Hokkaido Autumn Guide: Hakodate Sightseeing and Superb Seafood at the Morning Market!

This is one post of a multi-part series covering our Two weeks Tokyo & Hokkaido Travel Guide:
    ▫ Singapore Airlines Suites Class from Singapore to Tokyo
    ▫ Three Days in Tokyo: Off the Beaten Path
    ▫ Sapporo, Otaru and Cape Kamui: Scenic Self-Drive Guide
    ▫ Furano, Biei, Sounkyou and Asahikawa: Amazing Autumn Colours
    ▫ Jozankei, Noboribetsu and Hakodate: Unparalleled Beauty
    ▫ Scoot's ScootBiz Class from Tokyo to Singapore

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As a quick recap, we're starting the day with breakfast in Noboribetsu Onsen, before taking the 220-ish km drive to the port city of Hakodate! Annoyingly, much of the road has the same 50km/h speed limit as the rest of the island, so travel time is close to four hours.

Along the way, we take a lunch break at the Akaigawa (赤井川) branch of Hakodate's most famous fast food chain: Lucky Pierrot (ラッキーピエロ)!


While the food's the same across all fifteen or so outlets across town, each outlet has its own unique spin on the decor. For example, there's a Santa Claus-themed outlet and an angel-themed one. They're all a little quirky in that uniquely Japanese way.

We tried the Chinese Chicken and Tonkatsu burgers (with chili cheese fries and oolong tea) and were pretty impressed: For a fast food chain, the burgers were pretty darn delicious.


Our hotel for the night is Hakodate Grand Hotel (formerly known as Chisun Grand). At ¥9,500/night + ¥1,000 for parking it's one of the cheapest hotels we've stayed in throughout this trip, but it's also one of the oldest. We did really feel that the hotel could use a nice refurb. View out the window was very nice, though!



With our bags safely stashed, it's time to hit the pavement and see what the city has to offer!


Our first stop for the afternoon is Fort Goryokaku. Initially built as a pentagon-shaped Western-style military fort, it's since been repurposed as a remarkably attractive botanical garden / park. One of its most imposing landmarks is the 107-m tall Goryokaku Tower. On this trip we decided not to go up the tower (¥840/adult); if you do decide to go up though there are observation decks with rather nice views of the fort/park itself.



Photo courtesy of Travel Hakodate.
We decide to use our time exploring and people-watching in the park. There are hints of autumn colours among the maple trees, but by and large this part of the island is still green. It probably won't be until a week or two later in the month before peak autumn colours hit.




We then head back closer to town; intending to walk and explore the areas between the harbor and Mount Kurodake ropeway (cable car station). Hakodate was apparently one of the first towns/cities to be opened up to gaijins (i.e. foreigners i.e. westerners) after the country's era of isolation; so there's a curious mish-mash of European and Japanese influences everywhere. For example, these red brick warehouses (which have now been converted to flea market-type shopping areas mostly for tourists).


Oh, did we mention we also randomly ran across this 'award-winning' rabbit? His name is Panda (パンダくん).


As the sun nears the horizon we start making our way up the Motomachi area to explore the varying architecture around the many sloped streets: Modern concrete buildings dotted with traditional wooden Japanese homes, European-style churches and an old Japanese temple-like structure.




To our horror, our final destination (Mount Hakodate Ropeway Station) is closed for maintenance!! Since the small, windy road up to Mount Hakodate's viewing platforms is closed to private cars from 5pm to 9 or 10pm (depending on season), our only options are to take a pricey taxi, or join the hundreds of people in the queue for the twice-hourly public buses.


We decide to do neither, and head instead to Hakodate's Morning Market for an early dinner. The market stalls are closed, but one legendary restaurant is open: Uni Murakami.


For a full review of the meal/restaurant do visit our guide to 8 foods you must eat in Hokkaido. In a nutshell, though, one cannot journey to Hakodate without having a bowl of uni (sea urchin) on rice at Uni Murakami. It is simply that good.


After 9pm the road up to Mount Hakodate re-opens to public car traffic, so we hop into our Toyota and up the hill we go! We're a tad bit disappointed that we couldn't get to see the city before sunset, but the night view's pretty damn nice as well.



Bring a jacket; it's windy and gets pretty cold up there.

