Real freezing arctic wind conditions. Immigration took forever and then I got the shuttle bus into town. It dropped us very close to the station and the incredible "Morning markets". I have never seen such enormous crabs. Just as well Celebrity had a warning about not bringing seafood back on to Millennium. I was sorely tempted. ...
Loved the fact that you can tour Hakodate on your own. The Unlimited Use Day bus pass was very reasonable. So many interesting places to explore. It was raining a lot so we could not go to the Tower but just staying on the bus, you could see many places that are a must-see. ...
we arrived at 9am. Sunny and pleasant. It took 20 minutes on the free shuttle to town. We headed for morning market, helped by local school girls happy to practice some English conversation with the visitors. We got a bus/tram day pass ¥1000, but Mount Hakodate Ropeway was closed due to windy conditions. We visited the Goryokaku Tower (¥900), the citadel grounds (free) and the Magistrate ...
Nice enough place but cost of princess shuttle was a bit expensive not told that you could walk. We went to the fort by local tram, enjoyable visit. The shore tour to the fort had been cancelled. ...
We skipped the Regent excursions and got ourselves around on the local tram. This enabled us to get to the areas of town we wished to visit. The tourist office in town spoke enough English to enable us to buy a tram ticket etc. The hIghlight of a great day were the Cherry blossoms at Goryokaku Fort. 1600 trees all flowering. THe tower at the fort (we had to line up for an hour to get up the tower) ...