15 Days in Kanagawa & Hokkaido – Day 13 – Motomachi

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Motomachi is the port-side district in Hakodate that looks most un-Japanese. The area is extremely popular with visitors, but possibly in part that there were varying degrees of snowfall for the afternoon, the area wasn’t as crowded as other spots in Hakodate so far (I’m thinking of the congestion on Mt. Hakodate in particular!). There are several places of interest clustered in the same broad vicinity: including western-architectural styled buildings, the iconic red brick warehouse, and also the several slopes where people just go nuts with vanity poses in.

We checked out Motomachi after tucking in for a sumptuous western-steak lunch back at the Hakodate Station area. Motomachi can be easily reached from the station by a number of methods, including buses and trams – and in non-winter, the roughly 2km walk is also easily doable. Pictures and commentary!

Near the foot of the Hachiman-Zaka Slope. Most people would start at the top and make their way down.
This isn’t the slope in its entirety though: it’s just about the mid-way point here. Lots of people were gathered at the top of the slope (behind me as I took this picture). This road is also an in-use, so whenever vehicles turn into it, every one scrambles to get clear LOL.
Mt. Hakodate in the background. It was snowing at this point, so the visitors who’d just gone up the mountain’s observation deck might not be able to see much this occasion.
Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse, built in 1869 and today home to dining establishments and souvenir/trinkets shops. The place wasn’t nearly as crowded as I’d thought though – I was expecting the same busloads of noisy tourists to be milling around, similar to what was happening on Mt. Hakodate the previous day.
Early sunset at 4:15PM, and the lights start to come-on – providing a lovely and also romantic feel to the place.
Still snowing, and this time with wind!
Lots of little items on sale inside the warehouse, including glassware similar to what we saw in Otaru.
A large Christmas tree lit up opposite the warehouse, accompanied with festive music drew the attention of many visitors.
There’s a two level Starbucks joint just opposite the warehouse. We stayed inside for an hour in part to hide from the snowfall. We had soy lattes. I did a quick price comparison and was surprised to see that the Starbucks beverages sold in Motomachi were cheaper than in Kyushu.

That’s a wrap for Day 13. Day 14 – our last full day in Japan – next!