To Hakodate (函馆) with Love

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23rd December 2008 ~ Tokyo to Hokkaido

It took us about 6 hours by train from Tokyo to Hakodate. Starting at 8.56am, our day was almost gone when we finally reached Hakodate Station at 3pm in the afternoon. There were no major complains as the trains were clean and on schedule. Light snow greeted us as we marched out from the train station this afternoon which sent a smile on everybody’s faces. Afterall, it was not an everyday affair that we could see snow falling from the skies before our eyes.


We managed to reach the Toyoko Inn Hotel at 3.40pm but was told to hang around in the lobby as the “standard check-in time was 4pm.” Armed with discount coupons which we tore from the train magazine, we managed to slice off yet another 1,000 yen from our room rate. One great thing about Toyoko Inn was its huge signboard. We never had to worry about losing our direction to the hotel. The complimentary breakfast and dinner that came together with our room rate was a pleasant welcome.


The sun started setting at 4pm today and by 4.30pm, everywhere was pitched dark in the city.


Hakodate is the gateway to Hokkaido (北海道) and this southern port city is famous for its scenery, western architectures and fresh seafood. With its efficient public tram system, it was surprisingly easy to get around this relaxed city. The atmosphere was quite different from Tokyo where everything happens at a frentic pace.


Two days were adequate to cover Hakodate and it was easy to fall in love with this relaxed city. I was glad that we managed to allocate enough time to explore this city at our own leisurely pace.

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