| Pricing Guide (Avg. cost per person) | ¥1000 |
| Opening Hours | 11:00 - 23:00 |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 011-3822-6772 |
| Notes | Chinese restaurant, Japanese menu only |
| Location / Getting There | Located in central Hakodate. It is only a 4 minute walk south east from Hakodate station. It can be found near many of the hotels along route 278. 19-1 Wakamatsucho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0063 |
Hakodate is a popular destination for many sightseers. Dotted between the hotels, you can find Hakodate Menya Yumin. This is a Chinese restaurant and has a solid menu of noodles, rice dishes and meat dishes to name a few. The menu only comes in Japanese but that isn’t a big problem as the dishes are all pictured so its easy to find what you want. This restaurants main dish is a bowl of steaming ramen. These Chinese noodles with pork will satisfy any hungry guest.
Hakodate Menya Yumin was established in 1946 and seems to be a well known restaurant among the locals. The entrance is adorned with signatures from well known people. Being only a short walk from Hakodate station is an added bonus. Apart from the ramen on the menu, they have a lot of other well known Chinese dishes to choose. These include sweet and sour pork, fried rice, spicy tofu, gyoza (steam-fried dumplings), and garlic shrimp. At Yumin, they also serve beer, whiskeys, and soft drinks.
| Cost per night | ¥3000 - ¥6000 per room |
| Check-in | 15:00 |
| Check-out | 10:00 |
| Contact | 013-824-381 https://www.unizo-hotel.co.jp |
| Restaurant | Yes. One restaurant & cafe 7:00 - 10:30 (last order 10:00) Breakfast 11:30 - 14:30 (last order 14:00) Lunch 17:00 - 1:00 (last order 00:30) Dinner |
| Wi-fi | Yes |
| Parking | Yes for ¥600 per night |
| Notes | Amenities in room, coin-operated laundry, vending machines, AED, smoking and non smoking rooms |
| Location | Located in central Hakodate it's a 5 minute walk south east from Hakodate station. 18-19 Wakamatsu-cho, Hakodate City, Hokkaido Prefecture, 040-0063 |
Unizo Inn Express is part of the Unizo Hotel chain throughout Japan. It is perfect for those traveling on a budget and offers comfortable and affordable rooms. The rooms come in standard single, semi-double, and twin bed rooms. The rooms are small but offer everything you need. All the rooms come with full amenities. The hotel being in central Hakodate, makes it close to many of the attractions and is a good starting out point. For those with cars, there is a small parking area at the hotel. This parking is not free unfortunately, and has an hourly rate (though the maximum rate is ¥800 for 12 hours).
The hotel has a restaurant. The restaurant is called Jingisukan Ram-Waka and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The breakfast is a western and Japanese style buffet. The ingredients for all their dishes uses local ingredients from Hokkaido. There are many restaurants around the area and a few places to grab a drink. This area has many hotels in it but if you are looking for a basic place to stay, then Unizo Inn Express is a very affordable option. Plus, being in Japan, even the cheaper hotels are clean and well presented.
| Admission | Free to walk or drive up |
| Admission for ropeway | ¥1500 adult round trip ¥700 children/students round trip |
| Opening Hours | Ropeway 10:00 - 22:00 Operates every 15 minutes from 10:00 to 22:00 (until 21:00 from mid October to late April). |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 013-823-3105 Ropeway 013-827-3127 Restaurant |
| Notes | Sightseeing spot, stunning night views, parking, wheelchair access, restaurant, souvenir store, take out store |
| Location / Getting There | The ropeway station is a 10 minute walk from Jujigai tram stop (5 minutes, ¥210 from Hakodate Station). By direct bus. From late April to mid November, there are multiple direct buses per hour between Hakodate Station and the summit of Mount Hakodate in the evenings (30 minutes, ¥400). The buses are covered by the day passes for trams and buses. By car. The toll-free road to the summit of Mount Hakodate is open from mid April to mid November. The road is closed to individual car traffic in the evenings between 17:00 and 22:00. |
Mt. Hakodate is one of the main attractions of the city of Hakodate. The mountain is a prominent feature overlooking the city and stands at 334 metres. It can be found on the southern headland and it is most famous for its stunning night views. It has been voted as one of the top three night viewing spots in the whole of Japan! While visiting Hakodate it is a must see during any season. At the top, besides the views, there is a restaurant, observatory, rest area, souvenir store, and tea store.
