Hakodate is a 19th Century port town, with clapboard buildings on sloping street, a dockside tourist zone, streetcars and extremely fresh fish on every restaurant menu. In the downtown historic quarter a mountain rises 1000 feet above the city on the Southern point of the narrow peninsular. Russia, American, Chinese and Europeans have all left there mark on this attractive town. This was one of the first three ports the Meiji government opened up in 1859.We arrived in the port at around 0730 and so we were up having a shower and on to breakfast as we are joining the ‘Highlights of Hakodate’ tour leaving just after 09.00. Our first stop was the Goryokaku Tower, which was built next to the old fort in mid-town, and is an impressive structure ( a bit like the BT Tower) and you take a lift to the top with a magnificent view if you have a head for heights which this blogger does not have. I am good on aircraft but when it comes to tall buildings its not my scene. So I took a few photos and within five minutes the writer was in the down lift leaving Jennifer up their to enjoy the views. I waited in the lobby and we met up and had iced tea and then back to the coach for our visit to the fish market, something Deja Vu going in year, where we not not at a fish market yesterday???. In this market you can catch your liver squid from a tank and take it to the man who chops it up whilst it is still moving and have it for lunch. Jennifer witnessed a lady trying to eat a tentacle from the dead fish only to see it waving around and around as she tried to put it in her mouth, this did not please many of the ships guests who had perhaps not witnessed this type of behaviour before.
After a good walk around the market, back to the bus to go to the Hakodate Ropeway cable car to the top of the mountain. To be frank cable cars aren’t really my thing either however was determined not to miss out in travelling in a 20 foot container with windows up a thousand feet or so on a couple bits of string with 60 other people. It is' not really hot yet here at the moment and around 16 degrees Centigrade but inside the metal box it was very very warm and with no obvious aircon unless you open the window and jump by the time we got to the top it was very warm, I hate to think what it would be like in the height of summer.Then all the way back by bus to the sound of the ‘Busuu lady’ another one with the wish to never stop talking. One American on our bus asked a silly question where was the local Harley Davidson Motor Cycle dealer in Hakodata as he wants to by his son a t-shirt. He has to be joking that here in Japan miles from any major city you would hope to find a HD t-shirt.
We usually only have a sandwich lunchtime but were a bity more hungry today after a light breakfast and both had a salad in the buffet although both the roast turkey and the Cottage pie looked very good, but if we east that lunchtime we cannot eat in the evening and we have agreed to meet Jerry and Muira for dinner tonight.
After lunch Noel started working on his photos and sorting them in to albums and Jennifer went to the Panorama lounge to do some reading.
Dinner in the evening was really nice and we compared the two tours of Hakodate and to be frank there was not to much different but equally as enjoyable. Jerry & Muira are on an early tour and so we finished up at about 10.30 and we both headed back to our suites. We have agreed to meet up tomorrow evening which is formal night although Noel does not have an evening suit or dark suit and we don't have to wear formal stuff in the Italian restaurant where we shall eat.
