15 Days in Kanagawa & Hokkaido – Day 12 – Goryokaku Tower

Up the 107m tall Goryokaku Tower next  – the only easily accessible way to see the five-point star-shaped former fort of Goryokaku. The park seems ordinary on the ground, but viewed from above, it takes on a completely different perspective. The tower isn’t high enough for one to capture the fort in its entirety if you don’t have a wide-enough lens: I reckon 18mm wide angle would do the trick. The lens I had mounted on the Sony A73 was the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8, and the widest end was simply not enough to capture the breadth of the citadel. So, the last photo below was taken on the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom on the widest angle.

The ground floor has a cafe, a small gallery showcasing military artefacts, seating area, souvenir shop, and the ticketing office.
Boomz!
A model replica of the citadel as built during the last stretch of the Edo period.
The weather was cold but also clear, and I went nuts taking 80 or so pictures of the surrounding suburbs.
Including closer-shots like these, though the Tamron lens furthest end is only at 75mm. But man – the lens is extremely sharp all round at all focal lengths!
The city doesn’t feel crowded at all. Again, nothing like the metropolitan cities in Honshu.
We’re going up Mt. Hakodate in the evening!
The port side at the distance.
Looking down at the ground floor from the second level.
And finally, the star-shaped park itself. The Tamron’s widest angle at 28mm was not nearly enough to capture the park in its entirety, so this shot was taken on the Oppo Reno 10x zoom.

We went up the very crowded Mt. Hakodate next in the evening!