Getting Around Hakodate
Hakodate is a compact port city, and most of what a visitor wants to see sits within a fairly tight area. The practical picture is simple: a pair of tram lines handles the waterfront and old-town sights, buses fill in the gaps and reach the airport, and taxis are plentiful but relatively expensive. Walking covers a surprising amount of the centre, though some districts are hilly.
Trams
The city tram, known locally as the Shiden, is the most visitor-friendly way to move around. There are two routes, colour-coded red (Y) and blue (D). They share the same track from the Yunokawa area until they branch at Jūjigai. Route 2 (Y) serves the main visitor corridor, running from Hakodate Station through Jūjigai and Ropeway-mae toward Yunokawa. Route 5 (D) runs from Hakodate Station through Jūjigai south to Yachigashira. Trams generally run from around 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Useful stops for sightseeing include Hakodate-Ekimae at the station and Morning Market, Jūjigai in the Motomachi district, Ropeway-mae for the Mount Hakodate ropeway, Yachigashira for Hakodate Park and the public aquarium, and Goryōkaku-koen-mae for Goryōkaku Park (a short walk from the stop).
Board at the rear door, take a numbered ticket, and pay into the fare box at the front when you get off. The fare is a flat rate per ride. You can pay in cash, with a nationwide IC card, or with a tram day pass. If you only have large bills or coins you want to break, use the exchange machine beside the fare box; larger bills and the newer ¥500 coins can only be exchanged with the driver.
Day passes are the simplest money-saver. A tram-only one-day pass gives unlimited rides on all tram lines for the day and is sold onboard trams as well as at other outlets, and it comes with a route map and sightseeing map plus discounts at some facilities and shops. A smartphone version of the same pass can be bought online and shown to the driver when alighting. There are also combined tram-and-bus passes for one or two days, covering all tram lines plus designated bus routes.
Buses
Hakodate Bus covers the places the trams don't reach, connecting tourist spots such as Mount Hakodate, Goryōkaku, the Trappistine Convent, Hakodate Airport, and Onuma Park, as well as towns across southern Hokkaido. Night buses run, and intercity buses from Sapporo offer reserved seating and onboard free Wi-Fi.
Fares start low for short journeys and rise with distance. As on the trams, take a ticket or tap your IC card when boarding, then pay or tap again when getting off. Pay exact amounts in cash, and use the exchange machine next to the fare box if you need smaller denominations.
For specific trips, buses can beat the tram: a direct bus from Hakodate Station reaches the Goryōkaku Tower area in about fifteen minutes, faster than taking the tram and walking the last stretch. The Trappistine Convent in the Yunokawa area is also reached by bus rather than tram. For Onuma Quasi-National Park, buses run from Hakodate Station, but the JR train is faster.
Bus passes are available too. A bus-only day pass gives unlimited rides on Hakodate Bus lines within a designated area, with a higher price in the warmer season and a lower one in winter. Combined tram-and-bus passes cover all tram lines and designated bus areas, with a two-day version covering two consecutive days. Most of these passes are sold through the DohNa! website, and some come with discounts at participating facilities and shops.
IC Cards and Tickets
Nationwide IC cards work on both the trams and the buses, and all the major cards are interoperable. Suica and PASMO (charged in Tokyo) and Kitaca (charged in Sapporo) are all accepted, and Hakodate's own ICAS nimoca card is valid nationwide in Japan. You can top up at JR vending machines at Hakodate Station, and Kitaca is obtainable at Sapporo or Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto stations.
Using the local ICAS nimoca card cuts a small amount off bus-to-bus and bus-to-tram transfers, but creating a card just for that discount is probably not worth the hassle for a short visit. ICAS nimoca itself costs ¥2,000, which includes ¥1,500 of fare value and a ¥500 deposit, and is sold at Hakodate Bus and city tram locations and at the Hakodate Station Bus Information Center in front of the station. It can be recharged onboard buses and trams, at the Bus Information Center, at charging machines, and at convenience stores.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are plentiful, if relatively expensive, and there is a queue outside Hakodate Station on the east side. They are most useful after the last tram, which runs around 10:30 p.m., and for trips between tram or bus routes. A 20% surcharge applies between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Rough fare ranges give a sense of the cost: from the station to Goryōkaku Tower, to the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses, and to the ropeway lower station are each short, inexpensive hops, while the airport to the station is a longer and pricier run. The GO app is available for pre-booking. Around the ferry terminal, taxis are best booked in advance for cheaper set prices.
