Breakfast @ Hanayura
Another sumptuous breakfast this morning at Hanayura. Breakfast was served in the dining room. Besides a full Japanese set breakfast, there was also a buffet of Japanese and International fare. There was no difference in the set meal served for the child or adult.
Lake Toya & Usuzan Ropeway
Our first stop today was Lake Toya. Instead of going to the lake itself, we decided to take the Usuzan Ropeway to the top of Mount Usu to get a bird’s eye view of the lake. Parking fee here is ¥500.
The base of the ropeway was at the foot of Showa Shinzan. Showa Shinzan is one of Japan’s youngest mountains. It was created between 1943 and 1945 following some earthquakes. The mountain was named “Showa New Mountain” as it was formed during the reign of Emperor Showa.
The cost of the return ropeway ride was ¥1600 for adult and ¥800 for child. The view of Showa Shinzan and Lake Toya was fantastic on the ropeway. The vegetation on the mountain was already changing colors.
Mount Usu is a volcano which has erupted four times in the past 100 years. Its most recent eruption occurred in the year 2000.
The Usuzan Ropeway brought us close to the volcano’s summit. The view of Lake Toya and Showa Shinzan from the observation deck was breathtaking.
Lake Toya is a volcanic caldera lake which is nearly circular.
Leaving this first observation deck, we made our way to the second observation deck which was a short walk away via a series of steps. From the second observation deck we got views of the ocean and Mount Usu’s largest crater, which was formed in an eruption in 1977.
Lunch @ Lucky Pierrot
Lucky Pierrot is a chain of local fast food restaurant in Hakodate. I have come across it in the internet and it is always highly recommended so I thought we should try. When I first suggested it to the family, they thought I was crazy to want to eat burgers in Japan. But I managed to convince them in the end.
There is a Lucky Pierrot outlet near our next destination, Onuma Park, so we decided to have lunch there. The deco of Lucky Pierrot is eclectic. Its mascot is a clown and every outlet has a different theme. This outlet that we went near Onuma Park has a Botero theme which depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume for humor.
The most popular burger here is the Chinese Chicken burger (¥350 for burger only & ¥650 for set) which has been voted as Japan’s “Best Local Burger” in a Nikkei survey. DS, DD and I decided to have it. DH opted for the same Chinese chicken but with omurice (¥760). We had 2 sets which came with fries and ice oolong tea. The Chinese chicken burger was so good. No wonder it has been voted as best local burger in Japan. 😘😘😘👍👍👍. We loved it! DH said that his omurice was good too. The chicken he had was the same was the one in our burger.
We couldn’t resist an ice cream (¥250). So DS, DD and I got a soft serve each. We had a very satisfying meal. One of the best fast food meals we have had. Different from the usual.
Onuma Quasi-National Park
After lunch we went to Onuma Quasi-National Park. This picturesque park, just outside the city of Hakodate, is dotted with lakes and has been stated as a must visit park in autumn for the fall foliage. Onuma Park has also been chosen as one of the three new famous spots in Japan. We were a little early in the season but still decided to check it out.
There are several walking trails within the park and we chose the longest which is about an hour long. It took us across various small bridges to the small islands dotted among the lakes. It was a very beautiful and pleasant walk. And although not peak autumn foliage had nice yellow and red colours nonetheless.
Mount Hakodate
After we left Onuma Park, we drove into Hakodate city and checked into our hotel, La Jolie Motomachi. I booked it due to its good review and proximity to the Hakodate Ropeway which is within walking distance. Unfortunately, I found out subsequently that the ropeway was closed during this low visitor season for maintenance. Oh well, so much for all the plans. 🤷♀️ During this maintenance period, Mt Hakodate is only assessable by car or bus. However during the peak period in the evening, only public transport like taxis and buses are allowed up. Private vehicles are only allowed during the day or after 9pm or so. The bus to Mt Hakodate starts from the Hakodate station which is a few stops away from La Jolie. We read on the internet that these buses could be crowded by the time it gets to our stop. When we enquired with our hotel, they advised that they could help us get a fixed price taxi for ¥5460. The taxi will take us there, give us half an hour or so at the summit and bring us back. We decided to go for this option.
