Audio walking guides in Hakodate

10 self-guided walks · 322 minutes of narration · Hakodate, Japan

Hakodate, Japan

Photo: en:User:Fg2 · Public domain

These are self-guided audio walks around Hakodate. You pick a route, put one earbud in, and the guide talks you through it stop by stop — what you are looking at, and why it is there. There is no group to keep up with and no meeting time. 10 walks covering Hakodate, The Frontier, The Port That Faced Outward, Squid, Kelp and a Warming Strait, Esashi, Ōnuma, Tōya and Usu, Okushiri and more, 322 minutes of narration in total.

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Short on time? One day in Hakodate on foot — which of these walks fit in a day, in the order they sit on the map.

Every walk in Hakodate

Hakodate: The Star Fort and the Republic That Lasted Five Months

6 stops · about 30 minutes · starts at The morning market beside Hakodate station

Welcome to Hakodate, and start with a fact that surprises almost everybody, including a lot of Japanese people. This was the first port in Japan opened to foreigners.…

The Frontier: Matsumae, the Trade Monopoly and the Ainu

6 stops · about 29 minutes · starts at The western edge of Hakodate, facing down the peninsula

Before you set off down this road, you need one idea, and it changes how the whole of Hokkaido reads. For most of the Edo period, this island…

The Port That Faced Outward: Hakodate's Foreign Hill

6 stops · about 38 minutes · starts at Hakodate morning market, beside the station

Look up at the mountain at the end of the town, and then look at the flat strip of streets running toward it. That shape is the reason…

Squid, Kelp and a Warming Strait: The Sea That Made Hakodate

6 stops · about 39 minutes · starts at The waterfront at Hakodate, looking across the Tsugaru Strait

Look south across the water. On a clear day you can see the far shore, and the gap between the two coasts is under twenty kilometres at its…

Esashi: The Richest Town in the North, and the Fish That Stopped Coming

6 stops · about 36 minutes · starts at The old town of Esashi, on the Japan Sea coast

There is a saying about this town that people here will quote to you, and it goes roughly: even Edo has no May like Esashi's May. Edo, at…

Ōnuma: A Lake Made of a Mountain That Fell Over

6 stops · about 33 minutes · starts at Ōnuma Park, at the lake shore

Look at the lake, and then look at the mountain behind it, and understand that one is made of the other. The lake is not a simple sheet…

Nine Thousand Years Before the Fort: The Jōmon Coast East of Hakodate

6 stops · about 30 minutes · starts at Hakodate Jōmon Culture Centre, Minamikayabe

It is about the length of your forearm and it is standing there completely still in a case of its own, lit from below, in a quiet room…

Tōya and Usu: The Eruption Nobody Died In, and the Volcano a Postmaster Bought

6 stops · about 31 minutes · starts at Tōyako Onsen, on the lake front

A big round lake, blue, with an island group in the middle of it and wooded hills all the way round the rim. A row of hotels along…

Okushiri: Three Minutes, and the Island That Was Rebuilt Around Them

6 stops · about 29 minutes · starts at Okushiri ferry terminal

Come off the ferry and look at the shore. Concrete. A great deal of it, in a continuous wall, running along the waterfront and away round the coast…

The Trappists: French Monks, an Avenue of Trees, and How Hokkaido Learned to Make Butter

6 stops · about 27 minutes · starts at The Trappist monastery gate, Tobetsu

A straight gravel avenue climbing a low hill, lined on both sides with tall trees, with a red brick building at the top and the sea behind you.…

Questions about walking Hakodate

What is the best self-guided walking tour in Hakodate?

It depends how long you have. Hakodate: The Star Fort and the Republic That Lasted Five Months (30 minutes, 6 stops) starts at The morning market beside Hakodate station and is the one most people begin with. The Frontier: Matsumae, the Trade Monopoly and the Ainu covers a different part of the city in about 29 minutes. All 10 walks in Hakodate are listed on this page with their length and starting point.

Do I need to book a walking tour in Hakodate?

No. Every wanderaudio walk is self-guided, so there is nothing to book and no departure time. You start whenever you arrive, and you can stop halfway and pick it up the next day.

How much do the Hakodate audio guides cost?

Your first guide is free. You make a free account before it plays, with an email address or a Google login, and no card. After that a single guide is $4.99, a 30-guide pass, spendable on any guides in any cities, is $29.99, and every guide in Japan is $59.99. It is a one-off payment, not a subscription.

Are these tours in English?

Yes, all 10 Hakodate walks are narrated in English. Other languages are not available yet.

Can I do these walks alone?

Yes — that is what they are built for. There is no group and no guide waiting for you, so walking alone works exactly the same as walking with someone. You choose the pace and the order.