2 upcoming voyages call at Hakodate
- Autumn Hokkaido & Michinoku Cruise
Kobe → Hokkaido → Tohoku → Kobe
- Calls here
- September 27, 2026
- Day
- 5 of 9
- Ashore
- 08:30–22:00 (14 hours)
- Spring Sendai & Hakodate Cruise
Yokohama → Sendai → Hakodate → Hachinohe → Ofunato → Yokohama
- Calls here
- April 17, 2027
- Day
- 5 of 9
- Ashore
- 09:30–21:00 (12 hours)
Times shown are as scheduled and can change. Weather, sea conditions and port operations may shorten a call or prevent it — always check the latest information from NYK Cruises, and once aboard, from the ship.
About Hakodate
One of the first two ports Japan opened to foreign trade, in 1859, which is why a town at the northern edge of the country has churches, a Russian consulate and brick warehouses. It sits on a neck of land with water on both sides and a mountain at the end of it, so the shape of the place is legible from anywhere above street level. The fort at Goryokaku, begun the same year the port opened, is where the last battle of the civil war that ended the shogunate was fought.
Within reach of the port
Motomachi and the slopes
The hillside below the mountain, where the foreign consulates and churches went up after 1859. Every street runs straight down to the water, so the harbour is at the end of each one — Hachiman-zaka is the one people photograph, with a ship usually sitting at the bottom of it.
Hakodate City (official) ↗in Japanese — your browser can translate it
Goryokaku
A five-pointed star fort, built to a European design between 1859 and 1864 because the old magistrate's office under the mountain was within range of ships in the bay. A special historic site now, and the shape only reads from the tower beside it.
Hakodate City (official) ↗in Japanese — your browser can translate it
The morning market and the red brick warehouses
Both are within a few minutes of the berth. The market is squid and crab and sea urchin from six in the morning; the warehouses on the water are 1900s brick, now shops and cafes.
Shore excursions
NYK Cruises run their own guided excursions at each port, booked by guests themselves through My ASUKA PLANS — the booking window opens before departure and depends on your cabin class. They are conducted in Japanese. Going ashore independently is always an option.