Hakodate and the (Almost) Clear Skies!!!

After Lake Toya we have travelled to Hakodate, which is a coastal city in the south of Hokkaido. The city itself isn't much to look at, but it does have some fun things to do.

First up we trekked to the Goryoku fort which was a stronghold built by the Tokugawa Shogunate, but is now completely flattened. All that remains is the star shaped moat. I nearly got us lost getting there, but thankfully the guide book described a “hideous looking tower” nearby which I was able to use as a navigation beacon. Hurrah for poor aesthetics!

We then took the tram over to the foot of Mt Hakodate and then the ropeway (ropeways are clearly the “in” thing in Japan) to the observation point at the top. I was particularly excited about this since an anime I liked (Noein) was based in Hakodate and featured the observatory and ropeway a number of times. The view from the top was quite nice:


After that we wandered around a bit and took in a number of other sites before collapsing back at the hotel. Tomorrow is Hirosaki, a historical town… I sure hope it has Internet access!

Update: Why yes it does! Hurrah! Also, photos available here.