Hokkaido Itinerary: 10D Autumn Road Trip 2019 below RM5,000
By: Jason How Zhi Yeong
Tags: Itinerary, Japan, Hokkaido, Roadtrip, Travel

Day 3: Hakodate

After saying a hard goodbye to Lake Toya, we started our 3 hours drive to Hakodate (tips: pump your petrol before you start the journey). Hakodate is located near the southern tip of Hokkaido, it is a sophisticated port city that has buildings combining European and other international cultures together with Japanese culture.

After checking out the city, we decided to spend 2 nights staying in Share Hotels Hakoba Hakodate to explore the different must-visit attractions in Hakodate. Share Hotels is strategically located near the famous Hachiman-zaka Slope and the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse; there are also multiple parking spots around the hotel as well.

Onuma Quasi-National Park

Before arriving at Hakodate, there is a must-visit attraction that you should not miss if you are driving from Lake Toya and that’s Onuma Quasi-National Park. Located just only 20km north of Hakodate, Onuma Park is famous its picturesque, island dotted lakes and majestic volcano, Mount Komagatake.

The park is beautifully designed with attractive walking courses to explore the lakes’ peninsulas and islands, several of which are connected with each other by small bridges, in easy 15–60 minute walks. Due to time constraint, we spent about 2 hours in this magical place before driving to Hakodate for lunch.

After Onuma Park, we drove straight to this must-eat tiny ramen store, Hakodate Ramen Kamomë run by an old Japanese uncle.

For only 1,300 yen, you get to enjoy a full bowl ramen filled all types of fresh seafood. It’s definitely one of the best ramens I had in Japan, hopefully the old Japanese uncle still run the store when I visit Hakodate next time.

Hakodate Morning Market

After lunch, we had a quick visit at the Hakodate Morning Market which is directly opposite of the ramen store. In addition to enjoying seafood bowls in restaurants, there’s also a shop where you can fish for squid, Hakodate’s specialty, inside the market. The workers will slice the squid you’ve caught into sashimi (raw seafood) on the spot for you.

Hokkaido is also famous for their sweet and delicious Hokkaido Melon, a fruit that you must try out in Hokkaido, we bought the melon for picnic at the park later.

Miharashi Park (Kosetsuen)

After that, we took a short drive to the Miharashi Park which is famous for their beautiful koyo or autumn leaves. This park features a Japanese-style garden consisting of an old Japanese-style building and many garden trees, creates a dreamy atmosphere especially during autumn season.

I hope you don’t mind the spam of photos up there but that’s exactly how astonishing is the autumn sceneries in Miharashi Park.

Mount Hakodate

Slightly before evening, we drove to Mount Hakodate, being famous for its million-dollar night view. To enjoy the night view, you will need to take the the ropeway from the base of Mt. Hakodate to reach the summit in about 5 minutes. Please remember to wear enough clothing as it is very cold at the summit and wind could be strong depending on the season.

Opposite the city view, the sunset is unexpectedly stunning at the other side before the night arrives. Known as one of Japan’s three best night views, the night view from the summit is indeed spectacular, showing the contrast between the city lights, buildings, port and the dark blue ocean.

Lucky Pierrot

After a long day, we had our dinner at Lucky Pierrot Bay Area Main Shop nearby our hotel. Lucky Pierrot is a local burger chain, serving themed burgers that are out of this world. Every shop has fun and creative design; furthermore you can only find this not so ordinary fast food chain in Hakodate. For dinner, we tried their famous juicy burger and Japanese-style curry.