There are three ways to get to the top. The most popular mode of transport is the use of the gondola (it is the most used gondola in all of Japan!). The ropeway station has parking at the bottom and operates all year round. The gondola offers great views on the way up. There is parking at the summit, and a winding road to drive up for those with their own transport but this road is closed during winter once the snow arrives. For those more adventurous and fitter , there are walking trails to the top (it takes about 40 minutes to the top). You can hike to the top throughout the year. Anyway you get to the top, the views and facilities make this a must see in Hakodate!
| Opening Hours | 9:00 - 18:00 |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 011-3824-8108 |
| Notes | Supermarket, shopping hall, souvenir shop, tax free, parking available (at Mitsui nearby), |
| Location / Getting There | It's only a 2 minute walk from Suehirocho station. It's also an 18 minute walk from Hakodate station. It's right by the old red brick warehouses shopping district. 24-6 Suehirocho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0053 |
Hakodate Nishi Hatoba (known as the ‘west wharf’ in english), is a seafood market, souvenir and large shopping warehouse. Here, you can walk through this shopping area which has an atmospheric beauty. Old wooden floorboards, warm lighting from rustic light shades, and Japanese written hangings, makes this market a pleasant place to walk around and peruse the local wares. Hakodate being a harbor city, this market sells mainly seafood, and they have a lot of produce, 2,000 types of products! For those traveling from abroad, you can pick up some souvenirs, and being tax free is a real bonus.
Hakodate Factory is part of the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse area and is a popular sightseeing spot. They have a tonne of seafood products that make for a great gift to take home, or to give as a present. These items include a variety of fish, salmon, eggs, kelp, squid, octopus, and crab. They have livestock products such as ham and sausages, and agricultural items grown fresh in Hokkaido. They also have dairy, plus ramen, curries, and famous sweets. In addition, you can try the raw delicacies such as the local “Matsumaezuke” (pickled seaweed with shredded squid), or the dried delicacies such as the popular “dried scallop”. Around the area they have restaurants including the famous Lucky Pierrot, a Starbucks, cafes, and other shopping outlets. This is a great day out in Hakodate.
| Opening Hours | 9:30 - 18:00 |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 0138-27-5530 |
| Notes | Shopping complex, historical site, free Wifi, wheelchair access & rental, no smoking, tax free shopping, rental bicycles, lockers, baby stroller rental, breast feeding room, pay phone, no pets, no outside food, currency exchange machine, parking available at ¥400 an hour |
| Location / Getting There | It's only a 2 minute walk from Suehirocho station. It's also an 18 minute walk from Hakodate station. It's right by the old red brick warehouses shopping district. 14-12 Suehirocho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0053 |
Sitting on the old Hakodate pier, the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse is a commercial shopping area. Kumashiro Watanabe founded the first warehouse business in Hakodate, which lead to the current site. Constructed in 1909, it consists of four large facilities. Hakodate Port opened up to international trading. The Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse, over its history, has seen countless people and cultures trade within its walls. The area has changed very little. This area is a great spot to walk around and enjoy the history of the place.
The Red Brick Warehouses are divided into four areas. Bay Hakodate, Kamemori Yobutsukan, Hakodate History Plaza, and Kanemori Hall. Bay Hakodate includes numerous stores, such as souvenir shops, boutiques, tax free stores, art and craft stores like Malaika, restaurants and cafes, plus a wine museum. Kamemori Yobutsukan, as with Bay Hakodate, has an array of twenty four stores including boutiques, interior stores, arts and crafts. Hakodate Plaza has fewer shops, but has a large beer hall with a couple of other stores, and the last warehouse is the Kanemori Hall. The hall is a concert hall that has regular shows on. Points of interest around the warehouse include the Girl in the Red Shoes, and the First Place of Entering Hokkaido.
| Admission | Free |
| Opening Hours | Open 24 hours |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 011-3826-3753 |
| Notes | Sightseeing spot, historical landmark, walking spot, no parking (paid parking nearby) |
| Location / Getting There | It's only a 2 minute walk from Suehirocho station. It's also an 18 minute walk from Hakodate station. It's right by the old red brick warehouses shopping district. 23 Suehirocho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0053 |
The statue of the girl on the red shoes has a sad and fascinating background. The actual origins can be traced back to a poem ‘Akai Kutsu’ (which translates to red shoes), written in 1922 by Ujō Noguchi. The poem is about a young girl in red shoes taken to a foreign country by a foreigner. This short poem is based on the real life of Iwasaki Kimi (July 15, 1902 – September 15, 1911), though there has been disagreement on the accuracy of this story. The story is of Kimi, and her mother, Kayo moving to Hokkaido (hence the three statues in the prefecture), to start a new life with Kayo’s new husband.
Living on a farm and due to the harsh living conditions Kayo entrusted Kimi’s upbringing to a pair of married American missionaries by the name of Hewitt. The missionaries planned to return to America and bring Kimi with them. Unfortunately, the tale takes a sad turn, as Kimi died of tuberculosis before going away at the age of 9. Kayo, not seeing her daughter again, spent her life believing Kimi had gone to America with the Hewitts. There are six statues throughout Japan, with three in Hokkaido, one in Hakodate, Otaru, and in Rusutsu.
