During our stay we had great food thanks to my sister's recommendation which was 
almost identical to the recommendation by my hairdresser who is from Hakodate. So if you cover what we have eaten, you have pretty much covered the best places to eat in Hakodate!

 1. Uni Murakami ​(Sea Urchin Restaurant)
If you love sea urchins, this is definitely the place to go. They have fresh salt water sea urchins that you usually cannot get elsewhere. (Most sea urchins in the market are treated with alum to keep its shape). They have other menus too if you are not fond of sea urchins.  We tasted two kinds of sea urchins as you see in this photo.
For more details : Hokkaido Travel Net

 2. Asari Honten (Sukiyaki Restaurant)
This most famous sukiyaki restaurant in Hakodate run by a butcher. That's why you can have the best wagyu at a reasonable price, and has been the local's favorite since 100 years ago. The building is very old and traditional style. It seems like they have no intention to profit from serving alcohol, as we asked for an all you can drink option and they said that we can bring our own drinks!
For More Info: Travel Hakodate

3. Kaiju (Seafood)
This seafood restaurant was just around the corner from our Hotel. You can get very very fresh seafood, right out of the tank. The squid's legs were still moving on the plate!
For more info : Trip Advisor 

4. Restaurant Sekkatei Gotoken Honten (Curry & Western Food)
This is a long-established restaurant which opened in 1879. The building itself is a national cultural property.  They don't take booking for lunch, so expect a queue. But you won't be bored as they have a small museum by the waiting room which tells about the history of the hotel. It's famous for their curry dishes but they serve other western dishes as well.
​For More Info : Travel Hakodate
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 5. Lucky Pierrot (Hamburgers)
If you ask a local, this would probably be their most favorite restaurant. (The cab driver said so) This hamburger chain only exists in Hakodate, so I new nothing of it until my hairdresser told me about it. Voted the best local hamburger in Japan, despite its unique decor (every shop has its own theme). they serve very tasty burgers! We went to the one by our hotel, The Marina Bay Suehiro Branch which is on the waterfront and has a souvenir shop in the restaurant. 
​For more info; Travel Japan

6. Breakfast Buffet at the La Vista Bay Hakodate
Ever since we planned our trip to Hakodate, we have been trying to get a booking for this hotel, which was not easy as it is probably the most popular place to stay. It is conveniently located on the Waterfront next to the Kanamori Red Brick warehouse. But what makes it special is their breakfast buffet which has been voted as the nation's best hotel breakfast. Just be sure to go there with plenty of time as it may get crowded during early hours and you might wait half hour to be seated. (We almost missed our morning sightseeing tour)
For More Details: La Vista Bay Hakodate

Our family holiday this year took place in Hakodate, a city located in the south end of Hokkaido Island. This trip was sponsored by my parents who live in Tomakomai city which is located on the south coast about 30 minutes from Sapporo Chitose Airport. My two sisters and their hubbies were invited on this trip so we had a big family reunion. 

We took the Tohoku Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo stopping on the way at Hiraizumi, Iwate to visit the world heritage temples and stayed one night at Aomori. 

My sister who visited Hakodate last year knew very well on where to dine, together with the information I collected from my hairdresser, who is from Hakodate, we had the best Hakodate dining experience, which I will write about it in my blog later on.

If you are going there by air, a weekend trip is just enough to enjoy Hakodate as the tourist attractions are quite limited in the city. (There are a lot of attractions outside the city as well) ​I've written a short description and a link to details along with some travel trips. 
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You can plan your trip by arriving on Saturday morning. Having lunch, then having a stroll at Motomachi looking at the historic architecture, then dinner,  afterwards going up to Mt Hakodate for the night view.
Day two can start off to going to Goryokaku Tower (and Trapistine Monestry if you like) in the morning, then lunch and finish off with shopping at the Red Brick Warehouse. You might want to leave on Monday morning if you want to enjoy another night of a good meal. 
For more information on Hakodate Sightseeing please visit : Hakodate Official Travel Guide

 2. Mt. Hakodate night view
We went to the top of the mountain by ropeway - a big mistake! The waiting line to get on the returning ropeway was so long and stressful, and they packed so many people in the car as if we were cattle. If you do not want to waste an hour standing in line, I strongly recommend you to get a cab as it will cost only 4,000 - 5,000 yen round trip and well worth it if you are travelling in a group of 3 or 4 as the ropeway fare is 1280 yen round trip (as of Aug. 2017) per person. The hotel we stayed at had a car sharing tour to go up the mountain twice a day which we failed to check. By the way, the view was great.
For more info : Mt Hakodate Ropeway

Last week we went to a Japanese Restaurant near Meguro Station called Shokuraku Tatata（食楽太太太）which is a branch of one of the most popular Japanese restaurant in Meguro called Wasosaku Ta （和創作太）
Both places have the same system where you only have one course menu at 4500 yen. You can choose the main course, which was Pork Shabu Shabu, Stewed Fish and Grilled Wagu when we went. The course meal finishes off with a onigiri and a bowl of miso soup.You can choose a la carte from 9 pm. 
Booking in advance is recommended as Tatata is just as popular as Ta but has more table seats (Ta has only tables seating two and counter seats which makes it even harder to get a booking on top of its popularity)
So if you want to enjoy seasonal Japanese dishes but not an izakaya and not as hi-end as some Kaiseki restaurants, Tatata is a really good choice.

Adress: 2-15-2 Kamiosaki | B1F Meguro Business Mansion, Shinagawa 
TEL:+81 3-6721-9432
Trip Advisor Reviews
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Last weekend we had lunch at the Soholm restaurant in Tennozu. The restaurant serving Scandinavian cuisine is a little out of the way, but has a very relaxing atmosphere with good food.  It specializing in gibier (game)  with venison and boar this time of the year.
The seats facing the canal is great if its not too hot. (It was very hot the day we went so we sat inside, which was also quite nice.) The portions were sufficient (compared to many other Japanese restaurants) and 1,500 yen for a holiday lunch consisting of a 2 course meal + coffe/tea is a good value. The only disappointment for me was that the glass of wine was only 1/3 full and it cost 800 yen!
The deck by the canal is a great place to have stroll if the weather is nice. Next time we will try the bakery cafe next to the TY Harbor restaurant which also faces the canal.

SOHOLM website

 Last month  I attended a seminar to learn more about styling Japanese food. This seminar has been very informative and inspiring, I will definitely implement it in my future classes.

As you may all noiticed, we Japnease eat not only with our mouth but also with our eyes, that's why the way we present the meal is very important.  The concept of food styling is strongly connected with the beautiful scenery in our country that changes every season. We try to replicate the scenery on the table using different table wares and garnishes that are right for the season, This is what makes the Japanese cuisine so unique and different from the other cuisines of the world.

Japanese food presentation is also based on the Yin Yang theory that comes from China. And based on this theory, we categorize everything that surrounds us into Yin(陰）and Yang (陽）. The Japanese cuisine sees odd numbers as Yang and even numbers as Yin . Three, which is an odd number plays an important part in Japanese food presentation. A combination platter is always presented in 3 or 5 kinds. The composition on the plate is a triangle shape (Higher behind and lower in the front).  Food is piled in a mountain shape (which looks like a triangle from the side) And, we leave 30% space on the plate,  so lots of 3s! 

There is much more (including must-follow rules in presenting a plate) to this which was new to me, but I won't go into details, if anyone is interested, just let me know in class.

Summer holiday is over and classes will start next week. Please check my Class Calendarclass calendar for dates. You can also contact me for other dates to book.