The taxi came by around 4.45pm to pick us. As it was still a little while before sunset, the driver took us on a drive around the Motomachi area before going up to Mt Hakodate.
When we arrived at the summit, the viewing platform was already packed with visitors trying hard to snap a picture of night view. Our driver brought us instead to both sides of the ropeway station, away from the viewing platform away from the rest of the visitors.
When we first saw the night scene below us, it was a WOW moment. The view was so dramatic! We had an uninterrupted and quiet view of the city and Bay Area. There was hardly anyone around us. DH could even set up his tripod for a proper photo (the photo below was taken by my point and shoot). The view was truly spectacular. This must be the best night scene I have seen so far. This night view from Mt Hakodate is ranked as one of the top 3 night views in Japan. A definite must see!
We were so glad we decided to come by taxi. Without the help of our taxi driver, we would have had to jostle with the crowd for a photo and the whole experience would have been different. Definitely worth the ¥5460 spent.
Our driver even took fantastic photos for our family. He used his touch to shine on us and took our photos without using flash. The photos turned out very nice. Our faces were clear and the background was not affected. Try that yourself next time when taking a photo a night.
Dinner @ Tenya
Our taxi driver gave us a choice of going back to the hotel or to be dropped off anywhere else. DH wanted check out Motomachi after dark and so asked to be dropped near the basilica. Unfortunately the street was not light up so there was really nothing much to see. On hindsight, we should have asked to be dropped off at our dinner place. Instead we took a stroll to Tenya near our hotel for dinner.
Tenya is a simple tempura restaurant. Nothing fancy. It was empty when we arrived around 7pm, but slowly patrons came in after us. They had mainly counter sittings and only 2 tables of low Japanese style. We sat at the table.
The menu was in Japanese only but we somewhat managed to figure out what to order. DS and I went for the mixed (shrimps, fish and vegetable) tendon (¥1200) while DH and DD went for the mixed tempura set which had the same shrimp, fish and vegetables tempura and was the same price too. The difference between tendon and tempura is that tendon has the tempura on the rice and has a sweet sauce over it, but tempura set is serve with the tempura separate from the rice and you use a dipping sauce for the tempura. We also ordered an extra serving of vegetable tempura and tempura squid. Squid is a speciality at Hakodate. It is fresh and not overly chewy.
This was our cheapest dinner on this trip. It was simple tempura but still very good compared to what we get in Singapore. Very reasonably priced too. DS says that he liked it very much.
Staying @ La Jolie Motomachi by WBF
La Jolie Motomachi is a boutique hotel near the Hakodate Ropeway. The hotel has a European deco. The lobby was warm and welcoming with bookshelves and grand piano.
In the evening from 5pm to 9pm daily, it’s happy hours in this lobby lounge and there are free drinks, champagne and wine available. We actually dropped by for a drink when we returned from dinner.
We had booked 2 rooms here. The rooms were spacious and welcoming. The bathrooms had bathtubs too. But if you free something bigger, there is always the family bath (see below) Upon check in we had a choice of toiletries of either Lauren Ashley for the rose fragrance or Loccitance for the citrus fragrance. Each person gets a miniature set and we picked 2 of each.
La Jolie has a private family bath which you can book for your private use for 45mins. We booked ours at 8.30pm, planning to use if after we get back from dinner. It is a nice mini version of regular public bath. Can comfortably accommodate a family of 4. We split the use of the bath between DH and DS and DD and I. It was a relaxing conclusion after the long day.
Although I had read raving reviews on TripAdvisor on this hotel, I was still pleasantly surprised by the room quality and amenities provided. For the price we paid, it was excellent value for excellent quality product. Wait till you see my breakfast review the next day!