Hi there!
So after a couple weeks of traveling around Hokkaido, I was headed to Tokyo.
Instead of flying from Sapporo, I decided to take a train from Hokkaido to Tokyo.
And so, I made a stop at Hakodate… with an overnight stay at Small Town Hostel!
If you’re short on time, and coming from Sapporo or Niseko on your way to Tokyo, it’s not really necessary to have an overnight stay at Hakodate, but it can break up the journey a little bit.
And if you do decide to stay a night or 2 in Hakodate, you’ll find some things to do here too.
If you’re going from Sapporo to Tokyo by train, you will need to stop by Hakodate though, as this is the starting point of the shinkansen to Tokyo. (You just don’t need to spend the night.)
Basically, for now, Hakodate is the furthest north in Japan that you can get by taking the shinkansen bullet train.
To travel around the rest of Hokkaido, there are various types of express trains.
If you are arriving to Hakodate by shinkansen bullet train, it’s also important to note that the Hakodate shinkansen station is actually at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station.
This is different from Hakodate Station, which is in the main area of the city.
🗾🛏
Okay so…
Here’s a bit more about the Small Town Hostel in Hakodate
…since this is where I stayed!
How to get to Small Town Hostel
Overall, I’d say it was pretty easy to get to the hostel from the Hakodate train station.
If you don’t mind walking, then this hostel is a 30 minute walk from Hakodate station.
I didn’t want to walk, so it did require a tram ride to get to the hostel.
But taking the Hakodate tram is pretty easy to do, so I would say that it was still pretty convenient to get to the hostel.
About a 2 minute walk from the Hakodate Station is a tram stop. (aka Hakodate shiden streetcar – this will be the “Hakodate eki-mae” stop.)
Once you’re outside Hakodate Station, look for the Four Points Sheraton hotel…
Then basically walk alongside that street, and then you’ll come across the tram stop.
Then you’ll look for signs to make sure you’re standing on the side of the platform with the destination bound for Hakodate Dock. (“Hakodate Dock-mae” stop)
You’ll get off at the “Jujigai” stop. This will be about a 5 minute ride.
Once you get off at the tram stop, you can look around for the streetcar switch tower, and then you’ll start walking in that direction!
From there, it’s about a 5 minute walk.
Google Maps makes this easy, so you can refer to that once you get to Hakodate Station.
But basically, it’s pretty simple to get to this hostel!
Arriving at the hostel
Like many other hostels in Japan, it’s in a relatively nondescript building, so it’ll be helpful to know what you’re looking for!
You’ll turn onto the street the hostel is located, and…
HILL!
This is actually one of the many slopes of Hakodate in the Motomachi neighborhood, and this is called the Daisan-zaka slope. It’s said to be named one of the “100 representative roads of Japan.”
So you’ll walk up this street just a little bit.
And then you’ll turn onto the little path that leads to the hostel entry.
It’s said that this hostel is in a 100-year-old building and registered as a “traditional building” with the city of Hakodate.
And then you’ll check in!
Sleeping area
I stayed in the dorm area, which you can expect to share with others.
As is the norm for when you’re staying in a dorm room at hostels in Japan, you’ll make your own bed.
Common area
Kitchen
There isn’t a full kitchen available for use here.
You will see a kitchen area when you walk in, but that’s just for staff. You can order breakfast in the morning (for an added cost) so I’m guessing that’s where they’ll make your food!
While there’s no real kitchen, there is an area with a hot pot so you can make tea any time. (Tea bags are there for you.) This is free and you don’t have to pay extra.
There’s also a fridge and microwave you can use too.
Overall for me, this was a comfortable one-night stay and I’m happy with my choice of staying here!
You can get rooftop views too!
HAPPY SMALL TOWN HOSTEL STAY IN HAKODATE!
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