--- title: "Hakodate – what is there, and how you get there | Mixroutes" description: "Hakodate, Japan: Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Nearby: Goryōkaku, Mount Hakodate, Hakodate Orthodox…" url: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/hakodate" markdown: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/hakodate.md" image: "https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Hakodate_Gory%C5%8Dkaku_Park_Sakura_May_2016_5.jpg/1920px-Hakodate_Gory%C5%8Dkaku_Park_Sakura_May_2016_5.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail" --- Core city in Hokkaido, Japan # Hakodate Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. ![Hakodate](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Hakodate_Gory%C5%8Dkaku_Park_Sakura_May_2016_5.jpg/1920px-Hakodate_Gory%C5%8Dkaku_Park_Sakura_May_2016_5.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) Hakodate · Alexander Klink The place Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 households, and a population density of 354 inhabitants per square kilometre (920/sq mi). The total area is 677.86 square kilometres (261.72 sq mi). The city is the third largest in Hokkaido after Sapporo and Asahikawa. Adapted from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakodate), CC BY-SA 4.0. What is there ## Worth seeing in and around Hakodate 10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name. 1. Goryōkaku Goryōkaku is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. The fortress was completed in 1866. 3.9 km · fortress · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gory%C5%8Dkaku) 2. Mount Hakodate Mount Hakodate is an inactive volcanic mountain in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan. The mountain is renowned for its view of the surrounding bay and city. 2.3 km · mountain in Hokkaido, Japan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hakodate) 3. Hakodate Orthodox Church Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church of Hakodate is a Japanese Orthodox Church in the city of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. The first purpose-built Orthodox Christian church to open in Japan was the wooden Russian Consulate chapel of the Resurrection of Christ, in Hakodate, Hokkaido, consecrated in October 1860. 1.5 km · building in Hakodate, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Resurrection_Orthodox_Church_of_Hakodate) 4. Benten Daiba Benten Daiba was a coastal battery constructed in the late Edo period in what is now Benten-chō, Hakodate City, Hokkaido, as one of a group of coastal fortifications built to defend the northern territories of Ezo against the increasing presence of foreign ships. Initially a small-scale Japanese-style battery, in Bakumatsu, it was rebuilt as part of coastal defense enhancements following the opening of Hakodate Port to counter foreign vessels entering the port. 2.2 km · ezo fortress in Hokkaidō, Japan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benten_Daiba) 5. Future University Hakodate Future University Hakodate is a public university in the city of Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, established in 2000. The university's School of Systems Information Science is separated into two departments: the Department of Media Architecture and the Department of Complex and Intelligent Systems. 8.7 km · Japanese public university · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_University_Hakodate) 6. Shiryōkaku Shiryōkaku is a fort in the city of Hakodate in southern Hokkaidō, Japan. It was constructed in April 1869, during the Battle of Hakodate, three kilometres to the northeast of Goryōkaku by 200 soldiers of the former Tokugawa shogunate and 100 local villagers, likely under the direction of Ōtori Keisuke. 7.2 km · Fort in Hakodate, Japan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiry%C5%8Dkaku) 7. Hakodate City Museum of Literature The Hakodate City Museum of Literature opened in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan in 1993. It exhibits materials relating to Ishikawa Takuboku and other contributors to the Hakodate literary scene. 1.3 km · museum in Japan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakodate_City_Museum_of_Literature) 8. Hakodate City Museum Hakodate City Museum is a museum of history and natural history in Hakodate Park, Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan. The forerunner of the current museum, the Hakodate Provisional Museum, building one, opened in May 1879, the second building in 1884, and the third building in 1891. 1.8 km · museum in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakodate_City_Museum) 9. Trappistine Convent Our Lady of the Angels Trappistine Abbey is a women's abbey of Trappists located in the outskirts of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. This is the first women contemplative order of Japan, colloquially known as "The Anjel Garden". 8.1 km · Abbey in Hokkaido, Japan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Angels_Trappistine_Abbey) 10. Hakodate Hachiman Shrine Hakodate Hachiman Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Hakodate, Hokkaido. It is a Hachiman shrine, dedicated to the kami Hachiman. 2.3 km · building in Hakodate, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakodate_Hachimang%C5%AB) Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0. See ## What Wikivoyage says to see 1. Mount Hakodate 2. Fort Goryōkaku 3. Goryōkaku Tower 4. Motomachi 5. Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses 6. Hakodate Museum of Northern Peoples From [Wikivoyage: Hakodate](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Hakodate), CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us. Do ## Things to do Port Festival (函館港まつり Hakodate Minato Matsuri). annually from August 1st to 5th. This is Hakodate's biggest carnival and known for very unique Hakodate Squid Dance (函館いか踊り Hakodate Ika-odori) in its parade Wassyoi Hakodate (ワッショイはこだて Wasshoi Hakodate). The parade is normally in the 2nd and 3rd day (2nd day: Jujigai to Matsukaze-cho, 3rd day: Horikawa-cho to Goryokaku). Also there are a fireworks event in 1st day. 1. Yachigashira Hot Springs 2. Yunokawa Onsen Footbath From [Wikivoyage: Hakodate](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Hakodate), CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us. Eat ## Where to eat Hakodate's signature fish is squid and its signature dish is Hakodate shio rāmen (noodle with salty soup. not to be confused with shoyu ramen), a version of the ubiquitous noodle dish prepared with — you guessed it — squid stock instead of the usual pork. Nearby Mori-machi is also reputed to have Japan's finest ika-meshi, rice-stuffed squid. 1. Hakodate Beer Hall 2. Teuchi Soba Kitawase A small but very charming soba restaurant hidden along the main tram line running east. 3. Tea Shop Yūhi 4. Hokkai Ramen No English menu, but a bit of Ramen lingo gets you far. From [Wikivoyage: Hakodate](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Hakodate), CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us. Go there ## Getting to Hakodate **Airports:** Hakodate (HKD), 8 km · Aomori (AOJ), 115 km · New Chitose (CTS), 137 km\ **Stations:** Hakodate Airport, 7.7 km · Hakodate Station, 600 m · Goryōkaku Station, 3.9 km · Kikyō Station, 8.7 km · Kamiiso Station, 9.2 km\ - Aomori → Hakodate 107 km · quickest by ferry, 5h 8m · ¥5,560–12,010 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/aomori-to-hakodate) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Aomori&to=Hakodate) - Sapporo → Hakodate 152 km · quickest by road, 3h 25m · ¥2,710–3,690 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/sapporo-to-hakodate) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Sapporo&to=Hakodate) - Natori → Hakodate 402 km · quickest by road, 8h 25m · ¥23,125–37,450 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/natori-to-hakodate) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Natori&to=Hakodate) - From anywhere The planner compares every way there from wherever you are. [Plan a trip](https://www.mixroutes.com/?to=Hakodate) Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds. Not yet researched ## No local-transport research exists yet for Hakodate Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Hakodate. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more. What Wikivoyage says about moving around - Get in Ferry Area (Tsugaru Kaikyo Ferry Terminal): ¥4,000-5,000. - Get in Hakodate's main ferry terminal is roughly halfway between Hakodate Station and Goryokaku Station, and a 20-minute walk from Nanae-hama Station on the Isaribi line. - Get in Line 16 and 16A buses connect it to Goryokaku Park, while shuttle buses timed to match ferry arrivals connect it directly to Hakodate Station. - Get in National Route 227 follows the west coast connecting it to Hakodate Station, while taxis around the ferry terminal are best booked in advance for cheaper set prices. - Get in Seikan Ferry and Tsugaru Kaikyo Ferry operate ferry services from Hakodate to Aomori with multiple departures daily. From [Wikivoyage: Hakodate](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Hakodate), CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09. The nearest places where the work is done 1. [Sakhalin](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/sakhalin) RU 9 ways of moving, 15 sources 609 km 2. [Muuido and the Incheon islands](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/muuido) KR 9 ways of moving, 20 sources 1,318 km 3. [Zamami and the Kerama Islands](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/zamami) JP 12 ways of moving, 19 sources 2,120 km 4. [Taketomi and the Yaeyama islands](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/taketomi) JP 12 ways of moving, 17 sources 2,474 km 5. [Matsu Islands](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/matsu) TW 9 ways of moving, 34 sources 2,569 km If you know how people move in Hakodate – the stand, the rule, the fare – [tell us](https://www.mixroutes.com/report?key=blog%7Chakodate&title=Hakodate&sub=Field+notes&back=%2Fnotes%2Fhakodate), and the note gets an entry. Around it ## Next door to Hakodate - [Hokuto](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/hokuto) city in Hokkaidō, Japan 8.8 km - [Kamiiso](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/kamiiso) dissolved municipality in Kamiiso district, Hokkaido, Japan 8.8 km [The place page for Hakodate](https://www.mixroutes.com/places/hakodate) [All the notes](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes) [Every note on Japan](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes#c-JP) --- This is the markdown version of https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/hakodate, for search crawlers and AI assistants. The HTML page is the canonical copy. Mixroutes is made by Lascade LLC, Sharjah Media City, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Index of every page: https://www.mixroutes.com/llms.txt