even the long Hokkaido summer day was tilting toward evening. The rental car would come tomorrow morning. Tonight: walk Hakodate.
Stepping off at Hakodate Station
Hakodate Station is a modern port-town station; the air of the city flows in through its glass entrance. Now that the Shinkansen connects Tōhoku to Hokkaido, Hakodate is a rare northern city you can reach without a plane or a ferry.
A Hakodate burger at Lucky Pierrot
You can't avoid Lucky Pierrot in Hakodate. Founded in 1987, this local burger chain has more than ten branches in the Hakodate area; for locals, it's closer to the soul than McDonald's. I went into the Hakodate Ekimae branch and ordered the signature Chinese Chicken Burger. Freshly fried chicken with a sweet-spicy sauce — a flavor you only get in Hakodate.
Hachiman-zaka — a slope at twilight
A walk before dinner. I headed for one of Hakodate's classic spots, Hachiman-zaka. The slope drops in a straight line from the Motomachi district down to Hakodate Port, framing harbor and sea like a single picture from the top. It was twilight, streetlamps starting to come on one by one, the sky still keeping a hint of blue. A spot that's appeared in countless commercials and dramas — emblematic of Hakodate.
Mt. Hakodate — one of the world's three great night views
After dark, up to the summit of Mt. Hakodate by ropeway. The night view from 334 m is famously bracketed with Naples and Hong Kong as one of the world's three great night views — and it really does live up to it. The narrow sandbar between Hakodate Bay and the Tsugaru Strait pinches the city's lights into a distinctive pinched-waist silhouette. You won't see this geometry anywhere else.
HAKODATE BEER and a seafood bowl
Down from the summit. Next stop: Hakodate Beer, a local brewery housed in a brick-warehouse-style building near the port. It sits in the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse area, a short walk from Meijikan.
Dinner had to be seafood. Hakodate's fish quality is its own league. A classic three-color don of squid, sea urchin, and salmon roe with miso soup. The fatigue from the Shinkansen evaporated.
Tomorrow, the rental car comes out properly. Mt. Yōtei, Yoichi, Otaru — Hokkaido scenery and a whisky distillery on the schedule.
The Hakodate I arrived in by Shinkansen felt a little richer than usual. A nice welcome from the city to start the drive.