Hakodate

Back during the first weekend in October I went with two other Jets to Hakodate, a port city up north in Hokkaido. The weather was awful as there had been two typhoons diverging on us , but the trip itself was great. It was the first time I had been up north and the city itself had a lot of history. Apparently Hakodate was one of 3 ports in Japan to be opened to international trade in 1854 following 200 years of mandated seclusion by the nation. As a result of this there is a really cool foreign quarter in the city that has a lot of Western-style architecture and influence. The picture above shows the view from this neighbourhood which includes Japan's first Orthodox church, as well as a Catholic, and Anglican Church, all still in operation today.

Hakodate is also famous for its evening skyline. We took a gondola to the top of a mountain to see it, though I seriously thought we were going to crash because the wind was so strong. The city is also home to Japan's first cement electrical pole, with a full set of tourist signs to guide you to it..... so random. Lastly, like many communities in Japan, the city has a mascot. Hakodate's is a bird called the "varied tit". I had a good laugh at that one.



To end, here is a picture of myself and Gemma, she's from New Zealand, and was one of the two to join me on our foray to Hokkaido. We're in a bar that just happened to have a Radio Flyer wagon, homemade pizza, and a penchant for Canadian music...pretty cool.