HOME Back

My Favorites

${v.title}

${v.desc | trunc(25)}

${v.title}

${v.desc | trunc(25)}

View All

Use the

Planning a Trip to Japan?

Share your travel photos with us by hashtagging your images with #visitjapanjp

None

Highlights of Hakodate

HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Highlights of Hakodate

Stroll historic streets and parks in bloom in this Hokkaido port city

Hakodate City, Hokkaido Prefecture

One of the most popular sightseeing cities in Japan, the picturesque port city of Hakodate is surrounded by ocean and is rich in nature and history.

The southernmost city in Hokkaido, Hakodate was one of the first ports to open to foreign trade in 1859, and the impact of those early overseas influences can still be seen in the mixture of Western-style and Japanese architecture, old and new, to be found throughout the city.

One such attraction is the ruins of the extraordinary Goryokaku “five-star fort,” built by the Tokugawa shogunate(1603-1868); its design was inspired by the fortifications of French military engineer Vauban. Goryokaku Park, in the center of the fort, is one of Hakodate’s most popular places for enjoying the spring cherry blossoms.

Also worth seeing are the ”hourglass” view of the city at night from the top of Mt. Hakodate, and the Chuku Dogu (Hollow Dogu) figurine and other Jomon period (10,000BCE - 300BCE) finds at the Jomon Culture Center. Meanwhile, for a classic Japanese hot spring experience, head to nearby Yunokawa Onsen.

Most hotels in Yunokawa Onsen Town have hot springs. In Hakodate, you can experience different types of lodging like ryokan (Japanese inns) where you can relax in hot springs, minshuku (traditional lodgings) where you can interact with the locals, and recently renovated historical buildings.