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One last day, one last destination. Turns out we woke up too early (the trams hadn't begun running), so we decided to just walk to the Hakodate Morning Market.


Most people would say this is the best morning market in all of Hokkaido; We tend to agree. There are more stalls selling more stuff - there's the standard barrage of crab, scallop, salmon eggs and other seafood, but also other groceries, fruits, and even some souvenirs on display.



If you're in a decent-sized group (or have huge appetites), many of the shops have basic cooking facilities and will grill (or boil) a king crab for you. Or if you're more adventurous, do try one of Hakodate's specialities: The Dancing Squid. We decided to 'play it safe' and settled for a bowl of Bukkake Seafood Rice Bowl at Kikuyo Shokudo Honten.


Sadly, all good things must come to an end; the Morning Market marking the end of our vacation. The rest of the day's spent travelling: After returning our rental car (quick, uneventful, efficient), we take a 'Hokuto' JR Limited Express train to the New Chitose Airport. If you're also planning to take the train do take note that it's not very frequent (1-1½ hours per train), and the reserved seats can and do run out, so consider buying your ticket a day or two earlier.


After an evening JetStar flight to Narita Airport, we spend the night at what must be the smallest hotel room we've ever seen: APA Hotel Keisei Narita Ekimae. You don't get much real estate for just under ¥7,000, I guess.



Dinner was a simple affair at a random izakaya: Food was decent for a 'serve everything' kind of joint.

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With our bellies filled, we retire back to the hotel for a depressing night's sleep as it's the end of our holiday. It's not the end of this series, though. In the coming days we'll have a final post about our 'Business Class' flight from Tokyo back to Singapore on Scoot Airlines!

In the meantime, and if you haven't read it already, do visit our previous post in this series for amazing autumn colours at Hoheikyo Dam, Jozankei Onsen and Noboribetsu.

Hokkaido Food Guide: Eight Foods you totally must eat in Hokkaido!

This is one post of a multi-part series covering our Two weeks Tokyo & Hokkaido Travel Guide:
    ▫ Singapore Airlines Suites Class from Singapore to Tokyo
    ▫ Three Days in Tokyo: Off the Beaten Path
    ▫ Sapporo, Otaru and Cape Kamui: Scenic Self-Drive Guide
    ▫ Furano, Biei, Sounkyou and Asahikawa: Amazing Autumn Colours
    ▫ Jozankei, Noboribetsu and Hakodate: Unparalleled Beauty
    ▫ Scoot's ScootBiz Class from Tokyo to Singapore

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Hokkaido is as much a foodie destination as it is a sightseeing one. Japan's northern-most island is legendary for the variety and quality of seafood fished up from the surrounding icy cold waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk.

It's not just the seafood, though, that's such a big attraction; Hokkaido's milk, dairy, fruits and other agricultural produce farmed from hundreds of thousands of hectares of pristine, unpolluted farm land is supplied to the rest of Japan. The percentages are staggering: 50% of all milk and 90% of all cheese consumed in Japan comes from Hokkaido!

This abundance of fresh, high-quality ingredients naturally translates to an abundance of restaurants and other eateries; each putting its own spin on the art of cooking up delicious, amazing food. We've put together a list of nine different foods that you really must try if you're visiting. Let's begin!

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1. Genghis Khan or Jingisukan (ジンギスカン)
➡ Lamb and Mutton charcoal-grilled on a cast iron dome


It's pretty amusing that this Hokkaido specialty is named after a person. Legend has it that the cast iron dome used to cook the meat looks like the helmets of Mongolian soldiers, hence Jingisukan. Get it? No, we don't quite get it either. There are dozens of places around Sapporo that serve up this delicacy, including the Sapporo Beer Garden, but we head to a smaller, more specialized shop: Daruma Honten (だるま本店)


Like many Japanese eateries it's tiny, with circular seating for just a dozen (or so) diners. We recommend coming not much later than the 5:00pm dinner opening time otherwise there's likely to be a long queue. Once you've taken your seats, with the charcoal restocked under your semi-personal cast iron helmet, onions at the ready and a mighty knob of melting lamb fat up top greasing the pan, it's time to eat! Ordering is a breeze: Just say ご飯 ('gohan') if you want some rice, ビール ('bi-ru') when your mug is empty, 肉 ('niku') when you're out of raw mutton, and drink and eat to your heart's content!


