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Hakodate vs Sapporo

Hakodate vs Sapporo

Old Jun 30, 2015, 12:26 am
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Hakodate vs Sapporo

I don't know these two cities well. We want to head up to either Sapporo or Hakodate for a few days (either 3 or 4 nights) from Tokyo for a little weather respite. We actually have the Railpass vouchers, and so that's what we would use to get up there. Sapporo would be ideal, but the hotels are pricier and the travel time is 3.5-4hr extra. We're wondering if we could just settle for Hakodate and whether that would serve as a worthwhile alternative.

We don't want to split our trip into two places. We want to stay all the nights at one hotel. We have two little kids. We're into hanging out, shopping complex, parks, kids' attractions, food (ramen, gourmet desserts/bakery, seafood... wife wants to try sashimi up there, I'd like to eat crap load of crabs). We're not really into museums and history and stuff like that. If we were to go to Sapporo, on our agenda would be Sapporo Factory, Shiroi Koibito factory, ski jump place, parks, quick jaunt to Otaru, and rest of the time stuff our face and hang out at JR Tower. On the other hand, Hakodate seems pretty limited although I could be wrong. It sounds like the seafood market there is impressive. But there doesn't seem to be a mega-hangout complex like JR Tower in Hakodate. And places like Goryokaku probably won't appeal to my kids. Does Hakodate even offer half of what Sapporo's got in terms of selection of ramen places, patisseries and interesting food stores?

I'd appreciate any insights.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 9:16 am
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Hakodate is one of the neatest mid-sized towns in Japan. Food, really neat history, natural beauty, funky vibe, are all there. Hakodate is not a "mega-hangout" kind of town. Personally, if I had to pick between the two as a tourist, I'd take Hakodate over Sapporo any day.

But given what you're looking to do, I'd say Sapporo is a better bet for you. Although you'd be missing out. Otaru is only a partial substitute for Hakodate, although it's also pretty neat. Otaru has an excellent rail museum and an aquarium, if you're into that kind of stuff.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 10:54 am
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Originally Posted by Pickles
Hakodate is one of the neatest mid-sized towns in Japan. Food, really neat history, natural beauty, funky vibe, are all there. Hakodate is not a "mega-hangout" kind of town. Personally, if I had to pick between the two as a tourist, I'd take Hakodate over Sapporo any day.

But given what you're looking to do, I'd say Sapporo is a better bet for you. Although you'd be missing out. Otaru is only a partial substitute for Hakodate, although it's also pretty neat. Otaru has an excellent rail museum and an aquarium, if you're into that kind of stuff.
+1.

I like Hakodate much more than Sapporo but I am a "history, museum, architecture" kind of guy. I happily spent several days wandering around the unique, westernized historical port town, taking pictures and learning about the history. Your kids would be bored to death. For shopping, having fun and keeping kids happy, Sapporo is the better choice. Consequently, I didn't much enjoy my stay there.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 2:12 pm
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Originally Posted by Pickles
Hakodate is one of the neatest mid-sized towns in Japan. Food, really neat history, natural beauty, funky vibe, are all there. Hakodate is not a "mega-hangout" kind of town. Personally, if I had to pick between the two as a tourist, I'd take Hakodate over Sapporo any day.

But given what you're looking to do, I'd say Sapporo is a better bet for you. Although you'd be missing out. Otaru is only a partial substitute for Hakodate, although it's also pretty neat. Otaru has an excellent rail museum and an aquarium, if you're into that kind of stuff.
Thanks. So Hakodate has more to offer than Otaru? You mention food... does Hakodate offer many choices for the type of food I mentioned? (I do know there's plenty of crabs and raw fish)


Originally Posted by abmj-jr
I like Hakodate much more than Sapporo but I am a "history, museum, architecture" kind of guy. I happily spent several days wandering around the unique, westernized historical port town, taking pictures and learning about the history. Your kids would be bored to death. For shopping, having fun and keeping kids happy, Sapporo is the better choice. Consequently, I didn't much enjoy my stay there.
I see. I think I may have been able to appreciate history and architecture more before. But since our kids were born, my travel interests are becoming increasingly immature and unsophisticated.

In terms of food quality/selection, hanging out and shopping, is Sapporo-vs-Hakodate less of a dropoff than Fukuoka-vs-Nagasaki?
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 2:20 pm
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Originally Posted by evergrn
... In terms of food quality/selection, hanging out and shopping, is Sapporo-vs-Hakodate less of a dropoff than Fukuoka-vs-Nagasaki?
Tough question. Food in Hakodate is wonderful, especially if you like seafood, but options are more limited as compared to the many restaurants in Sapporo. As for "hanging-out and shopping," I don't do those things so can't really comment. As for Fukuoka versus Nagasaki, I vastly preferred Nagasaki, so there you have it.

For kids, Sapporo will have more and more modern malls and kid-type attractions. The clock-tower park would be a good place to run and play and the tram to the top of Mt. Moiwa would be fun. I saw it as a photo op. Kids will see it as a big amusement park ride.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 10:52 pm
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Hakodate in my books as well. Foodwise it's really about the fresh catch from the surrounding cold waters, best eaten at the fish market itself.

