Hakodate is packed with tourist attractions, from Mount Hakodate and the morning market to Goryokaku Park. If you're going to travel to Hakodate, you'll want to enjoy it to the fullest, right?

While the Western District and Goryokaku District are well-known tourist spots in Hakodate, there are actually many other representative Hakodate attractions around Hakodate Airport, such as the Trappistine Convent and Yunokawa Onsen.

So, this time, we'll reveal a selection of recommended tourist spots around Hakodate Airport. We'll also introduce some sweets you can enjoy during your sightseeing!

<Table of Contents>
1. First, let's review the location of Hakodate Airport.
2. Trappistine Convent
3. Hakodate Milk Ice Cream 118
4. Takuboku Small Park
5. Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden
6. Coffee Room Kikuchi
7. Yunohama Hotel
Summary

Hakodate Airport is located on the east side of Hakodate City, about a 20-minute drive from the city center. It is also easily accessible, being only about 4.5 km from Yunokawa Onsen, Hakodate's hot spring resort area.

It is the southernmost airport in Hokkaido and the second largest in the prefecture after New Chitose Airport. In addition to international flights to destinations such as Taipei and Seoul, it also has regular domestic flights to a wide range of airports including Haneda, Narita, Itami, and Nagoya.

Located about a 10-minute drive from Hakodate Airport, the Trappistine Convent is Japan's first contemplative convent for women, founded in 1898 (Meiji 31) by eight nuns sent from France.

The convent, situated on a hill overlooking the town of Yunokawa, is still home to about 60 nuns who live a self-sufficient life while adhering to strict discipline.

Although it is primarily a living space for nuns and not a tourist attraction, many tourists visit to admire its beautiful brick buildings and well-maintained gardens.

Self-taken photos

The shop on the premises sells rosaries handmade by the nuns, as well as madeleines and cookies.

In particular, the Madalena cake has a traditional flavor, made using the same method since the company's founding in 1898. It has a gentle, moist taste, made only with pure butter, eggs, sugar, and flour.

Hakodate Milk Ice Cream 118 is located about 5 minutes by car from Hakodate Airport and 5 km south of the Trappistine Convent. It is a shop located on the factory grounds of Hakodate Dairy Corporation, which is well-known to Hakodate residents for its "Hakodate Milk" brand.

In addition to Hakodate milk and coffee milk, they also sell rich, creamy soft serve ice cream and parfaits, croquettes made with Hokkaido potatoes, and original merchandise.

You can enjoy your meal on the terrace in front of the shop, where you can savor the idyllic atmosphere.

Within the spacious grounds, there is an attached farm where you can experience feeding cows. If you make a reservation, you can also try feeding a calf, so why not give it a try to create some wonderful memories of Hokkaido?

Takuboku Small Park is located along National Route 278, which runs along the coastline, about a 12-minute drive from Hakodate Airport.

Ishikawa Takuboku, the poet who loved Hakodate so much that he even said, "When I die, I want to die in Hakodate," had a deep affection for the city. In this park located on Omori Beach, which he cherished, there stands a statue of Takuboku in a pensive pose, with a magnificent view of Mount Hakodate and the Tsugaru Strait stretching out behind it.

Omori Beach in front of the park is a place where Takuboku often took walks when he first came to Hakodate. The opening lines of his representative work, "A Handful of Sand," "On the white sand of the shore of a small island in the East Sea, I wept and played with crabs," are said to have been composed while he was thinking of Omori Beach.

Why not take a walk along the beach and reflect on the life of this ill-fated genius poet?

Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden is located in the Yunokawa Onsen area, a secluded hot spring resort area of ​​Hakodate. As soon as you enter the garden, you'll see a monkey mountain on your left, where about 90 monkeys are kept.

From December to May, the pool is filled with hot spring water, and you can see monkeys relaxing and enjoying a soak.

Self-taken photos

The glass-enclosed greenhouse is home to over 300 varieties of tropical plants, creating a truly tropical atmosphere. The vibrant colors of hibiscus and bougainvillea flowers, and the vast rainforest-like landscape that seems to reach the ceiling, make you forget you're in Hokkaido. The greenhouse also remains warm and cozy even in winter. Why not take a stroll and enjoy the contrast between the warmth and the snowy landscape?
Self-taken photos

In addition, the Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden offers a footbath area to soothe travel fatigue, a playground, and a water play area. It's a tourist spot that will satisfy not only adults but also children.

<For more details, please see this article!>
Hokkaido's "Monkey Hot Springs" are here! The charm of Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden!

This long-established coffee shop is located very close to Yunokawa Onsen. They serve soft-serve ice cream that became nationally famous thanks to the popular TV program, "Suiyō Dōdeshō" (How Do You Like Wednesday?).

There are three flavors: mocha, vanilla, and mixed. If you only want soft serve ice cream, you can purchase it at the takeaway window.

This gelato-based soft serve ice cream has a slightly icy texture compared to regular soft serve. Its refreshing aftertaste makes it easy to eat several servings.

Finally, let me introduce some day-trip hot springs that you can easily drop into between sightseeing!

At Yunohama Hotel in Yunokawa Onsen, you can use the hot springs from 13:00 (open-air bath from 14:00) to 20:00 for 1,000 yen for adults and 700 yen for elementary school students.

The large glass-enclosed bathhouse features five different bathtubs, allowing you to relax and enjoy a soak while gazing at the Tsugaru Strait.

Located on the second floor is an open-air bath called "Shiosai Gyoka Rotenburo" (Shiosai Fishing Fire Open-Air Bath). This ocean-view bath overlooking the Pacific Ocean is decorated with fishing nets and lifebuoys, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of an old-fashioned fishing boat.

Furthermore, this hot spring is also known as "Shinsengumi Hot Spring," and it is said to be a traditional hot spring where Hijikata Toshizo, the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi who died in the Battle of Hakodate, also bathed.

That concludes our summary of recommended tourist spots around Hakodate Airport.

Every spot is a charming place that lets you experience the unique character of Hakodate. You can visit them by rental car, streetcar, or bus, so be sure to stop by on your way to the airport on your last day of your Hakodate trip!

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