The red brick warehouses on Hakodate's waterfront are a popular tourist spot and have been used as a filming location for movies, dramas, and variety shows.

In December, a giant Christmas tree, a gift from Halifax, Canada, a sister city of the Red Brick Warehouse, is erected on the water in front of the warehouse. Until Christmas Day on the 25th, a lighting ceremony is held in front of the tree, attracting many visitors.

Let's take a look at the 2016 version of "Hakodate Christmas Fantasy," a major event that brightens up winter in Hakodate.

<Table of Contents>
1. Santa Claus will also descend
2. Lighting Ceremony
3. Soup bar
4. Gnocchi
Let's enjoy winter in Hakodate

 

As December approaches, the Bay Area, where the Red Brick Warehouse is located, is completely immersed in a Christmas atmosphere.

The illuminations begin, the fir tree fairy church is set up, and a giant Christmas tree comes into view.

I'm so excited for this year's Christmas Fantasy to finally begin!

When I looked up and saw the Red Brick Warehouse, it seemed like Santa Clauses had descended upon it!

The Hakodate Christmas Fantasy holds a lighting ceremony every day at 6 PM. The person who lights up the giant tree is a different person each time. Applications from the general public are accepted from around the end of October, so everyone has a chance.

The person who lights the lights arrives at the venue in a specially made Christmas car. On this particular day, the light-lighters were a parent and child who were tourists visiting from outside Hakodate. Before lighting the lights, a message is read aloud, often bringing people to tears.

As the countdown begins, the lights on the Christmas tree are illuminated. The sight of the lights slowly turning on from above as the tree floats on the pitch-black sea is like stars falling from the sky.

The tree, which has traveled a distance of 18,000 kilometers, will be enveloped in light. It is said that there are as many as 100,000 LEDs decorating the 18-meter-tall tree.

While the main color of the tree is green, it can also be a white tree or a bright red tree.

The Red Tree is a rare tree that can only be seen for 15 minutes at 18:30 PM, 19:30 PM, and 20:30 PM.

As the tree lights up, fireworks will be launched at the same time.

Fireworks in winter have a special charm that's different from those in summer. And the experience of watching fireworks alongside a Christmas tree is something you don't get to do very often.

This makes me want to visit Hakodate!

In addition to the regular lighting ceremony, events featuring celebrities and other special guests are sometimes held.

The 2016 opening event was graced by the Bell Stars, a group comprised of active JAL flight attendants. The refreshing sound of handbells was perfectly suited to winter in Hokkaido.

In addition, the area is bustling with activity as companies hold PR events. And sometimes, popular celebrities make visits.

On that day, Kosaka Daimaou, who produced Pikotaro, the sensation of 2016, also visited Christmas Fantasy and helped liven up the event.

 

Around the venue, stalls reminiscent of German Christmas markets have been set up, and soup bars selling soup are also bustling with activity. Every year, each shop prepares creatively made soups, so you can warm up in the cold venue with a hot bowl of soup.

There are usually around 15 types of soup available each year. In 2016, 16 types of soup were offered.

There are a variety of soups available, including a spicy soup with plenty of beef tendons, maitake mushrooms, and vegetables, a corn chowder soup, and a luxurious soup with snow crab.

You can choose based on appearances in brochures or signs, or by observing the queues. Choosing based on the soup's appearance in front of the store or the soup being enjoyed by other customers is also a valid approach.

The soup bar operates on a ticket system; you purchase a ticket at the ticket booth before exchanging it for a bowl of soup. 600 yen per bowl.

Also, you can get discounted advance tickets until the day before Christmas Fantasy. They cost 1000 yen for a set of two tickets, which is 200 yen cheaper than buying tickets on the day.

What's more, it comes with a raffle ticket, and at the drawing held on the 25th, you could win prizes such as accommodation vouchers for hot springs and hotels in Hakodate city, or meal vouchers for restaurants participating in the soup bar. It seems like it would be a good idea to get one in advance.

When the Christmas Fantasy event begins, a gnocchi wagon will set up shop near the venue.

The piping hot gnocchi, fried on the spot, is a comforting treat that's different from the soup bar. The plain flavor is 300 yen.

They also offer variations such as one topped with chocolate or caramel sauce for 350 yen, or one topped with Gorgonzola cheese for 400 yen.

It's a little distance from the Christmas tree, but it's worth looking for.

 

Hakodate Christmas Fantasy is an event that brightens up winter in Hakodate from around December 1st to 25th. In addition, the roads around the Red Brick Warehouses, Motomachi Park, and Goryokaku Park are also lit up with illuminations during this period, creating a magical atmosphere. Why not enjoy winter in Hakodate by taking advantage of these attractions?

Hakodate Christmas Fantasy
Venue: Suehiro-cho, Hakodate City
Contact: 33-14 Motomachi, Hakodate City
(Hakodate Christmas Fantasy Executive Committee Secretariat / Hakodate International Tourism and Convention Association)
TEL：0138-27-3535
FAX: 0138-27-6775
Event period: December 1st to December 25th (start date may vary each year)
Illumination lighting time: 16:30~17:45
18:00 to 0:00 the following day (until 2:00 the following day on Fridays, Saturdays, and from the 22nd to the 25th)
Soup bar available from 16:30 to 20:00
Soup: 600 yen per bowl (1000 yen for two bowls with advance tickets that include a raffle ticket)
Official site:http://www.hakodatexmas.com/

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