Once your meat's done, give it a quick dip in the provided soy-based dipping sauce, and eat. It's an amazing experience; the ventilation system does a champion job of keeping the small room relatively smoke-free. Note that smoke-free doesn't mean odor-free: as you can probably imagine, your hair and clothes will most definitely smell like charcoal-grilled meat for hours.


Once you're done, a quick ごちそうさまでした ('gochisou sama deshita') will prompt the servers to bring you the cheque. Prices depend on how many bowls of mutton and mugs of beer you ordered, of course, but ¥2,500 is a good estimate for a person of average appetite (and thirst). Pay, leave the restaurant and try to hide your utter satisfaction from the two dozen poor sods queue'ing outside in the cold.

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2. Butter Corn Ramen (バターコーンらーめん)
➡ Soupy Noodles with corn and a knob of butter


For some reason we had the idea that when Hokkaido's populace eats noodle soup, they only eat miso ramen with corn and butter. I'm not sure where we got that stereotype from, but in reality the ramen shops serve up all sorts of broths - shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), tonkotsu (pork bone) and of course, miso (soy bean paste).

If you're in Sapporo, the secluded Ramen Alley, tucked away in a small alley in the entertainment and nightlife district of Susukino is your best bet. There are over a dozen different stalls, many of which are staffed with just one or two people, all of which serve up differing interpretations of the beloved noodle soup. We've got no idea which of the stalls is the best; suffice to say our instinctual choice - Butter Corn Seafood Miso Ramen at Teshigaka Ramen (弟子屈ラーメン) was delicious (if a little oily), and should satisfy all but the most fussy of ramen eaters.


Up North, in Hokkaido's second largest city, the Asahikawa Ramen Village brings together eight of the most well known ramen shops in one convenient location. We face a similar quandary of having too many choices; if like us you're only visiting once, it really does boil down to what you feel is the most attractive shop.


For us, our feelings lead us to Saijo Ramen (最上ラーメン), to try their rather unique Ukokkei Ramen (烏骨鶏ラーメン). It's a clear, Silkie Chicken based broth with ginger as a strong secondary flavour component, and actually tastes really good! It's a pretty refreshing bowl of soup and doesn't have that heaviness that pork-based broths sometimes have. Highly recommended.


As is generally the case in the rest of Japan, a bowl of Ramen doesn't fluctuate too far from the ¥1,000 price tag.

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3. Kaisen Don (海鮮丼)
➡ Assorted fresh, raw seafood on a bed of warm steamed rice


Finally, some seafood! Kaisen Don is a catch-all term to describe any sort of seafood on warm, un-vinegared rice, and is deliciously eaten as an early morning breakfast. Morning Markets are the best places to get your eat on; for example the Curb Market in Sapporo. There are multiple shops littered around the market; just go wherever your instinct (or your nose) takes you.


While there are some standard bowl names - 三色丼 ('sanshoku don' meaning three coloured rice bowl) for instance - essentially you can mix and match whatever seafood items you feel like having. We recommend that you at least try scallops and ikura (salted salmon eggs) - we found that these two items were consistently superior eaten fresh in Hokkaido as compared to back home in Singapore.


You need to travel down South to the port city of Hakodate to find the king of Morning Markets, though. This market is more famous, more busy and more well stocked than any of the others on the island. Naturally there are also more restaurants (which means a bigger headache in deciding which one to eat at); We decided on Kikuyo Shokudo (きくよ食堂).


If you're up for something a little more adventurous, try out their ぶっかけ丼: A mish mash of salmon, squid, salmon eggs, avocado and raw quail's egg, which ends up with a somewhat unusual creamy, sticky texture but is still utterly delicious anyway.


Prices greatly depend on what type of seafood you order; but in general budget ¥1,500 all the way up to ¥4,000 per bowl.

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4. Uni Donburi (うに丼)
➡ This Sea Urchin kaisendon deserves a category of its own


Technically, Uni-don is also a form of Kaisen-don; but we're giving it a category on its' own because of how utterly delicious this morsel from the sea is. Sea urchin is highly perishable, so it is almost always soaked in an alum-salt solution as a preservative so that it survives the journey to export destination. As a result, lower-quality uni, or uni that has been sitting in the fridge for a day can sometimes have a little metallic, hint of bitterness that ruins the taste.

