Hokkaido is one of the popular destinations to enjoy the snow in winter. This blog will highlight 7 places in Hakodate, which is located in the southeastern area of Hokkaido. They are the places our JTB customers highly recommend visiting. Before Christmas and the new year arrive, let’s plan a wonderful journey! At the end of this blog, you will discover 7 must-see spots and popular accommodations.

• Star Shaped Photo Spot

• A Shopping Mall with Red Brick Wall

• Exploring the Breathtaking Scenery

• Unique Path to Beautiful View

• Peaceful Icon in Hakodate

• British Memorial Hall

• Memorial Yard for History

• Popular Accommodations among our Customers

Goryokaku-Park, Hakodate Bugyo-sho, Goryoukaku-Tower

This is a place of flowers and history. The star-shaped part is called Goryokaku Ato, remnants of the final fortifications from the Boshin War.  There are also other landmarks nearby.  For instance, Hakodate-Bugyousho (old magistrate’s office), and  Goryoukaku- Tower which has an observatory deck.  The distinctive shape and highlights to see in every season are popular. As the photograph above shows, snow makes the scenery more mysterious, dressing it up in white. Around the time the cherry blossoms fall, the canal is covered with petals. This is expressed as “Hana-ikada,” which means flower raft.

Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse

The building consists of four areas: Bay-Hakodate, Kanamori Youmonokan, Hakodate History Plaza, and Kanamori Hall. Visitors can enjoy its unique and elegant appearance, not only for shopping and dining. The western-style warehouses have a history of over a century. The business started as Kanamori, a western-style goods shop, with the slogan “Give people dreams from foreign countries.” Around Christmas time, the warehouses are adorned with shining decorations like something out of a fairy tale.

Mt. Hakodate Cable car

This cable car will take you on a breathtaking journey to the top of Mt. Hakodate, which has three stars in the Michelin Green Guide Japan. You will enjoy the landscape of both the mountain and the ocean. As it ascends closer to the top, the atmosphere changes. Visiting during the daytime is a good idea to enjoy nature, but at night, it transforms completely. Visitors will be fascinated by the nightscape, as if jewels are scattered across the dark mountain views.

Chacha-Nobori Slope

This cobblestone slope leads from Daisanzaka Slope and is located between Hakodate Orthodox Church and Hakodate St. John’s Church. “Chacha” means an old man in Ainu, an indigenous language in Hokkaido. The slopes were named because, due to their steepness, people need to bend over to walk up. On the way up, you will see beautiful scenery of the harbour, and three different sects of churches, with their solemn and beautiful appearances, gathered in the same area. It is worth experiencing on foot!

Hakodate Goryoukaku Shrine

Gokoku shrines are dedicated to enshrining soldiers who passed away while engaging in national service. The souls of soldiers and nurses who were part of the Hakodate War are resting there. While known as a symbol of peace, it is also famous as a marriage tie spot. The Nade-fukurou statue, which is said to bring happiness to those who stroke it, is also popular. The contrast of the white snow and scarlet Torii arch is brilliant in winter. In summer, visitors may have the chance to encounter a family of red foxes in the precincts.

Old British Consulate

This is the icon of the opening port and the history of internationalisation in Hakodate. It was opened for consular officers to use in 1859. It fulfilled its role until it closed in 1934, and it was rebuilt in 1992 to preserve its status as a memorial hall to continue the history. The office room and the officer’s family living room have been recreated as they were during Richard Eusden’s tenure as the third officer. The site includes a tea room café, souvenir shop, and a beautiful rose garden in addition to the exhibition areas. You will learn about the background of the first steps of international trading visually in an immersive atmosphere.

Foreigners’ Cemetery

This is located at a high elevation. Its background is related to internationalisation around the 19th century, similar to the Old British Consulate. After Hakodate was opened as a place for international trading, many foreign individuals started visiting, and some even settled down. The proposal for a foreign cemetery was established in 1870. The remaining individuals interred there included merchants, consular officers, and sailors. They hailed from various countries, such as the UK, Germany, and Russia. Overlooking the harbour with the sound of the sea breeze, you will feel an exotic mood.

