2023 Hokkaido Trip Day 02: Going around Hakodate

We started day 02 finding our breakfast. Our hotel is near to the Morning Market, so we decided to head there for the day (Note: You will see yourself in the midst of tour buses as group tours go to this market at this timing, 0830 - 0900)

We decided to go around and get our breakfast at Uni Murakami (Tip: If your hotel is near to the market, you can go 1 round the night before to catch a glimpse of what morning market has to offer and probably to also pick your breakfast from the array of restaurants. ) 

We stumbled upon Uni Murakami because we saw a queue forming. (I go by the mentality that if there is a queue, it must be good) People here do eat fast, so we were seated in no time. The crowd died down after we ate (which was around 10ish). 

  

Note: You can put your bags on the box provided (below your seats).  

One thing i notice is that they know how to read the atmosphere, they do notice that if you are sharing with another person, they will bring additional plates over. We decided to order their Uni kaisen don (it is a must to eat esp for the fresh uni ) 

The satisfied combo includes (uni gratin, egg omelette, and salad) + Uni gratin (regular size) 

After a hearty breakfast, it was off to walk the calories and go to Kanemori Red brick warehouse ( You can slowly walk from the morning market to the Red Brick Warehouse).  

The courtyard at the red brick warehouse. 

The canal along the red brick warehouse. You can also see rickshaw where they will take tourist around the area. 

The front area of the red brick warehouse. 

The Lucky Pierrot branch at the Bay Area (I don't mind having this for lunch & dinner )

Nice place to hang around the area (while you sip your coffee. but i had other plans.. so skipping this for now)

The pier near to the Red brick warehouse (overlooking hakodate bay) 

Tip: Walk the Hachimanzaka slope to get a view of downtown Hakodate.  You get this kind of view. (this is on top of a hill ending in a cul-de-sac, but you still need to be careful with cars). 

Afterwards, go and walk to Motomachi district and find all the churches (they were close to each other, and only went there for some photo -op , some churches have fees when you want to enter, like going inside the synagogue ) 

The Anglican Church 

The Orthodox Church 
A jinja 

The Catholic Church 

and a terai .. 

Lunch & Snack at Kikuizumi (inadvertently lunch since they were serving hot meals as well) , which is near to hachimanzaka . Ordered: Demi-glace Omelette rice

whale soup (though i find that the whale meat is a bit tough)  with grilled rice cakes

and for dessert, their zansai (red bean with rice dumpling balls ) 

Inside Kikuizumi , is a traditional Japanese house converted into a cafe . 

and the exterior of the cafe ... 

To walk off calories. we went to the Old Public Hall.. 

The interior of the public hall (brought me back to when I visited the palaces in London) 

The toilet 

and the living hall ... 

The second floor , dance ballroom (from which you also get a view of the Motomachi Bay Area). There are guides around the area, who will help you take photos as well . 

The exterior of the public hall ( you will never miss it, visible from Motomachi Park) 

Tip: the best view/angle you can take is across the Signage they have for memorabilia. 

we saw there was another public building, Former Hakodate Branch Office of Hakodate Govt,  that was turned into a cafe, so we stopped by and bought some pudding (one of the best one that I had over the years and it had a nice ambience to rest your weary feet before you go to the next stop) 

The exterior of the cafe  (Former Hakodate Branch Office of Hakodate Govt) 

and the inside of the cafe

After resting, we continued our walk, to  Old Soma House 

and to the  Former British Consulate  (just near the Former Govt building. Google Map your way!)  

and then a random statue at the random park 

and then we walked until we reached the tram station to get us to goryokaku park.  We used the Jorudan app to get us to our next destination. After taking the tram, we went to the Old Magistrate House first , since we know we still got some time before Goryokaku Tower closes. 

Photo Op:  Old Magistrate House (inside Goryokaku Park) (they charge 600 yen for entrance) .

The back of the Magistrate House 

Tip: Go behind the magistrate house for better picture of the house (unobstructed and less people.) 

The Goryokaku Park itself has tons of places for photo-ops as well, so we just went around the area while the sun was still up. 

Then it was off to Goryokaku Tower (which we think , we only have some 1-2h left, they were going to close at 6PM), the park at (7PM) and this is what you will see at the tower. 

It was shop till we drop (before they close) at Goryokaku Souvenir shop. we managed to get a few snacks before we call it a day. Was supposed to go to Lucky Pierrot near Goryokaku BUT the queue was insanely long , so we just decided to just go and queue at the Lucky Pierrot near our hotel. It was around 1800, and Lucky Pierrot, was the last pitstop for the day. This restaurant is a MUST eat at Hakodate, because you can't really find them anywhere else in Japan except in Hakodate. 

Must try dishes: Chicken Burger Set 

and the Pork Katsu Omurice . 

Note: water is also self service, so you can get your water even though you didnt order a set meal (at least order set meal once to try their fries!) 

walk around to go from Lucky Pierrot (somewhere in Morning Market area) back  to Hotel . As it was a full day, we headed back to the hotel at 8PM (only because the shops close early and there is no nearby mall to spend the time on).