Scenes from Hakodate City (Hokkaido, Japan)

Yokosuka Mike

Yokosuka Mike

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My wife and I recently visited Hakodate City on the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan. Hakodate is an unusual and interesting place to visit, these are images from that trip. I hope you enjoy. :)

All the best,
Mike
 
There are quite a few rickshaw operators offering tours of the Red Brick area. They did seemed to be doing pretty good business.
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Fujinon XF 16-80mm f4 lens
Fujifilm X-T2 camera
Hakodate City, Hokkaido, Japan - August-September 2024​
 
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Hm. Aspects of Japan I've not seen, but then I was last there so many decades ago,...

Those 'streetcars' look like the old trolley busses I recall from my childhood in Montreal (Canada). Sadly they were all removed from the transport system in the 1960s. Toronto has kept its trams. Sydney (Australia) supposedly dumped many of its trams in the harbor when it moved to bus transport in the (so I was told) early '60s, but has now put in mini rail/monorail system in its central business district, those are trams of a sort so the tradition continues in its own way.

Ditto Melbourne. Car drivers hate them as they clutter up the streets and make often right turns a hazard for the unwary who do not know the 'rule' that to make a right turn, you pull to the left and wait for the light to change before zooming across the intersection. Life in the CBD of Melbourne can be an adventure!!

Also in Melbourne the unofficial (or maybe it's official) rule is, if a car, van or truck has a collision with a tram, even if the tram has hit the vehicle, it's legally the motor vehicle driver's fault. As a few friends have found out to their dismay (and their insurer's cost). Fortunately for the 'at faults' it would take a Sherman Tank to even make a small dent on a Melbourne tram. On the other hand, even a small tap from a tram and often as not many small cars are a wipeout, as my partner found out in the obvious (and hard) way 20 years ago.

Trams do move people around quickly and efficiently, until one breaks down somewhere along a line and blocks all the trams behind it. As happens regularly in Melbourne. Then the trams pile up, motor traffic slows to a crawl, everybody complains and grumbles. Eventually a repair crew turns up to fix the problem or the tram is towed away and all returns to normal. Such is life in Marvelous Melbourne.

For all those road risks Melbourne is a unique and charming city and we who live there or close to, love it.

Interesting to see rickshaws still in operation in Japan. I would have thought pulling a rickshaw to be widely considered as 'coolie' work, but obviously it's a tourist draw. Did you take one, Mike? That young driver looks super fit. Obviously, pulling the thing around the precinct is far cheaper than a gym membership...

In East Java where I hang out, becak(s) are still a popular mode of local transport in many smaller communities. Most trishaw drivers are Madurese men who have gravitated to Java as they could not get work on their home island. Surabaya is (unofficially) thought to have about 1 million, mostly casual workers. I photograph them as I see them during my city walks. I must post a few images of those in a new thread, yes- I'll get to checking all my portable hard disks today.

Wonderful photography as always, OP. You have a great eye for the casual moments.
 
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DownUnder said:
Those 'streetcars' look like the old trolley buses I recall from my childhood in Montreal (Canada). Sadly they were all removed from the transport system in the 1960s. Toronto has kept its trams. Sydney (Australia) supposedly dumped many of its trams in the harbor when it moved to bus transport in the (so I was told) mid-'60s, but has now put in mini rail/monorail system in its central business district, those are trams of a sort so the tradition continues in its own way.
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If I'm not mistaken, Toronno was the only city in all of North America whose tram network survived the transition to busses largely intact. There was a streetcar revival in some cities in the US in the 2010s following Portland, but they are all shadows of their former selves, often just one or two lines in the CBD, none going out to the suburbs like they once did. They mostly serve as public subsidies to spur real estate speculation and, in the US, they're often built in the middle of existing streets, so even when they have their own dedicated rights of way they habitually get stuck in car traffic. My sister lives in Mesa, Arizona near the eastern terminus of the Valley Metro Light rail line and refuses to take it into downtown because it's an hour and a half to ride vs a 20 or 30 minute drive. Systems in other parts of the world sometimes use dedicated, grade-separated tramways so they don't have to fight car traffic. Sometimes they'll even line the tracks with grass to make the tram quieter.
 
JeffS7444 said:
I bought some really good smoked, dried scallops in Hakodate, and recall the price being very reasonable. So many tasty things to eat in Hokkaido!
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jeffS7444, did you visit the The Hakodate Morning Market?

The Hakodate Morning Market (Asaichi) is held daily from 5am (6am from January to April) to noon, just a few steps away from JR Hakodate Station. The market area spans about four city blocks. Products on sale include various types of fresh seafood, such as crabs, salmon eggs and sea urchin, as well as fresh produce such as melons. Many restaurants can be found in the market area, offering fresh seafood breakfasts, such as uni-ikura domburi.

I few pictures I took in the morning market
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All the best,
Mike
 
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