HOME > Featured City > Japan/Hakodate-City Profile

Hakodate was the last stage for Takeaki Enomoto, Toshizo Hijikata and other men to pursue their dreams in the upheavals of the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration. It is the city that was depicted in many beautiful poems of Takuboku Ishikawa, a wandering poet gifted with remarkable talent. After sunset, its streets glitter like a jewelry box in the dark. The fantastic view is among the world’s most beautiful night views. Hakodate is located in the southwestern part of Hokkaido. As the city has an excellent natural port, trading by marine transport prospered from long ago. In 1859, Hakodate was opened as one of Japan’s first trading ports under the US-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce, along with Yokohama and Nagasaki, because it was busy with many trading ships as a gateway to Hokkaido since the days when the island was called Ezochi. The port is also known as the Tomoe-ko (comma-shaped port) because of its favorable landform with a deep cove. After achieving dramatic prosperity since the opening of the port, the city -- mainly the western area around Motomachi extending from the port to the foot of Mt. Hakodate -- developed under direct influence of Western culture. A stylish atmosphere unique to Hakodate fills the streets lined with churches and temples in the styles of different countries, old consulates and buildings from the Meiji and Taisho eras. The new Meiji government changed the writing of Hakodate in Chinese characters in 1869, when it renamed Ezochi as Hokkaido. Hakodate made remarkable progress in the Taisho era as a base of salmon and trout fisheries and floating crab canneries in the North Pacific. It is further growing today as an international tourist city. While you can reach Hakodate by various means of transportation like air, rail, sea, and bus, you must be careful because some services may be limited in number or the operation schedule may vary greatly by season. By air There are not many flights. From Sapporo approx.40 min. From Sendai approx.1 hr. From Tokyo approx.1 hr.30 min. From Osaka approx.1 hr.40 min. From Nagoya approx.1 hr.30 min. By rail From Sapporo by “Super Hokuto” limited express, etc. Approx. 3 hr. 30 min. From Tokyo/Sendai by “Hokutosei” limited express sleeper, or by “Hayate” bullet train and “Super Hakucho” limited express. ◆ approx. 6 hr. 30 min. (Hayate/Super Hakucho Form Tokyo) ◆ approx. 11 hr. 30 min. (Hokutosei Form Tokyo) ◆ approx. 4 hr. 40 min.(Form Sendai) From Osaka “Nihonkai #1” limited express sleeper Approx.17 hr. 40 min. (Hokutosei) By highway bus From Sapporo “Kosoku Hakodate-go” highway bus service is operated by Chuo Bus, Donan Bus and Hokuto Kotsu. From Sapporo: approx. 5 hr. By ferry There are services from Aomori and Oma. From Aomori From Aomori: approx. 3 hr. 50 min. From Oma approx. 1 hr. 40 min.