Customer Recommended Accommodations

La’gent Stay Hakodate Ekimae (Standard) https://lagent.jp/hakodate-ekimae/en/ 

Hotel ＆ Spa Century Marina Hakodate (Standard) https://www.centurymarina.com/english/ 

fav Hakodate (Standard- Family) https://fav-hotels.com/hotels/hakodate/ 

Le Vista Hakodate (Deluxe)  https://dormy-hotels.com/en/resort/hotels/la_hakodate/

Plan Your Journey Now!

Conclusion

Hokkaido is the largest region in Japan, so that there are mysteries and funs you might not know yet.  Our customers also pick up “I’s West” the hair cut shop and “Speciality Coffee Cocoro ” to visit.  There will be  your own  discoveries in Hokkaido Maps never shows.  For more information, please click the banner or the button below!

Contact us

Resources:

はこぶら 函館市公式観光サイト- https://www.hakobura.jp/photo-library

函館・みなみ北海道 観光ガイド – https://hakodate-kankou.com/library/

photo AC – https://www.photo-ac.com/

December 2024 Christmas, Hakodate, Hokkaido, snow, Winter, Winter destination

My husband & I previously did a Heritage tour with JTB in 2008. This time, we wanted a private Tohoku trip, organized through JTB Sydney. Consultant Eri T was very patient and thorough! She helped us plan a personalized tour (noting our age preferences and inexperience with JR pass/bullet trains). She arranged JR East Passes, all accommodation pre- and post- , as well as Narita Exp reserved seats, and even taxis where required.

Our English-speaking guides Rico in Sendai and Eri in Nikko were well-organized, both spoke good English and had good local knowledge of history and culture. The Nikko driver was also good. In addition, Rico helped us reserve seats on 3 bullet trains and advised us of the connections with local trains. Eri gave us good advice on taking the Narita Express on our final day.

I have recommended (and will in the future as well) JTB to my friends and family.

Thank you!

November 2024 JR Pass, Tickets, Tohoku, Tour

As we sit in the bullet train to Kyoto, I just wanted to let you know we are having an amazing time. All the arrangements thus far have been perfect!

In case you have enquiries from others, I wanted to let you know how incredible the sumo tour and tournament were. It was one of the most engaging and interesting experiences I have had on a holiday. It still makes me happy to think about it! Please let the guide know how amazing they were. She was knowledgeable and joyous – we loved her!

Thanks again, K

January 2024 Sumo

 Just a note to say thank you for all your assistance with our Japan holiday. It was a fabulous trip. We all really enjoyed the tours, the variety of activities, the order of the itinerary (finishing in Tokyo was a great idea – a really fun way to end the trip) and the accommodation. It all worked out very well.

Thank you for your excellent organisation and also your quick responses to us while away!

I hope you have had a good break over Christmas and New Year.

We will be in touch about our next holiday! Kind regards, D.

January 2024

We loved the trip to Kamikochi, with steep hills and valley and beautiful rivers – it was absolutely marvellous.

Seeing monkeys was a bonus, and there were lots of signs of bears, but we didn’t see any. It all really reminded me of the Rocky Mountains in Canada or the European Alps, but with less people, huts and cows.

The contrast of the landscape with bamboo groves, rivers and snow-capped mountains was amazing, and the village was really cute to visit.

We were the only westerners at the hotel, which was an amazing traditional experience. The staff were so welcoming and went out of their way to help both with our stay and our travels.

The pond is a must see!

July 2023 Customer Service, Hotel, Kamikochi, Mountains, Nature

We had an absolute dream time in Japan, cherry blossoms arrived two weeks earlier this year and not only we did not miss it but were right in the middle of it everywhere we went. From our pocket WiFi to trains, hotels to excursions, all went extremely well.

Also, weather was unusually kind to us, most days we were under the full sun, including the day we went to Mt Fuji!!! Not a single piece of cloud (apparently a very rare thing).

Kind people, excellent food, we were so happy, while still in Japan we were talking about our next Japan trip.