No such problems at Uni Murakami! All the sea urchin served here is fresh and preservative-free (the company's main business is actually uni packing and distribution), and is creamy, sweet, umami deliciousness.


A half-and-half of Uni and Ikura is also actually pretty good; The salt from the salmon eggs complements the sweet uni, and the small 'pops' when each egg bursts open gives an additional textural dimension.


We also tried a couple of side dishes: The Uni Gratin wasn't too bad (more cream than uni though), but the BBQ'ed Uni (焼きうに) dried out the sea urchin and in our opinion ruined it.


If you have Hakodate in your itinerary, you must visit Uni Murakami to know just how heavenly really good sea urchin tastes like. Around ¥4,500 per person.

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5. Soup Curry (スープカレー)
➡ Soup + Curry = Soup Curry


Do you like Soup?
Do you like Curry?

Then Sapporo totally has your back with its Soup Curry creation! It's exactly what it sounds: An interesting mixture of soup base and Japanese Curry, with your choice of meat.


There are many shops around Sapporo serving up this concoction; We tried Dominica's offering thanks to it's decently convenient location and quirky interior design.


Ordering is a four-choice process: Choose your soup base, choose your meat, then your rice size (weight) and finally spice level. If you're from an Asian country used to spicy food, you should easily be able to handle a spice level 4 or 5.


Soup Curry isn't too pricey - ¥1,000 per person or thereabouts inclusive of a bowl of basic salad.

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6. In-room Kaiseki (懐石)
➡ Traditional Japanese multi-course dinner served in the comfort of your room


Kaiseki Ryori is a traditional Japanese multi-course dinner. The number and type of courses typically follow a very similar structure: For example there is normally an alcoholic aperitif like a plum wine, followed by appetizers and sashimi before moving on to steamed, hot pot, meat and other dishes. What isn't constant is the menu, which is changed constantly to follow the availability of ingredients in the four different seasons of the year.


One thing you have to try, though, is having this Kaiseki Ryori meal served in your hotel room. This is typically offered by most of the better ryokans or onsen resorts; We had ours in Dai-Ichi Takimotokan in Noboribetsu Onsen.


The food is cooked en-masse and served all at once (instead of one course at a time as you'd get in a proper restaurant) so quality does disappoint a little; but the experience of having this dinner while lounging in bath robes and in the comfort and privacy of your own room more than makes up for it.

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7. Crab Cuisine Dinner (かに料理)
➡ Snow Crab, Hairy Crab and King Crab deliciousness


The waters around Hokkaido are home to three different crab species (in ascending order of price): ズワイガニ ('Zuwaigani' i.e. Snow Crab), 毛がに ('Kegani' i.e. Hairy Crab) and タラバ ('Taraba' i.e. King Crab). The best way to sample all three together is to visit a Crab specialty restaurant and have a crab cuisine dinner! We visited Sapporo's Kani Honke for their Hokkaido Hairy Crab Set Menu for two (¥13,200) - there were some hits and some misses, but overall it was an interesting induction into the world of Hokkaido crab.


Do check out our complete review of Kani Honke here.

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8. Yakiniku (焼肉)
➡ Assorted cuts of charcoal-grilled beef


So technically Yakiniku isn't a Hokkaido specialty, but we decided we'd put it in anyway. Gyu-Kaku is a huge yakiniku chain - with over 800 restaurants in Japan alone - including the outlet at Otaru which we dined at.


The way Japanese eat Yakiniku is multiple small orders of different cuts of beef - some short rib, some tongue, some stomach and some intestines, for example - all grilled over smokeless binchō-tan charcoal, and washed down with suitable amounts of beer.


It's delicious, comfort food, and utterly perfect for dinner when it's cold, windy and rainy outside. Estimate ¥2,000 and up per person depending on your appetite and thirst!

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If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and we do sincerely hope you'll try every single food item we've listed in your up-coming trip to Hokkaido! The island really is a food-lovers paradise -- we're already looking at our bank accounts and trying to figure out how long it'll take to recover before it can fund our next Hokkaido trip. Bon appetit, and do feel free to leave us any questions or comments below!