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Hakodate - Day 2

(Entered Jul. 31, 2010)

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Hakodate may be small by Japanese standards, but it has an extremely interesting and varied history. Although Hakodate is the third biggest city in Hokkaido, it was the first city the Japanese built there as they moved up from Honshu island. The area surrounding the harbour (in the below shot) is the point where the Japanese first landed, and began once again (as in Honshu) to displace the previous inhabitants, the Ainu.

hakodate harbour

Hakodate is also one of two cities (the other city being Shimoda) that were opened up to trade with the Americans after Commodore Perry and his famous Black Ships forced Japan to end its period of seclusion. Because of this, Hakodate, along with a few other Japanese cities such as Nagasaki and Yokohama, have an interesting mix of Western and Japanese achitecture and a pleasing international flavour.

hakodate red brick warehouse night

The red brick Kanemori warehouses of Hakodate bear a strong resemblance to the 'Akarenga Souko' in Yokohama. In both cases they have been transformed into souvenir shops and restaurants. At night, they're lit up and look particularly striking.

hakodate red brick warehouse night

One of Hakodate's many colonial style buildings, the Old Public Hall.
Why shoot all these places at night you might ask? Hakodate is popular tourist destination, not only for Japanese, but for Chinese and Koreans as well. If you come on a weekday night though, around 9pm, you'll have the whole downtown area almost to yourself. Another reason is that shooting photos in the daytime gives you the everyday, regular view. Shooting at night is just more original, and interesting.

hakodate public hall night

But that doesn't mean shoot only at night!
The Russian Orthodox Church (below). Hakodate once had a strong Russian influence, and there is even a Russian university nearby. You won't find very many Russians in Hakodate these days however, nor will you find many people studying Russian.

hakodate church

Other good points of Hakodate include: great fruit, vegetables and seafood, friendly people, a small population, the fact that most of its tourist attractions are within walking distance of each other, and perhaps best of all, unlike the rest of Japan, Hakodate (and Hokkaido) has no rainy season. Come up in June or July and take a break from Tokyo's muggy humidity.

Hakodate - Day 1 (Entered Jul. 22, 2010)
The city of Hakodate, located on the southern tip of Hokkaido, holds a special significance for me. Although I've lived in Tokyo now for about 10 years, Hakodate is the city where I lived when I first came to Japan way back in 1998.
In stark contrast to Tokyo's massive size and noisy, business-oriented lifestyle, Hakodate is small, quiet, and friendly. I lived there for one very enjoyable year before heading to the largest city on earth, and often wonder to myself why I ever left.

Hakodate's crowning glory is the view of the city at night from the top of Mt. Hakodate, considered not only to be one of the top three night views in Japan (the other two being Kobe and Nagasaki), but one of the top three most beautiful night views in the entire world. Though I've yet to see the views of the other two contenders (Hong Kong and Naples), I can personally attest to Hakodate's being awe inspiring. I've climbed the mountain at least 7-8 times now and the view never fails to impress me. Click on the photo for a larger version.

The Largest City in the World (Entered Jul. 16, 2010)
The megalopolis of Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Saitama and Chiba is the largest concentration of people the world has ever seen. With a current population of over 30 million people, you can ride a train across the entire Kanto plain without seeing so much as a single break in houses, buildings, stores, traffic and people. Its crushing population is beyond the scope of human imagination really, but to give you an idea, there are about the same number of people living in greater Tokyo than there are in all of Canada. That's 31 million or so people, all living in an area about the same size as Delaware. The second biggest city in the world, metro Jakarta, doesn't even come close, it only has 24 million people.
To get a better look at this gargantuan beast of a city that I've been living in for 10 years, I headed to the top of Tokyo's 5th tallest building, the Mori Tower, which is the only one of the top 5 where you're permitted to actually go right outside onto the roof, called the 'Sky Deck'. However even at 238 meters up, Tokyo still fades into the horizon at every point except the ocean...

In the centre and far in the distance, Shinjuku's skyscrapers rise up, with Yoyogi Park, Shinjuku Gyoen, and Aoyama Cemetary providing some greenery to break up the monotony. Shibuya lies to the left and Ikebukuro is in the distance on the right. Western Tokyo, Saitama and Mt. Fuji lie somewhere in the distance, hidden beyond the haze.
Click on the photo for a larger view.

Maman under Roppongi Hills (Entered Jul. 15, 2010)
The giant spider has been part of Roppongi Hills since the the beginning. Created by the recently deceased artist Louise Bourgeois, 'Maman' as the spider is called, has reached iconic status in Tokyo, but did you know that there are 11 other Mamans around the world? You'll find her in such notable places such as Paris, Boston, Seoul, Washington and St. Petersberg, and surprisingly, in front of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. It's nice to know that my often overlooked hometown is part of something international, even if it is pretty darn weird.

mori tower spider

Gankutsu Rock Hotel Haikyo (Entered Jul. 12, 2010)
The Gankutsu Hotel (though not actually a real hotel) was apparently dug out in the early 1900s by just one man, using only a chisel. He worked on it for 21 years so the story goes, until he died at age 67, leaving his project uncompleted. After his death, some other people tried to finish it, covering the exterior with a plaster facade to make it look like a real hotel. However it was eventually shut down, the facade removed, and the exterior fenced and barbwired off after some of the rooms caved in and the whole place was deemed unsafe.

haikyo gankutsu rock hotel

I admit that the story sounds a bit like an urban legend to me, and viewed from the outside it looks fairly uninspiring, a couple of rough windows and entrances in the cliff face. However once you're inside and get a feel for the depth of the place, you start to think about the effort, time and sheer willpower that must've been involved for a single person to do this on his own. Even if it's only partly true, you can't help but be awed.