Otaru feels rather artificial compared to Hakodate, although the sushi is justifiably famous.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 11:14 pm
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Originally Posted by abmj-jr
Tough question. Food in Hakodate is wonderful, especially if you like seafood, but options are more limited as compared to the many restaurants in Sapporo. As for "hanging-out and shopping," I don't do those things so can't really comment. As for Fukuoka versus Nagasaki, I vastly preferred Nagasaki, so there you have it.

For kids, Sapporo will have more and more modern malls and kid-type attractions. The clock-tower park would be a good place to run and play and the tram to the top of Mt. Moiwa would be fun. I saw it as a photo op. Kids will see it as a big amusement park ride.
Okay, well this will be a tough decision. You're confirming my sense that Sapporo > Hakodate for our purpose. But from my place, it's 6hr to Hakodate, 10hr to Sapporo... that's a long time to sit with our little ones. I think we'll still manage to enjoy Hakodate. But Sapporo would be awesome. Will have to think about it some more.

I, of course, understand that Nagasaki would leave more of an impression on most visitors than Fukuoka. But for us, what matters is that Fukuoka is more happening, has more and better food, more stuff for kids.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 11:17 pm
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Originally Posted by mosburger
Hakodate in my books as well. Foodwise it's really about the fresh catch from the surrounding cold waters, best eaten at the fish market itself.
Do you think stuff like fresh crabs and sashimi tend to be cheaper in Hakodate than Sapporo?

I presume the quality is no better/worse in one city than the other.
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Old Jul 1, 2015, 8:14 pm
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Originally Posted by evergrn
Do you think stuff like fresh crabs and sashimi tend to be cheaper in Hakodate than Sapporo?

I presume the quality is no better/worse in one city than the other.
I can only guess on crab prices but normally you should be able to find some good value for money restaurants around any fish market in Japan. Hakodate Asaichi is no exception.

The "signature" dish there, however, seems to be salmon/rainbow trout eggs (ikura) and sea urchin (uni) on a rice bed (donburi) eaten for breakfast.
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Old Jul 1, 2015, 10:42 pm
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Originally Posted by mosburger
... The "signature" dish there, however, seems to be salmon/rainbow trout eggs (ikura) and sea urchin (uni) on a rice bed (donburi) eaten for breakfast.
Which was my breakfast one morning and was quite good. Fresh caught crab is also a specialty and really good.
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Old Jul 2, 2015, 1:45 pm
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Hmm... I have been to Japan more times than I can remember, but never to Sapporo and only once to Hokkaido (and that was Hakodate).

After reading these posts, sounds like I have not missed much by not heading to Sapporo.
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Old Jul 2, 2015, 7:41 pm
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Originally Posted by mapleg
Hmm... I have been to Japan more times than I can remember, but never to Sapporo and only once to Hokkaido (and that was Hakodate).

After reading these posts, sounds like I have not missed much by not heading to Sapporo.
It's not much of a sightseeing town, IMO. However, it has one of the biggest single nightlife districts in Japan (along with Kabukicho in Tokyo and Nakasu in Fukuoka). Also, it's a good base for trips elsewhere in Hokkaido.
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Old Jul 2, 2015, 10:53 pm
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Originally Posted by armagebedar
... it has one of the biggest single nightlife districts in Japan ...
It also has a pretty nice botanical garden next to the university, if one is interested in such things. All in all, I agree with your assessment - not much for sightseeing but a convenient logistical base for the western part of the island.
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Old Jul 16, 2015, 10:53 am
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We got to Hakodate mid-afternoon on day1. We headed up to the top of Hakodate Mtn. The view was stunning. That was it for day1. Day2, we were at the market from 7am on. Had breakfast there, then looked through everything else, and then ate again for an early light lunch. We then moved on to the Red Brick complex... nice setup but nothing really unique. An hour was taken up by the free Lego place. After that, it was onto the Motomachi area... there's really nothing there for us. It was only 1pm and there was nothing left to see. No way my kids would've liked Goryokaku. Spent much of the afternoon at the dept store near the station, plus we took a quick trek out to Yunokawa Onsen area to feed monkeys. The highlight was the view from Hakodate Mtn. You have enough of the market after a few hours. While I'm not really into history and architecture, I still find Nagasaki to be fascinating because the place just exudes unique history and special ambiance. But imo Hakodate doesn't even come close. I know many of you are high on Hakodate, and so I'm likely the odd one here. But it just didn't do it for us. Having a great time in another part of Hokkaido right now.
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Old Jul 16, 2015, 11:48 am
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Originally Posted by evergrn
... I know many of you are high on Hakodate, and so I'm likely the odd one here. But it just didn't do it for us. Having a great time in another part of Hokkaido right now.
In your case, traveling with kids, I wouldn't really disagree. I found the Museum of Northern Peoples interesting and the various historical locations along the waterfront fascinating. The old churches and other buildings in the historic quarter, as well as the waterfront area, made for hours of great photography. None of those things would interest kids.

It just shows that we all need to plan our trips to meet the needs and interests of the travelers.
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