We arrived into Hakodate on schedule. Today we had booked a Goodwill guide which are guides provided by the City for a nominal fee. Our guide, Kaz met us at the shuttle from of point in the city which was at the main train station.
We were late leaving the dock due to immigration requirements but Kaz was waiting patiently at our meeting place when we arrived about 20 minutes late. To our surprise Kaz was 87 years old but very spritely and was sometimes hard to keep up with him. Hi English was quite good but limited.
We set off from the train station on foot and walked to the morning market. All types of food and fish were for sale here. You could also fish for your own squid then have it cooked while you waited!
The market was a buzz with locals buying their produce and sitting around eating and talking to each other and also half of the ship!
We then caught the local bus to Kanemori Warehouses which were situated on the waterfront in beautiful old red brick buildings once used as warehouses. This area is similar to Darling Harbour in Sydney attracting lots of tourists as the area has a lot of nice shops and restaurants and is situated overlooking the bay. The warehouses are full of beautiful Japanese products some hand made and decorated with antique wooden showcases and beautiful chandeliers. The girls did manage to buy a couple of souvenirs.
From here we walked up the hill to the Motomachi District which has some beautiful old buildings including the "Old British Consulate", tree lined streets, well manicured gardens and fantastic views over the harbour.
After walking around the streets and taking in the views we stopped off at the Museum of Northern People. The indigenous people living in the natural environment of the north have developed their own unique cultures. The museum collection consists mainly of Ainu tools, clothing, jewellery, pottery and much more.
Our next stop required a 20 minute tram ride. We now had the public transport system down pat with the hep of Kaz. We were heading for the Goryokaku Park and Tower but not before stopping off at a local Japanese restaurant that Kaz recommended. It was just a little restaurant that you would not normally have gone into if you were not with a local. Gaz tried to explain what dishes were on the menu…. fortunately we chose well but some unfortunately didn't and ordered cold noodles with a cold runny boiled egg. We had tempura prawns and a crab and rice dish which was delicious and came with little bowls of garnish and some misu soup.
After lunch we strolled to the park which was very pleasant. The cherry trees and wisteria covered archway would be just so beautiful in April/May when they are in flower. After Kaz walking us through the park he left us to our own devices and navigational skills.
The girls did notice that where we got off the tram there was a big department store so we headed back there for some retail therapy. Unfortunately this store was similar to our David Jones Department store with price tags to match so after the guys finished their $7 coffees we moved on. Another tram ride back to the train station then we all split to do our own thing. Back to another department store but which was interesting to walk through but nothing of much interest other than a baby present for our table waiter Ricky as he was leaving us in Yokohama because his wife was due to give birth to their first baby. We will miss our Ricky but we still have Roy.
After strolling around the streets close to the shuttle back to the ship we decided it was time to buy our grog supplies and head back to the ship.
Once back on board we had to ready ourselves for our "Princess" tour to the top of Mt Hakodate to take in the spectacular iconic night lights over the city and harbour. I am pleased we did not try to do this on our own as the queues to get down off the mountain were huge. everything was running to schedule until one couple could not follow the timing set by our guide and consequently we all had to wait while the guide ran frantically around looking for them. Thankfully after half an hour she found them and we were on our way. It didn't seem to worry the people that they had held up the whole bus and in fact had delayed the departure of the ship as the ship waited over half an hour for our bus to return so that they could sail away. Lucky we were on a Princess tour.
Another exhausting day but a good introduction to our first visit to Japan.
Next stop Yokohama for Tokyo.
Quick Facts:
Hokkaido's third largest city.
Population: 279,851 (approx.)
Climate: Snow in winter, sun in summer and rain in November to March (and July!)
Language: Japanese
Currency: Yen (JPY)
The Morning Market
Fresh squid
Kanemori Warehouses
Painted plaques on the sidewalks
Motomachi District
Museum of Northern Peoples
Exhausted Marie!!
On the tram with Kaz our guide (with the cap)
Our lunch
Peter and Kaz at the archway to Goryokaku Park
The Goryokaku Tower from the park.
A post box outside the train station
A display inside the train station
The plaza area outside the JR train station
The Ropeway (Cable Car) to the top of Mt Hakodate
The spectacular night view
Some weary travellers.
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