After lunch, we boarded our bus and made a couple of stops before arriving at our hotel in Hakodate.
Our first stop was Konbu Kan in Nanae, Hokkaido, a big store dedicated to all things konbu related.
The store was busy with Chinese and Korean tourists . . . and us. The prices were more on the high end to me, and although I did make a few purchases I kinda held back because the Hakodate Morning Market was on our itinerary for the next day . . . and that kind of shopping is more my speed.
After Konbu Kan we went on to Fort Goryokaku, a massive, star-shaped Western-style citadel originally built for the defense of the city. An observation deck is located at the top of the Goryokaku Tower.
The fort was built in 1855 to protect the Tsugaru Strait against possible invasion by the Russian fleet. The star shape allowed for greater numbers of gun emplacements on its walls than a traditional Japanese fortress and reduced the number of blind spots where a cannon could not fire.
We arrived at our hotel, the La Vistal Hakodate Bay Hotel, with little time to spare before dinner, so me and Sweetie just cruised in the hotel room.
Dinner was at 6:30 pm at the Casa de Norte in our hotel, and OMG it was SO GOOD!! After all the indulgent eating we'd been doing in the last few days, this sit-down light fare was juuuuust right . . . and oh so ono.
I'm not able to identify what each of these hors doeuvres was, but they were all delicious.
Tuna-smoked carpaccio. My plan was to taste a little corner and give the rest to Sweetie because I normally don't eat raw stuff, but that didn't happen. I ate every bit of it; it was that good.
The mushroom cream soup was also delicious.
The salmon, shrimp, and black pork . . . OUTSTANDING.
Marron cake . . . all gone.
We had a nice window seat and could see that all of the shops had closed by the time we were done eating, so after dinner we went straight back to our room and relaxed.
9 comments:
Yum! Can't wait to see what you found at the market the next day!
I wanna go back to goryokaku when it is cherry blossom season:)
I would've gone crazy in that konbu place! That menu looked delicious too...yummmmm
Aunty, I really liked the morning market.
Kat, I just looked at pictures of the place in the spring. So pretty!
You'd like it Les.
I've put on a few pounds since I started going on your blog....ha!!
Hakodate is on my itinerary for next year. The pupus (hors doeuvres )looks
delicious.
See, sashimi is good, now you can try other types of raw fish!
Hey Jalna! Can you stop making me hungry already? I'm a lonely bachelor! ; )
Have you found my new Japanese princess bride yet? ; )
Me too, Chet!! I can gain weight just looking at the photos.
Ummmm . . . I dunno about that, Mich.
Sooooory, Mark. LOL.
Wow the views! I love buffets for the variety but honestly these fixed menu ones actually taste better since they concentrate only on a few dishes per person unlike the mass production dishes for the large crowd..they look nicer too!
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