Thought you enjoy hearing all the positive marks from our wonderful Japan holiday.

Thanks again, have a nice day.

May 2023

Hi Miyuki,

I just want to let you know I am back in Australia.  My wife and I had a fantastic trip and enjoyed the tour you have organised through Europamundo.  Everything worked according to plan and we had no issues at all.

Many thanks for your expertise and help in making this trip a memorable one!  ????  All the best!

April 2023 Europamundo

Thank you Miyuki (from JTB). You are wonderful. 

March 2023

Hi Chris,
They loved everything about what you organized, the hotel, tour etc.
Thanks again.

Hotel, Tour

Hi Clement ,

The party of four passengers have returned from their trip with the following feedback : They were amazed at the value of their JTB package holiday. They were impressed by the standard, location and quality of the accommodation. Their holiday was seamless – they felt that the arrangements were comprehensive and efficient. They could not fault one detail of the trip and could not stop singing praises.  I don’t mind telling you I was happy to take all of the credit ? Clement – this is my way of saying THANKYOU. You are working incredibly hard, it is a time of unprecedented pressure, yet your work remains immaculate. I cannot thank you enough for your professionalism and attentiveness.  I am so grateful that you weathered the storm and have remained at JTB.  I look forward to continuing to work with you.  Happy Friday. Well Done.  Please tell me you are going to get some time off this weekend. ?

February 2023 JTB package holiday

Good morning Blake

Thank you so much for all your orgainsing and booking; we had a fantastic trip. Everything was awesome and the Japan rail passes were amazing; we caught the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka and returned and caught the Narita airport express. The One Piece show was great too. Our fast passes for Universal Studio were fantastic; and our two day pass to Disneyland and DisneySea. It was great because everything was all organised in Australia before we left and we appreciate all your assistance and constant communication with our booking. The SUICA cards were a lifesaver with the Tokyo metro and the Disneyland monorail.

Thank you again.

Warm Regards

Dannielle

July 2019

Dear Chris

Better late than never!!!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for organising such a great trip in Japan from 15 May – 04 June 2019.  We love Naomi and are so grateful that she put us in contact with you.

The most amazing thing for people our age, was the detailed instructions that came with our journey throughout Japan. We also appreciated the choice of tours and places to stay.

All of our tour guides were great, but we would like to mention two in particular. Kenta who took us on the Salary Man’s tour inn Shimbashi.  His knowledge was very comprehensive and as we were the only 2 on this tour, we had an extended night of enjoyment.

Secondly – Kao in Fukuoka, where we went to Dazaifu and Yanagawa. Her knowledge and grasp of English was excellent, and she had to answer some curly questions for us, but the knowledge she has of facts for the future of Japan was totally outstanding.

We can totally recommend your services.

Pat and Robyn

My pleasure, Chris san!

You have been an amazing help with such efficient service and you always go above and beyond to help me create the best itinerary!

Thank YOU always!  Have a lovely weekend J

Koyomi

July 2019

Hey Clement, 

I wanted to give you my glowing feedback for Anait! She is an absolute gem and I have been working exclusively with her for the last 12 months. I can’t speak highly enough of her. Her attention to detail is so amazing, I love that she goes above and beyond to give me the ‘walking distances to and from hotels/stations’ and she always makes suggestions of great tours. I am appreciative that I am able to email her my quote/booking requests and she will without fail action them within 24 hours (even sooner when I sometimes put her under pressure).

Our conversion rate together is pretty high, I recon we convert 9 out of 10 quotes which is amazing!!  

She is a huge asset to your company and I wanted to make sure everyone knows that I think she is THE BEST IN THE BIZ!

Feel free to share my feedback with her and anyone who wants to hear!!

Thanks for listening, have a great day!

Natalie

June 2019

Hi Miyuki

Just letting you know that our trip to Japan was amazing. Thank you for your assistance.

Everything was so well organised. In particular thank you for your suggestion of staying in Ueno for our final couple of days when we returned to Tokyo. It is a lovely area and we probably wouldn’t have discovered it on our own.

Susan