Today turned out a busy day. I woke up early, had breakfast – to then make my way over to the morning market … with tons of fresh fish and seafood, as well as plenty of other local products and souvenirs. With two cruise ships in town, the market soon got crowded, as one group after the other was led through … as such, I decided to continue my way into the Motomochi area – Hakodate’s “old town”. I passed by the churches (Catholic, Anglican and Russian Orthodox) and made my way to Motomochi Park for some great views of the bay. After that it was museum time – with visits at the Old Public Hall, the former British Consulate and the City Museum of Northern Peoples (with focus on the indigenous peoples of Hokkaido and the Aleuts). A quick tram ride got me to the fishing harbor and as I walked back, I came across a hiking trail map for Mt. Hakodate. With near-perfect weather and the ropeway likely crowded by cruise people, I decided for a hike … first the ~2km along the Kannon Trail to the top of Mt.Hakodate (and the upper ropeway station) at 334m above sea level – then along the Senjojiki Trail for some great views and the descent via the Jizoyama and Nanamagari Trails (altogether ~3.5km). As I was in the area, I continued towards Cape Tachimachi and was rewarded by some spectacular views.
I made it back into town for a late lunch – and I had to give a Hakodate oddity a try the Lucky Pierrot burger chain … with ~17 branches in Hakodate (and only here), all with different themes. I picked the branch closest to my location – and ended up in a shop with a Christmas theme … with Santa carefully watching over me, as I was eating a rather decent hamburger.
With my energy restored, I was up for a deja-vu – now heading out for the Mashu-Maru, the Hakodate train ferry memorial ship, now serving as a museum – and the sistership of the Hakkoda-Maru that I had visited in Aomori just a few days back (and spoiler: there is more to see and more open to the public on the one in Aomori – incl. the train deck or the machine room).
It had been a busy day, for dinner I made it to the local craft beer brewery for some excellent beer and interesting snacks – camembert with salty fermented squid actually works quiet well.
