2010 Winter Hokkaido Day 2 - Hakodate

The next day, I woke up early to see the nearby morning market. It was a disappointment as it was pretty small and quiet. Not sure if it was due to the season.

 

 

 

 

Had my breakfast at Kikuyo - a shop that sells sashimi dons.

 

Apparently some famous personalities who came to their shop before, although I cannot recognize their names.

 

You can choose your don with your desired variety of raw seafood. I took scallops, crab, uni and roe. The scallops, though raw, had a slight crunchy texture to it. The roe was savoury and delightful. The crab was actually cooked and seasoned with soy sauce. The uni deserves a really special mention. Unlike the ones I have eaten before, the uni here tasted very light and was not fishy at all. It was also very soft and falls apart as you press it between the palate and tongue.

 

There were small shops around that could grill seafood for you on the spot, so I stepped into one.

 

I tried the abalone. It was not seasoned, yet salty enough. The natural taste of the sea. It was not overly chewy and you can easily bite through it.

 

After breakfast I was headed to Onuma Koen, a quasi national park. The Hakodate train station:

 

My purpose there was to trek to a spot for a photo of a particular mountain. It was snowing; my hands and face were numb and my ears hurt each time the wind blew. After trekking for perhaps at least 30 mins and more than kilometre, I found my path blocked by snow, so I only returned with a couple of shots.

 

 

Look at the freaking icicles off the roof!

 

 

 

Yes, that is an actual snowflake! So the patterns I usually see in cartoons are actually a fact.

 

I returned to Hakodate by midday and had my lunch at this soup curry place near the red brick warehouses.

 

 

 

It was actually breaded slices of mutton. Something unique actually.

 

Saw this at a sweets store nearby - a strawberry cream omelet. It was not particularly tear-inducing.

 

Hakodate has a tram system to get around, although I basically walked on foot this whole time.

 

You basically grab a ticket on your way up and when you get down, pay according to the price shown on the electronic board that corresponds to the stop number on your ticket.

I had a lot of spare time to kill, so I decided to go to Fort Goryokkaku, which I otherwise would gladly forgo. This is pretty far so I took the tram there. This fort was built to withstand invaders and its ubiquity lies in the star shape.

 

You can pay to go up the tower. Far ahead is Mount Hakodate.

 

The fort is lit up at night.

 

 

On my way back to take the return tram, I passed by this taiyaki place.

 

Wanted to try the matcha flavour but it was sold out, so I took the shiro-an (white bean paste).

 

Turns out to be a good find. The crust was thin; paste was not too sweet. Inside, part of it was mochi. The mochi was soft and evens out the sweetness of the whole thing.

 

As mentioned, Hakodate does not have any flashy eateries to catch my eye, so I settled for a bento from the train station for dinner.

 

Sandwich from the convenience store, as I did not finish the bento's cold, hard rice.

 

And then I found this - chocolate beer by Sapporo and Royce. Actually it tasted more like beer. You could only taste a slight hint of cocoa if you really concentrated.