Hakodate 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide

This value-packed trip with a government-licensed and experienced multilingual tour guide is a fantastic and efficient way to explore Hakodate!

Hakodate has a long history of international trade and as such hosted a small foreign community. That influence is evident in the European buildings, churches, and red-brick warehouses that you can see from the nostalgic streetcar that makes its rounds of the city.

Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a four-hour tour that’s best for you!

Note*1: Please select your must-see spots from a list in the tour information to create your customized itinerary.
Note*2: National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.

Mount Hakodate (函館山, Hakodateyama) is a 334 meter high, wooded mountain at the southern end of the peninsula on which much of central Hakodate is located. On clear days and nights, in particular, the views from the mountain are spectacular and included among Japan’s three best night views alongside the views from Nagasaki’s Mount Inasa and Kobe’s Mount Rokko.

Facilities at the summit, which is accessible by ropeway, bus or car, include observation platforms (free of charge), souvenir shops, a cafe and a cafeteria style restaurant.

Designated as a “quasi national park” and located only twenty kilometers north of Hakodate, Onuma Park (大沼公園, Ōnuma Kōen) is known for its picturesque, island dotted lakes and majestic volcano, Mount Komagatake.

Onuma Park can be easily visited in either a day trip from Hakodate or on a stop over on a journey between Hakodate and Sapporo, since most limited express trains between the two cities stop at Onuma Koen Station, the central railway station.

Fort Goryokaku (五稜郭, Goryōkaku) is a massive, star shaped, Western style citadel, which was built in the last years of the Edo Period for the defense of Hakodate against the imperialist threat posed by the Western powers. A few years later, the fort became the site of a civil war between an army of the shogunate and the superior troops of the newly established Meiji government.

After the fort had lost its military importance, it was eventually turned into a public park in the 1910s. Over one thousand cherry trees were planted along its moats, making it one of Hokkaido’s best cherry blossom spots. The peak of the blooming season usually takes place around early May.

Admission
900 yen

The Hakodate Morning Market (函館朝市, Hakodate Asaichi) is held daily from 5am (from 6am during winter) to noon, just a few steps away from JR Hakodate Station. The market area spans about four city blocks.

Products on sale include various types of fresh seafood such as crabs (kani), salmon eggs (ikura) and sea urchin (uni), as well as fresh produce such as melons. Many restaurants can be found in the market area, offering fresh seafood breakfasts, such as uni-ikura domburi.

The harbor of Hakodate was one of the first to be opened to foreign trade in 1854 after Japan’s era of isolation had come to an end. As a result, many traders from Russia, China and Western countries moved to Hakodate. Motomachi, at the foot of Mount Hakodate, became a district favored among the new foreign residents.

Many foreign looking buildings remain in the area today. Among the most famous are the Russian Orthodox Church, the Old British Consulate, the Chinese Memorial Hall, the prefectural government’s former branch office building and the old Hakodate Public Hall (closed from November 2018 till April 2021).

Admission
300 yen

Hakodate Port was among the first Japanese ports to be opened to international trade towards the end of the Edo Period (1600-1867). Several red brick warehouses from past trading days survive along the waterfront in the bay area of Hakodate, and have recently been redeveloped into an atmospheric shopping, dining and entertainment complex.

Besides a typical range of trendy souvenir, fashion, interior and sweets shops, the complex also features a restaurant, a beer hall, a chapel for weddings and sightseeing cruises of the bay.

The Bay Area facing Hakodate Port offers an expansive vista of the harbor. This area features a row of old red-brick buildings that have been converted into a unique shopping mall, enticing visitors to stop in and enjoy some shopping or a tea break.

The Hakodate Museum of the Northern Peoples is located inside a building that would once have served as the Japan Bank and was built in 1926. The museum is an ode to the Ainu culture and offers you a fascinating look at this indigenous culture which is not well known outside of Japan.

You can also learn about other indigenous groups in Japan such as the Sakhalin who are from an island which is to the north of Hokkaido that is now a part of Russia.

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
• Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
• Wheelchair accessible
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• This is a walking tour. Pick up is on foot.

• Hakodate 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
  Add
  Pickup included

• Meet up with guide on foot within designated area of Hakodate.
• Licensed Local English Speaking Guide
• Customizable Tour of your choice of 2-3 sites from ‘What to expect’ list

• Transportation fees, Entrance fees, Lunch, and Other personal expenses
• Private Vehicle
• You cannot combine multiple tour groups.
• Guide Entry fees are only covered for sights listed under What to Expect.

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Please be advised..

• This Tour is Provided by Japan Guide Agency.
• Tour Timezone & Starts at Asia/Tokyo.
• Mobile or paper ticket accepted.
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
• This Tour is Rated 5 Stars based on 3 valid reviews on VIATOR.
• Minimum 1 Travelers is required to book.
• Maximum 10 Travelers is accepted for booking.