Airside at Hakodate Airport (Photo: Hideyuki Kamon / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Hakodate Airport

Access to this famous port city by air

Airside at Hakodate Airport (Photo: Hideyuki Kamon / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Kim   - 2 min read

Hakodate is one of Japan's most notable port cities, and was one of the country's first ports opened up to international trading along with Shimoda back in 1854. In more recent times, the city has become a popular spot for tourism, and is easily accessible by air courtesy of the Hakodate Airport. The airport has domestic routes operating to Tokyo (Haneda), Osaka (Itami), Nagoya, and Sapporo, with international routes to Taipei in Taiwan and seasonal operations to several Chinese cities.

The airport has a wide variety of retail stores and restaurants to choose from. Restaurant Pollux is one of them, and they serve up a range of local seafood dishes alongside other Japanese, Chinese, and Western-style dishes. Menus here are available in English as well as Japanese, making it easy for international travelers, and the restaurant looks out over the runway and the Tsugaru Strait, giving diners a wonderful view as they enjoy their meals. There's also Onjiki, a restaurant specializing in Hakodate-style ramen, and a branch of Misuzu Coffee, Hakodate's oldest coffee store.

Other amenities at the airport include foreign currency exchange and an information counter where you can obtain details on flight schedules, sightseeing spots, local accommodation options, and transport information. Free WiFi is available throughout the terminals if you need to get online.

For those who are traveling with children, you'll be happy to know that there's a kids corner on the 3rd floor of the Domestic Passenger Terminal Building, with areas to slide, climb, and crawl. For the bigger kids, there's a game area with UFO catchers, taiko drums, and even purikura photo booths.

Getting there

Shuttle bus services are available from Hakodate Station to the airport (450 yen for adults / 230 yen for children), with a ride time of approximately 20 minutes.

For those who are driving, the airport is approximately 9 kilometers (around 18 minutes driving time) from central Hakodate. Parking is available at the airport for around 800 vehicles, with the first 30 minutes of parking free. The maximum daily parking charge is 800 yen.

Kim

Kim @kim.b