"Ron, it's Hako-dah-tae, not Hako-date!"

I'm grateful that the JR Trains always announce your upcoming stop, and for Hakodate it was more than just timing. Hearing "arriving at Hako-dah-tae station" confirmed I'd been saying it wrong up to that point. Hakodate was a 3.5 hr train ride south of Sapporo, and is a seaside port town. It's known for being one of the first cities in Japan to be opened to outside commerce after Commordore Perry forced Japan to open to trade in 1860. That has left a lasting impression on the town, as you see Victorian-Era buildings and old-brick warehouses along the bay. I caught Hakodate on a rainy few days, but it served nicely to walk through the old warehouses now converted into various shops and restaurants. I saw an old fort, went to the top of a small peak to see the town lit up at night, and ate at a bizarre local food chain called "Lucky Perriot: Hamburgers". Each of the 17 locations across the town is themed slightly differently inside with the common thread being a clown logo and cheap burgers. Inside the one I went to there were american style diner booths, prints of 1900s oil paintings, and a Japanese cover of Take Me Home, Country Roads playing in the background (see Spotify code in pics for version). I felt like I was in a living AI prompt, but as incongruous as the vibe was, the food was spot on with a greasy burger, sesame chicken sandwich, and a mug of cheese fries.
Another culinary experience was the local fish market where I had my first Donburi. Mine was squid (local specialty) and salmon roe (forbidden dippen dots) on rice with a side of grilled mackerel. It was my breakfast, and a bit aggressive for 10:00am, but that's how Japan rolls. In the same market, you could fish for squid in a tank and they'd chop them and serve the legs still wriggly as sashimi. I passed on that one (quite full from the other meal), but it was an interesting spectacle to see.

That evening I had the best ramen of the trip (thus far). It was a curry soup ramen and was much creamier and curry flavored compared to typical ramen. It was a cold rainy night, and the warm noodles and spicy broth with a thick slabs of pork chashu was coziness incarnate.Читать далее