Squid Ink Ice Cream

Hakodate, Japan

August 12, 2019

Hakodate is also on the northern island of Hokkaido near the southern tip. As we enter the port there are dozens of freighters waiting to enter and sleek ferries heading to Aomori in Northern Honshu. There is now an underwater tunnel connecting the two islands with a bullet train going to and from Tokyo, otherwise going to or from Hokkaido is by ferry or airplane.

Hakodate is the first port that was opened to foreigners in the 1800s. It was also the last stand of the samurai warriors when the emperor became ruler. Its history makes it a popular vacation spot for Japanese.

August 15th is the traditional day that Japanese head home to visit the graves of their relatives. It’s not an official holiday but because it is also during the school summer vacation, many take the week off. That explains why there are so many Japanese out and about, obviously on holiday. 

We spent the morning going first to the Morning Market, a beehive of 100s of shops selling fresh seafood and produce, cooked food, ice cream—lots of ice cream—and probably anything else your heart would desire. Hakodate is the center of the squid fishing industry so you can buy squid live, squid noodles, cooked squid , squid-flavored popcorn and squid ink ice cream. I had to try that. It’s a dark grey color but tastes like vanilla and like all Japanese ice cream is delicious. We stumbled upon Kit Kat bars in a little convenience store in the midst of the market. I snapped up bags of green tea, strawberry ice cream and cookies and cream filled Kit Kats. I’m beginning to wonder if the wasabi-filled Kit Kat is an urban myth.

Boy, do the Japanese like sweets. There are candy shops everywhere and at least one aisle of candy in any other store. Many are sold in beautifully wrapped boxes, perfect for a gift. Also perfect for a gift? Fresh fruit. It’s all gorgeous, beautifully wrapped and displayed and unbelievably expensive. We saw a bunch of large, perfect green grapes for $40! Melons ranged from 35 to 50 dollars a piece. It all made Whole Foods look like a discount store. I will never complain about the price of produce again. When we remarked about the cost, our guide, Sodoko, said they would rather pay a lot for something exquisite and delicious that not much for not much. For instance, she loves sushi, but only good sushi. She and her family go out for sushi maybe three times a year and almost always as a celebration for a birthday, job promotion or school award. We thought it best not to tell her about American supermarket sushi. She would have been horrified.

The sun is out and the persistent overcast has burned away; a perfect day to ride The Ropeway (aerial cable car) to the top of Mt. Hakodate (9800’). It’s maybe a three minute ride, 80 people to a car, above the tree tops to the summit. From there you can really see the shape and size of the city. It was built on what was a sand bar that formed between the mainland and an island so it has the sea on both sides. We could spot the Maasdam across the commercial port.

Our last stop was at the Red Brick Warehouse district. 30 or so years ago this area was redeveloped into a center for shopping, dining and fun. It’s right on the waterfront and was also swarming with people. We hit pay dirt in one shop—souvenirs, fabric and chocolate Kit Kats, We passed on sending our great nieces and nephews reproduction, child-size samurai swords. Your welcome, parents of said children.

Because of the impending typhoon tracking towards southern and western Japan, the Captain moved our departure time up from 10 pm to 3:30 pm. He’s gotten permission to land early in Yokohama so it’s full speed ahead to get there by midnight on Tuesday instead of Wednesday morning. That way we will be safe in the harbor away from the wind and swells of the storm. The ship started to move up and down as soon as we hit the open sea. It’s not choppy, just long rolling waves, one right after another. Time to secure our stuff and keep one hand for the ship.