Our standard Toyoko Inn Breakfast. I didn't know what the 2 brown sticks were but I ate it anyway. Later I asked the lady who was preparing the hotel breakfast and was told that it's a type of Konnyaku (jelly like).
View outside of our hotel. Road were all covered with snow. I saw some cars skidded on the road. But think most of the locals are pretty good at driving in such extreme weather.
Look at the amount of snow accumulated at the side of the main road
The Japs are really detail oriented. A lady knitted a scarf for this little boy statue for winter. I was wondering who did this and later the mystery was solved when I read the story from their local Hakodate newspaper.
The little gal statue with a knitted red scarf. I think this is the sister of the boy statue.
Folks going about their daily routine
View through the tram
Inside the tram. We noticed the commuters tend to stand at the front section of the tram when they board. Only the tourists stand at the back.. lol
Back view of the tram
Tram ticket display.
For this type of bus/tram ticketing system, you would normally collect a ticket when you board the tram/bus. The ticket will have a number which correspond to your boarding stop. When you have reached your destination, you just look at the pricing which matches the number shown on your ticket and pay accordingly. For example, if it shows '1' on your ticket, you will need to pay 240 yen. 220 yen if the number is '2'.
An elderly trying to cross the road. The slippery road seems dangerous for the elderly. But then again, I think tourist are more prone to fall than the locals since we are not well equipped with anti slip footwear.
Fort Goryokaku - Japan's first Western style fortress. Interestingly, the fort is built star-shaped. The modern, dense buildings surrounding the fort is such a constrast with the old era architecture.
View from the Goryokaku Observatory Tower next to the Fort. Can you spot the heart shaped roof below?
Some miniature figures at the observatory depicting the history
These figurines are really small in sizes.
The view from the observatory tower. Spotted this gal in interesting outfit. Hard to miss :)
Goryokaku Tower. To me, this is not a pretty sight next to the fort but I must say, the view from the observatory is superb!
After visiting the tower, we went to take a walk at the Goryokaku Park.
This looks like some abstract painting.. hehe
Autumn's gone..
At the Goryokaku park around the fort
Snowman now has company.. lol
A walk in the park
This is supposedly the river/lake surrounding the fort. Can't really see as it's covered in snow
Another view at the park
Don't these look like cupcakes? :)
Another abstract art formed on the lake. Looks like some ink splattered there :P
Layer of snow
Some parts of the park are not accessible as the snow were not cleared. Can't even see the pathway to walk.. lol
Not quite an ideal place to take pix as I had expected
A walk in the park
This is supposedly the river/lake surrounding the fort. Can't really see as it's covered in snow
Another view at the park
Don't these look like cupcakes? :)
Another abstract art formed on the lake. Looks like some ink splattered there :P
Layer of snow
Some parts of the park are not accessible as the snow were not cleared. Can't even see the pathway to walk.. lol
Not quite an ideal place to take pix as I had expected
Approaching sunset, we went up to Mount Hakodate.
This is the ropeway used to ferry people up the mount
The sunset is blocked and almost gone by the time we reached.. sad..
Just before it gets dark. The wind was very strong and it was freezing. Quite difficult to steady the cam and getting a decent shot.
After some struggles with the strong wind and the crowd, we decided to retreat back to the observatory. I could feel the numbness on my fingers and face. My finger refused to press the shutter.. that's when I surrender.. lol
We found a restaurant with nice window view of Hakodate and so we decided to go there to rest and have a meal
This is Hakodate's million dollar view. There were some short display of fireworks at around 6pm. We could see the fireworks from where we sat. The restaurant staff even switched off the restaurant's lights during the fireworks display so that we could see more clearly. Comparing to the million dollar view, I told my travel mates that the fireworks is worth probably $2k.. lol..
After taking the ropeway down, we walked to the old warehouse area which is now triving with shops. Nice christmas atmosphere
Everyone is in great mood!
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