Hakodate Provides Another Opportunity to Lose Myself in Painting

Day 17, 2024 Majestic Japan

Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024; Hakodate, Japan

When I am painting on site, I can almost fall into a trance, barely aware of what is happening around me. Today, a Japanese man broke through, offering to airdrop to me a photo he just took as I painted. I was thrilled.

This was the experience I hoped for on this cruise. It started as soon as I left the ship. Dozens of schoolgirls, in groups of four or five, greeted us outside the terminal and even farther along the walkways into town. They were given a break from class to act as guides and interpreters for cruise passengers.

Today I was on the hunt for something other than a green landscape to paint, as much of Alaska was heavy on trees. I walked less than a mile to the Kanemori Red-Brick Warehouse district and found a comfortable bench in just the right place.

The only thing lacking was shade, but a light breeze kept me from suffering in the 90-degree heat. A fellow passenger offered some sunblock, which I had unwisely forgotten on the ship. The warehouses have been redeveloped into shops and restaurants, and the district is a popular stop on shore excursions.

This cruise is turning out to be a different experience as I slow my pace and focus on capturing visual memories. On recent cruises I returned with partial drawings in my sketchbook that awaited sea days for completion (which didn’t always happen). Now I love returning to the ship with a completed painting.

A flip side of this focus is that I miss out on the history and perspective offered by guided tours. I only get that background secondhand from fellow passengers or through online research.

Hakodate is our second and last port on Hokkaido, the northernmost of the four main Japanese islands. Sapporo is probably the best-known city on the island as host of the 1972 winter Olympics. Hakodate was the first Japanese port to open to foreign trade in 1854. Among its attractions are Goryōkaku, a fort built in a European style with five points. Most of the shore excursions stopped there and offered trips to the top of nearby 350-foot Goryōkaku Tower.

Just across the street from the cruise pier is the Hakodate Morning Market, with its narrow streets and dozens of storefronts selling fresh fish, melons and other produce and souvenirs. I wandered over first thing in the morning and found a line already for squid fishing in one establishment. You can eat sashimi featuring squid you just caught. I passed as I’m not really a fish-for-breakfast person.

Perhaps the melons are most prized. The Yubari King melons from Hokkaido are prized and commonly used as gifts. With prices as high as $80 a melon, they would make impressive gifts indeed.

Another popular shore excursion stop is Mount Hakodate, where you might take the ropeway (cable car) or a winding road to the top. Its nighttime views on clear evenings merited a Michelin 3-star rating. I included it in my painting.

This was one port where reading reviews from previous cruisers paid off. I realized I could easily walk to places I might consider for painting. That isn’t true everywhere. I just decided to book a ship’s tour in Osaka to the Osaka Castle after discovering a taxi from the cruise port would cost about $80 each way.

As we left Hakodate, the captain announced he will be leaving the ship in a few days to fly back to Seattle for a corporate meeting with the fleet’s captains. I believe it will be spread over a week as captains come and go. Staff Captain Luncan will take over until Captain Trembling returns in Hiroshima. He also announced that we will arrive early in Osaka, getting in at 3 p.m. the day before our planned arrival. Maybe a night on the town?

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Based on a few comments (here and privately), perhaps I came across as too critical in my post on Kushiro. It wasn’t my intention to criticize the city, but rather to share how this visit contrasted with my memories of previous visits. After six years and many intervening ports, my memories aren’t always true. I’m still perplexed that I couldn’t find the church I remember so distinctly – I’m usually very good at relying on my mental map.

Revisiting favorite locations can be a two-edged sword. I can’t repeat my initial excitement and even awe at discovering new places. Yet there is something satisfying about the familiarity in returning to a faraway place that I never imagined visiting even once.