GATEWAY TO HOKKAIDO...HAKODATE

I woke up to a beeping noise and the sound of diesel engines roaring. The building next door was getting torn down and my room was on the closest side to all the action. It felt good to have a day off the saddle, I felt relaxed and was looking forward to checking out the town. I headed towards the Hakodate morning fish market right near the hotel I was staying at. It was mostly full of tourists, Japanese and Chinese. Seafood lovers would love this place. They have an open air area where the shopkeepers hustle for your business. They have an indoor area that’s more professional, not as rough and grimey. Finally, they have another area just full of restaurants serving all kinds of fresh seafood.

Next I headed to Motomachi to check out the historic hillside area. They have several foreign consulate houses and churches the foreigners set up. A little history of Hakodate, it was one of the ports to open up its doors when Perry came over with his ships to force Japan out of isolation. Due to the international port and trade, Hakodate prospered and many foreign sailors and dignitaries arrived. Along the way I started craving coffee and I found a café that served pancakes so I decided to eat here. I think I’m starting to get addicted to coffee, but it gives me such a boost in the morning. I ordered strawberry and whip cream topped pancake with ice cream on the side. It was very good and very American, but the portions were small.

There are a lot of little boutique shops and cafes around Motomachi…they also have a ropeway that will take you up a mountain overlooking the city. I opted to just check out the historic houses, once again tourists were everywhere. Mostly old Japanese people following around the tour guide holding up the flag. Walking around this area I also noticed that almost every shop in Hakodate serves ice cream. They were everywhere…after looking around at all the houses I headed to the northern part of the town where Goryokaku Fort is located. It was completed in 1864 and is shaped like a star.

It is a very historic place because this is where the final battle was fought between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Imperial Army. The fall of the Tokugawa shogunate was the end of the samurai age in Japan, and the rise of the Imperial Army thereafter would lead Japan into a catastrophic war. Walking around the grounds of the fort, it is not that impressive because you can’t see the star shaped moat from ground level. You have to pay to take an elevator up to an observation tower, and from there you will see the star shape as well as the rest of the town. After Goryokaku Fort, I stopped at a restaurant nearby called Lucky Pierrot. It seems to be a chain restaurant around Hokkaido. They serve the closest thing to American burgers, decent size and sloppy. However, I went for the Fried Chicken Curry…I was watching a TV show the day before that featured a curry tasting contest and I was craving it since.

Afterwards I went back to the hotel to take a break and uploaded a lot of pictures on Flickr. I also did a little maintenance work on my bicycle. I took a quick nap and then woke up to upload more pictures. Once I got hungry I walked around the block undecided and finally just headed back towards the hotel to eat at a ramen shop next door. I got the shio ramen with chashu bowl and gyoza. Even after all this food, I didn’t feel full…I haven’t felt full in a long time. I went back to the room and prepared for the ride tomorrow.