Introduction to Hakodate, 01

If you travel to Hokkaido by train, the first major city you'll come to after emerging from the Seikan Tunnel is the attractive port of HAKODATE, 260km southwest of Sapporo. Along with Shimoda on the Izu Hanto, this was one of the first ports to open to foreign traders following the Japan–US amity treaty of 1854. Over the next few years, ten countries including Britain, Russia and the USA established consulates in Hakodate, and foreigners built fancy wooden homes and elaborate churches on the steep hillsides, leaving the city with a legacy of European and American-style architecture. In 1868 the last of the Tokugawa shogun's forces was defeated in a siege of Hakodate's Goryokaku fort, a victory celebrated each year in mid-May with a period costume parade through the town. A much larger parade is held during the Hakodate Port Festival, from August 1 to 5, when 20,000 people in cotton kimono and straw hats perform the "squid dance", an entertaining jig where hands are flapped and clapped in time to rhythmic drumming.

Despite the fishy aroma that sometimes hangs in the air, Hakodate has some compelling attractions. While you're here, be sure to check out the lively morning market of Asa-ichi, the turn-of-the-century settlers' homes in the Motomachi area, and the outstanding exhibition on Ainu culture at the main museum. Finally, no self-respecting traveller should leave before taking in the "million-dollar" night view from the top of Hakodate-yama, the mountain in the middle of the hammerhead tip of the peninsula. Within easy day-trip range of the city is the Onuma Quasi National Park, a beautiful lakeland and mountain area, with good hiking trails.

Information by Rough Guides

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