The Best 10 Places to Eat in Hakodate, Hokkaido

The south entrance to Hokkaido is Hakodate. With the opening of the Hokkaido bullet train, those who visit Hokkaido for tourism are increasing. When you think about Hakodate do you think mainly of the nightlights and hot springs? Well that is not all Hakodate has to offer. It also offers a variety of gourmet as to earn itself the title of the treasure chest for gourmet! You cannot go wrong when eating in Hakodate! Here are 10 places to eat that you must visit!

1. Lucky Clown

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In Hakodate City there are 17 of this hamburger shop. Annually, it welcomes 2 million guests. On the popularity ranking for gourmet in Hakodate it always monopolizes 1st to 3rd place and this bay area shop is always #1.

The most popular item on the menu is the “Chinese Chicken Burger” of which around 300 thousand meals are sold a year. The chicken has the perfect texture and the sauce is the perfect blend of sweet and sour. This combination is one that makes you want to return after just one bite!

2. Hasegawa Store

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This is a convenience store with 14 branches in the center of Hakodate City. Their specialty is the “yakiniku bento”. About 30 years ago they were ask, “Don’t you sell bento?” In response, they put the yakitori they sold on the rice they had to make rice balls and it has been sold ever since.

The chicken is put on the skewer, flavored with red Hakodate wine, and cooked in-store. The idea of not making anything ahead of time is a motto for the Hasegawa Store so you can always count on the freshest variety. Choose your sauce from about 4 that are made available.

The biggest surprise is that even though it is “yakitoribento”, where “tori” means chicken. The most popular “yakitoribento” has pork in it. They do not bother to change to name at all. There are many types of yakitori here so please do try the one that interests you!

3. Unimurakami

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This is a place where strictly local food is used. They also source uni, or sea urchin, to many different places within the prefecture.

They are quite particular about their sea urchins and they did not use sea urchin with any additives but only those that are truly natural. Most sea urchin’s shape and color is preserved with preservatives but not here! Without this substance added you can enjoy the true sweetness of sea urchin.

4. Asari

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This shop began in 1901 and is a specialty shop for meat that serves you sukiyaki. “Sukiyaki” is a dish in which your meat is prepared in the pot in front of you in a sweet and savory soup. This shop is known well for the high end of meat that is served. One step into this Cyprus built store will have you in a different world.

The idea of being able to enjoy sukiyaki in this laidback atmosphere might make you wonder about the price. However, the lunch meal here is actually quite reasonable. You can enjoy from the A or B type lunches. For 1400 yen, you can enjoy the A lunch with beef sukiyaki, rice, miso soup, and sherbet. It is a great place to enjoy great beef for an even greater price!
When one considers Hakodate they may think about the ocean here. However, the beef is also a must try. This meat shops croquette is also delicious!

5. Seiryuken

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The savory soup that is so transparent is what this ramen shop is known for. Loved by the community, this shop is also only 5 minutes from the train station. This allows it to be equally popular with tourists.

Thin noodles with the light soup topped with pork, bamboo shoots, Japanese parsley, and green onion make for a very simple ramen. The taste is rich but not so that you cannot drink it as soup. The price is a very reasonable 580 yen!

Most of those who visit here get set menus that include fried rice or Chinese rice. Please come and enjoy fried rice with your ramen. In addition to your regular ramen here there is shoyu, miso, wantan flavors available. You can also enjoy popular sides from Hokkaido. Be sure to come here on a completely empty stomach!

→The 10 Best Ramen Shops You Must Eat in Hakodate, Hokkaido

→The Best 10 Ramen Shops You Must Eat in Hokkaido

 
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6. Kikuyo Shokudo

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Opened in 1956, this is one of the early restaurants to begin selling the seafood bowls that became famous in the morning markets. You can get a bowl of “yumepirika” rice with sea urchin, scallop, and roe where the ingredients are those from Hokkaido alone.

From the beginning of this shop they are very connected with the fish market and so their ingredients are very fresh. In addition, because they have been on television and the newspaper quite a bit they are very popular with tourists.

You can also get a roe bowl, scallop bowl, salmon and roe bowl as well as many other combinations of seafood on rice. There are also other sashimi lunch sets such a squid and sets with cooked fish as well. We recommend visiting here in the morning or at noon when most of the excitement is! If you want a dinner meal we recommend the bay area shop.

→The 10 Best Restaurants You Must Visit at Hakodate Morning Market, Hokkaido

7. Pastry Snaffle’s

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The most popular attraction in Hakodate is the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse. One corner of this is where you will find Pastry Snaffle’s. It is a shop you can visit when on a walk around the area. The most popular menu item is the “cheese omelet”. This is a cheese cake that is soft as an omelet. Since it began selling in 2000, it gained great notoriety through being mentioned by airline cabin attendants and it became quite the specialty of Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse.

Here they use ingredients from Hokkaido and bake their desserts freshly every day. You can buy and eat here or buy as a souvenir. There are other treats such as the heart-shaped cookies, pudding, and roll cake. If you are need of souvenirs you cannot go wrong here!

→The Best 10 Dessert Shops You Must Eat in Hokkaido

8. Ikasei

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In Hakodate, where the ocean’s blessings are abundant, the taste you cannot forget to try is squid! Hakodate is where many squid are brought up to shore. In the restaurant there is a large tank were squid that have just come to shore. When you make your order, a squid is removed from the tank to create your dish.

In the months of January to May you may have “spear squid” and in the months of June to December you may have the “Japanese common squid”. Aside from the “live squid sashimi”, you can also enjoy other types of squid cuisine such as dried squid and pickled squid. There are also many other Hokkaido seafood menu items that go well with local sake. There are also many regulars who come as well as tourists so it is best to make a reservation before your visit.

9. Gotoken Hakodate Curry EXPRESS

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This restaurant is one popular with the locals since 1879. The restaurant name is one given in honor of the first chef. The menu you must try here is the “beef curry”.

The base is made with Hokkaido onion fried with Hokkaido butter and home-made broth. Their curry powder is also an original blend that creates the perfect flavor you must try!

The main restaurant is “Sekatei” which is an elegant atmosphere with original Western cuisine. If you want to have curry in a bit more affordable way, Gotoken Hakodate Curry EXPRESS is the place for you. It is the flavor of “Sekatei” in a more laidback environment. It is also located in the famous Goryokaku Tower and in the adjacent store you can buy items only available here. When you buy curry blends from here as gifts, you will make people happy!

10. Trappistine Covent

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Trappistine Covent was started by 8 nuns from France in 1898. Today also the nuns live together here not only praying and serving but also doing agriculture and baking.

The “Madalena”s is something that can only be found here. The main ingredients are egg, butter, flour and sugar. No additives or preservatives are used. They are most like a baked good called “Medeleine” by the Japanese. When you bite in there is a fluffy texture and a buttery flavor.

Most souvenirs can be purchased at the airport or hotel but not this “Madalena” s. They can only be purchased here but they are a must try so please do come and taste!

→The Best 6 Must-Buy Souvenirs in Hakodate, Hokkaido

Make the Most of Hakodate Gourmet!

What did you think? Where there not many delicious options available? Hokkaido has the most gourmet in Japan and Hakodate is certainly the paradise of gourmet. When you come to Hokkaido, come by Hakodate and enjoy gourment!