Walking and Cycling
Walking works well in the central area. From Hakodate Station, the Morning Market is a few minutes away, the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses are a comfortable walk, and the start of Motomachi is reachable on foot though the route is hilly. Goryōkaku Tower is walkable on flat ground but far enough that the tram or bus is recommended.
Cycling suits the flat, waterfront parts of the city — the waterfront, the Kanemori warehouse area, and the flat zone around Goryōkaku. Motomachi, by contrast, has steep hills. Rental bikes are available near Hakodate Station, with city bikes and e-bikes at different daily rates, and some hotels offer complimentary bicycles. The waterfront route from Hakodate Station through Kanemori to Motomachi takes roughly twenty to thirty minutes by bike.
Mount Hakodate
The summit of Mount Hakodate can be reached by hiking trail, cable car, or car, and there are also tour buses and direct buses departing from JR Hakodate Station. The ropeway's lower station is a five-minute walk from the Ropeway-mae tram stop, and the ride to the summit takes about three minutes each way. Hours are longer in peak season and reduced from November to March. The ropeway is busiest at sunset and again late in the evening; going slightly before the late-evening peak is a good way to see the night view with shorter queues. A mountain bus also ascends from the Jūjigai area, but only from April to November, not in winter.
Getting In from the Airport
Hakodate Airport sits on the edge of the city and is connected to notable spots by buses from three stops. Bus Stop 1 serves Goryōkaku Park. Bus Stop 2 serves the Trappistine Convent and Goryōkaku Tower, and also Yunokawa Onsen. Bus Stop 3 handles shuttle buses to Hakodate Station and to Onuma Quasi-National Park. A shuttle to Hakodate Station is a cheap, straightforward option.
By road, National Route 278 follows the south coast toward Hakodate Station, while Prefectural Route 100 runs through the northern edges of the city toward Hokuto. Taxis from the airport are plentiful but relatively expensive, with the 20% late-night surcharge applying between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Rough fare bands run from the airport area (Trappistine Convent, Hakodate Arena, Yunokawa Onsen) at the low end, through the central area (Goryōkaku Park, Goryōkaku Tower, the central library, the Hakodate Museum), up to the station area (Hakodate Station, Morning Market, Red Brick Warehouses, Old Town, Mount Hakodate), then the ferry terminal, and highest for Hokuto (Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station, Trappist Convent) and Onuma.
Trains and the Shinkansen Connection
Hakodate has three stations worth knowing. Hakodate Station is downtown and served by conventional trains. Goryōkaku Station, northwest of the city, connects with the Isaribi Line toward Kikonai — don't confuse it with Goryōkaku Park or Goryōkaku Tower, which are several kilometres east. Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station, north of Hakodate Station, is the northernmost terminal for the bullet train.
Hakodate Liner shuttle trains connect these stations, timed to match the bullet train schedule, and Hokuto limited express trains connect them northbound to Onuma Quasi-National Park, Toyako, Noboribetsu, and Sapporo. Reaching Hakodate from Tokyo by the Hayabusa bullet train and the Hakodate Liner takes roughly four and a half hours, and the trip is fully covered by the national Japan Rail Pass. If you are only travelling between Tokyo and Hokkaido, the JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass is slightly cheaper than the national pass and covers bullet train travel between Tokyo and Hakodate as well as the Hokuto between Hakodate and Sapporo; it is used over a consecutive six-day period and comes in a single standard-class version. Seishun 18 ticket users heading to Hakodate from Honshu must buy a separate ticket covering the bullet train stretch between the last stop in Honshu and the first stop in Hokkaido, plus travel on the Isaribi Line between Kikonai and Goryōkaku Station.
Arriving by Ferry
Hakodate's main ferry terminal sits roughly halfway between Hakodate Station and Goryōkaku Station, and is a twenty-minute walk from Nanae-hama Station on the Isaribi Line. Line 16 and 16A buses connect it to Goryōkaku Park, while shuttle buses timed to match ferry arrivals connect it directly to Hakodate Station. National Route 227 follows the west coast to Hakodate Station. Seikan Ferry and Tsugaru Kaikyo Ferry both operate services from Hakodate to Aomori with multiple departures daily, and Tsugaru also sails to Ōma on the Shimokita Peninsula. Vehicles can be brought aboard these ferries for an additional charge.