Day 5 (Part 3): Motomachi and Suehiro

Day 5 (Part 2): Hakodate can be accessed here.

Day 6 (Part 1): Goryokaku can be accessed here.

Restaurant Genova at Mt. Hakodate

Some spillover from the last post as it was getting really too long. ^^; Restaurant Genova is located on the second floor of the Mt Hakodate Ropeway summit station and you can't miss it as you are heading up to the 3F and outside for the scenery. Was really lucky to have secured a window table and the night view was absolutely breathtaking. Had the Bavarois Hokkaido (ババロア北海道) set which came with royal milk tea for 1,030 yen (about 13 SGD). The creamy dessert which was shaped like Mt. Hakodate was similar to custard but thickened with gelatin instead of flour and was not overly sickening. Once again, the staff was absolutely effusive and enthusiastic in their service offering to help me take photos but somehow the camera lens was dirty and most of the shots came out really bad. ):

Bavarois Hokkaido
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Pardon the white spots but the view was absolutely stunning.

Motomachi 元町

As most of the tourists up on Mt. Hakodate came in tour buses, once I left the bustling ropeway station it was back to much appreciated peace and quiet (and also maybe the fact that I'm not hearing so much Chinese again). After Hakodate harbour was opened to foreign trade in 1854, Motomachi became a district favoured by the many traders from Russia, China and the West as they moved to Hakodate. This explains the many impressive foreign looking buildings that remain in the area till today.

Hakodate Episcopal Church

Hakodate Russian Orthodox Church

Motomachi Roman Catholic Church

Took a detour to the Motomachi Park (元町公園) as I really liked the quietness of the area and just wanted to chillax (yet again, but this time round without having to deal with restaurant customers and the clinking of cutlery). I personally find it really nice to be in a huge historic district with no one in sight, just wandering around stopping here and there to admire the architecture and metalwork.

I forgot what this place was but it was really pretty (and huge, given the distance I was from)

Had always wondered why Victorian-esque attire was so cumbersome.

Suehiro 未広町

Hakodate Bay Area 函館ベイエリア

By the time I got to the bay area it was already close to 8 pm, so the usual souvenir and tourist trap shops particularly at the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses (金森赤レンガ倉庫) were closed. Did slightly regret not reaching earlier to check out the assorted curios at the Kanemori Western Goods Mall (金森洋物館) which apparently had a rich history of having goods hail from all corners of the world. Walking along the pier was a totally different yet similarly relaxing experience compared to the stroll around Motomachi district. Perhaps I should have had some good draft at the Beer Hall Restaurant located nearby, but ultimately decided not to as I was headed for my planned dinner spot soon.

The warehouses from the distance... can't tell they are red at night but the lights were amazing

Ah yes, another nice restaurant and perhaps the least tourist trap-ish out of the other restaurants in the region. Too bad they were already closing by the time I reached.

Reminded me a bit of Otaru ^^

Dining by the bay would have been an awesome experience... something to do when I revisit Hakodate ^^

The Hakodate Factory is one of the bay's shopping mall, together with a seafood restaurant

So cute!~ It's the teddy bear of love at the Nishihatoba Museum ^^

Hasegawa Store ハセガワ ストア ベイエリア店
Address: 北海道函館市末広町23-5

I had to decide between two fantastic chains in Hakodate, the Hasegawa store for its yakitori and Lucky Pierrot for its burgers. Naturally gravitated towards the yakitori as this was a trip to Japan and I already had some Western dessert earlier at Mt. Hakodate. The owner was quite the huge fan of GLAY and was extremely helpful in offering to make sense of all the different parts of the pig and cow they were using for their yakitori. Not only did you have good service, the savoury yakitori was done on the spot and was super affordable for the asking prices. Also had a bowl of miso soup as foreigner service ^^; and it was just the right thing after walking in the cold outdoors for a while, so thoughtful of them!

This is like the devil's choice. Perhaps I should have went into both ^^;

Some yakitori grilling in action (and also the ordering process partly pictured on the left)

Pork soft bone (top left), shio chicken wing (top right), chicken skin (bottom left), pork belly (bottom right)... of course the bottom sticks are more varied but I can't recall all of them. ^^;
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Shinano しなの
Address: 北海道函館市若松町20-10

Decided to take the more scenic route back to the hotel by walking and it actually was not that great an idea. What seemed to be just a few streetcar stops away was actually 2-3 kilometres away. But just as well, I needed to walk off the yakitori for yet another unplanned dinner stop. Emi said I must must must try shio ramen in Hakodate and there was a perfect location to do so by the station, so off I went. On first glance, the place seems to be your standard hole-in-the-wall Japanese ramen place but looks can be deceiving. Had expected a somewhat salty shio ramen (by virtue of its name), but it turned out to be refreshingly light yet not bland. The one thick slick of chashu was the highlight of the dish as it simply melted in your mouth and had its porky taste blend perfectly with the broth. Ordered the standard gyoza only to regret as they had the hanegyoza with wings!~ But it was also quite well done with the tender filling overflowing with meat juice. More importantly they sold 'Goryokaku chopsticks' which they boast to be the first to do so and would definitely not let your ramen slip off. Basically they are pentagonal shaped chopsticks and the indent on the different sticks help you to better giap the noodles. ^^

Really like the design of the various Sapporo Beer posters ^^

Jan!~ The super yummy shio ramen ^^
Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Night View Bar EsteLado 夜景バー エステラード

Address: Loisir Hotel Hakodate 13F

Decided that I should not retire that early for the night (11 pm sounded early for a traveller ^^;) so headed to the hotel's Night View Bar EsteLado to chillax. My order of coffee kind of stood out from the rest in a bar (because drinking alone was no fun) so the lady sitting next to me struck up a conversation with me. Apparently she was on her way back to Sapporo after a work trip to Tokyo and decided to make a stopover at Hakodate. I'm so envious, this is the kind of travel that you can never do in space-constrained Singapore. Was quite interesting hearing from a fresh graduate her experience in a Japanese company (well duh, Japanese of course Japanese company la) and I have lost much of my initial enthusiasm to work in Japan. ^^; Our conversation was cut short as the bar closed at midnight (?!) but it was fun meeting and making new friends.

Taken from their website as I was too paiseh at first to stand up and take and then too engrossed in talking later

The most conspicuous cup of coffee I've ever had.

For Japan's first star-shaped fort, click here!