Introducing Hakodate
Hour-glass shaped Hakodate, built on a strip of land between two harbours (Hakodate Harbour to the west and Tsugaru Channel to the east) is, for many, the gateway to Hokkaidō. Pinched in the middle and wider at each end, Hakodate was one of the first ports opened under the Kanagawa Treaty of 1854, and as such had a small foreign community. Much of that influence can still be seen in the Motomachi district, a hillside sprinkled with historic buildings and excellent views of the bay.
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Spread out along the water’s edge, the city is best accessed by its trams: most of the sights can be walked to from stops along the way. Buses, trams and trains leave the station regularly. Head west, towards Mt Hakodate (hakodate-yama; 344m) and the Motomachi district, to find most historical sites; Goryō-kaku, Japan’s first Western-style fort, is to the east.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
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