aomori bokeh 青森暈け: Hakodate Guide Hijikata (Part Two)

This is part two of my trip to Hakodate, which was back in early October. Better late than never I suppose...

Saturday (con't):

After leaving Goryokaku Park, I stopped for dinner en route to a second attempt on the ropeway. The winds had died down and the temperature had dropped, so I was treated to a bone-chilling and gorgeous view of the city, the bay, and the ships in the Tsugaru Strait. Just as I was about to go inside and thaw out, the half-moon appeared over the city, pumpkin-orange and hanging so low that at first I wasn't sure what I was seeing... hot air balloon? U.F.O.?

View from Mt. Hakodate Summit (click for better view)

Mt Hakodate Ropeway heading up to the summit

Goryokaku Tower upper left of center; Red Brick Warehouse bottom center

Low hanging orange moon over Hakodate (compare to image at the top)

Although the ropeway car I took to the summit had only two other people on it, the return car was the last of the night and it was packed.

Sunday:

I did a fair amount of poking into shops and checking out souvenirs on Saturday, but I waited until Sunday to make my choices. After checking out of the hotel, I dumped my heavy backpack in a locker at the station and went off to kill a few hours until my train back to Hirosaki.

I took the cable car out to the Bay Area again for some souvenir shopping and stopped in at the Snaffles shop in the Red Brick Warehouse "Western Goods Hall" (赤れんが店洋物店, Akarengaten Youbutsukan) for the famous cheesecake. I treated myself to coffee and "catch cakes," one chocolate and one cheese flavor. Super light and delicious.

Snaffles "catch cakes" in cheese and chocolate flavor... yum.

Finally, I hiked back up the hill to the Motomachi district one more time to do a quick sketch of the Russian Orthodox Church, before heading down to the tram and the train station again.