Top 5 Hakodate Food Experiences

Hakodate is a harbor city in northern Japan that is quickly becoming a favorite spot for us during any Japanese adventure. Having both the Pacific Ocean and the spit of water separating Honshu and Hokkaido (two of Japan’s four large islands) nearby, makes the seafood found in Hakodate nothing short of euphoric. Furthermore, being located on Hokkaido–Japan’s northernmost and least populated major island–Hakodate benefits from its quick access to the famous dairy and produce cultivated further inland.

Before we go any further, let me put any potential concerns to rest. No, you will not need to be fluent in Japanese in order to enjoy a trip to Hakodate. While it’s hundreds of miles away from the typical tourist hot spots of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, we were able to communicate with most of the local folks with a few Japanese phrases and some broken English. In other words, don’t be afraid to use body language, your phone, or a calculator when trying to negotiate a good price on a delicious looking piece of seafood. With that, here are the top five items we tried during our stay in Hakodate. 

1. Crab Feast from the Hakodate Morning Market

We’re normally not big crustacean eaters. It’s nothing personal against the aquatic arthropods, or their flavor, but often it’s the price tag for these suckers that gets in the way. Like many Midwesterners, we don’t have regular, reliable access to fresh seafood–and no, Long John Silver’s does not count. Enter the Hakodate Morning Market. 

Fat flakes of snow floated down on us while we selected two different crab species for our meal. On this cold Tuesday morning, we went with a snow crab and a hairy crab. Having selected our proteins, Tara and I were shown to a small seating area by the women we had just completed our transaction with. The two employees (owners?) quickly dispatched our two crabs and started preparing them. We opted for half grilled and half boiled.

What we tried to capture in our pictures was the uncomplicated presentation of alive-five-minutes-ago fresh crabs, prepared, and plated without the need for any additional condiments. Look, there’s no drawn butter anywhere near the dish and no buckets of sauce off camera either. This was a meal filled with natural sweetness from the hairy crab and the snow crab respectively. Time for the bonus, wow factor. See the crab head towards the top of the picture? For the sake of delicate sensibilities, we’ll use the commonly referred to term of kani miso (crab miso) for the contents of the shell. Let’s just say it’s a natural dipping sauce, and it elevated the already mind-numbing deliciousness of the sweet crab meat to a level we hadn’t believed was possible. This was our most expensive meal of the trip by a large margin, but it was the most memorable one. From the crab choosing (sorry crabs), to sitting in the little market stall with a tiny camp stove for warmth while the fluffy snow fell from the sky and our crabs boiled and grilled away, this was a one-of-a-kind experience that we highly recommend.

Price: 21,600 yen ($163.64) for a snow crab and a hairy crab 

2. Grilled Mackerel and Sashimi Plate from Ikataro Shop 2

The interior of Ikataro Shop 2 is perfect for the after work crowd wanting to have a few rounds before heading home or for this particular American couple who always wants to eat dinner on the cheap. The menus are filled with pictures, and ordering from the servers is an easy affair.

Look at all of the food pictured on the platter. Would you pay $50 for this plate of sashimi, shellfish, rice balls, crab, tamagoyaki (dashi egg omelet), seared tuna belly, and roe? What if I threw in the broiled mackerel shellacked in sweet soy sauce? At 50 bucks, you’d probably be happy, right? Well, the joke’s on you because all of this came at the pittance of $31.93. In fact, our entire bill, which included four lemon sours and some edamame, was just over $45. It sounds crazy, but seafood, in all of its delectable forms, is just more affordable in Hakodate. 

The real kicker is that Ikataro Shop 2 is an izakaya (a bar that also serves food). Tara and I saw the price of the sashimi platter on a chalkboard outside and decided to give this place a shot. We had no idea how fresh the sashimi would be, how sweet the tamagoyaki was, or how addictive the previously mentioned smothered mackerel would be. Sadly, if we had perused their online reviews prior to our visit, we probably would have skipped Ikataro Shop 2 because they’re under four stars. We take this as proof that sometimes you just have to try something yourself. 

Price: 5,951 yen ($45.08) for the entire meal with four drinks

3. Kaisendon (fresh seafood rice bowl) from Seafood Bowl Sakura

Another seafood dish? I promise, it’s the last one, and it’s totally worth a mention on this list. Ten years ago, if you would have told me I would eat fish for breakfast and thoroughly enjoy it, I would have told you to get off my lawn, crazy person. Well, I’m glad that I’ve finally seen the error of my ways. Eating a kaisendon (rice bowl with fish) is a fantastic way to start your morning. The dishes we ate at Seafood Bowl Sakura were simple, two-topping affairs. The sweet crab and fresh salmon filled us up and prepared us for a long day of traveling. Tomorrow morning, forget the Wheaties–go with some rice and fish!

Price: 3,500 yen ($26.52) for two

4. Potato Softcream with Chips from Jagaimo Factory

On the surface, this looks like it’s just another example of an Instagrammable dessert. Yes, it’s a cute cone with some very colorful accents, but it’s so much more. The cream was soft and rich and made of potatoes. The addition of the spuds added a density we had not experienced with other frozen treats. The crisp, freshly fried chips made for an amazing contrast with the softcream, and we had a glorious time dipping the chips into the sides and midsection of our cone. A tasty treat and some fun to go along with it, why not? (Also, the owner spoke excellent English and was extremely friendly. And they had an entire wall of different types of potatoes!)

Price: 350 yen ($2.65)

5. Sampler Platter from Petit Merveille

With our first bites into the micro cheesecakes at Petit Merveille, we knew we’d be back. We couldn’t have predicted how many times, but vacations are for overindulging, right? This sampler platter has everything each of our respective sweet tooths could have hoped for, and their matcha lattes were addictive. The previously mentioned airy yet flavorful cheesecake bites along with the pumpkin and milk soft cream swirl that was lucious and silky smooth. But for us, the star of the show was the milk pudding with caramel sauce. We were so captivated by this heavenly cup of dairy and eggs that we indeed came back…three more times. We couldn’t help ourselves. The burnt caramel and creamy pudding played off each other so well. We even bought two for our train ride to Sapporo. Weeks later and we’re still dreaming about this delectable dessert.

Price: 1,943 yen ($14.72) for a sampler platter and two drinks

(Side note: Prices are at today’s exchange rate of 1 U.S. dollar to 132 Yen.)