Exploring Hakodate on a Rainy Day –Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse

28 May 2026

Rain was forecasted in Hakodate so we planned to have a relaxing day exploring the waterfront area of Hakodate and take cover in the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse once the rain starts.

Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse at the waterfront.

The iconic Meiji-era, red-brick warehouses is a reminder that Hakodate was one of Japan's first key foreign trade hubs. These buildings now house a shopping and dining complex and are perfect for exploration on a day with expected wet weather.

The weather in the morning was good. From our hotel (JR Inn Hakodate), we walked over to have breakfast at the Hakodate Morning Market. From there, we continued our walk towards the waterfront via Kaiko Street.

We made a stop at the Satudora Hakodate Kanemori-Soko Store to shop for local cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. From there, we went to explore the harbourfront area where the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse is located.

Hakodate Meijikan

The first building we went into was the Hakodate Meijikan. This building was originally built in 1911 as the Hakodate Post Office. The building has since being repurposed as a vibrant commercial space.

A signboard explained the history of the Hakodate Meijikan.  

The red-brick exterior of Hakodate Meijikan is covered with attractive green ivy plants.

Inside the building, there are delicate glassware and many cute and charming teddy bears and stuff toys. It is nice to browse and snap photos of the cute stuff on display. Many are Studio Ghibli and Totoro merchandise.

Stuff capybaras and cute stuff.

Themed corners dedicated to popular characters like Totoro.

The famous Catbus from the Totoro anima.

A corner with a cute Doraemon character for photos.

Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse complex

Next to the Meijikan is the actual Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse complex consisting of four facilities. Founded in 1887 and rebuilt in 1909, the original brick architecture of the warehouses was well preserved.

The area around the warehouses is a beautiful place to stroll around. We could see a bit of Mount Hakodate in the background but it was shrouded in low clouds.

It was interesting to read about the history of the place and how the symbol for a carpenter’s square (that looks like a numeric 7) was used as their logo and how the name “Kanemori” came about.

Kanemori Warehouse’s logo with the carpenter square over a bold white "forest" kanji symbol (森, mori).

There were also examples showing the difference in the brickworks used by the British and French builders. The Kanemori Warehouses were built using the British method.

British method of brick laying that features entire horizontal rows alternating between all-stretchers (long side) and all-headers (short end) facing out.

The French method repeats a sequence within the same row, laying one stretcher (long side) followed sequentially by two headers (short sides) across the wall face. More beautiful but less strong.

Bay Hakodate – one of the 4 warehouses in the complex.

The brick warehouse complex features about 50 shops that are spread out over 4 zones, namely

• BAY Hakodate
• Kanemori Yobutsukan
• Hakodate History Plaza
• Kanemori Hall

The Kanemori Youbutsukan (“Western Item Hall”) features shops that offer a wide variety of products. The Bay Hakodate zone features cafes and a chapel. The Hakodate History Plaza includes a beer hall and souvenir shops. Finally, the Kanemori Hall serves as a venue for various events, including concerts.      

Most of the shops featured local brands, souvenirs and handicrafts. One of the highlights was to shop for local snacks and sweets.

 

Local footwear brand with interesting floral design.

One of the snacks we bought was this. Trappist cookies are famous butter biscuits baked by monks at the Trappist Monastery in Hokuto City, near Hakodate, Hokkaido. Rich and creamy with a distinct, fresh butter flavor.

Pastry Snaffle's is a famous confectionery brand from Hakodate, Hokkaido, best known for its signature "Cheese Omelette"—an airy, melt-in-your-mouth soufflé-style cheesecake.

It actually started raining as we finished exploring Bay Hakodate. There was no covered walkway linking the warehouses but the rain in Japan was not heavy.  

Cool T-shirt that we bought as a gift for someone back home.

Light lunch before returning to our hotel.

My wife and I are not the shopaholic-types so we decided to return to our hotel by 3 PM. We actually walked back to our hotel in the light rain, protected by our rain jackets.

We went to check out the Hakodate JR Station and Hakoviva Shopping Centre that is located next to our hotel. There are some restaurants and souvenir shops but the place does not appeal to us. Most of the restaurants were still closed and only opened later for dinner.

Back at the JR Inn Hakodate, we went to the top-floor lounge located on the 12th floor to chill and relax. We could see Mount Hakodate and was glad that we went to see the famous night view on our first day. No one is going to get any views on the mountain on this cloudy and rainy day.

View from the lounge at JR Inn Hakodate.

Made a cup of hot tea but spilled it on the floor before she could drink it!  

 

Hakodate Shio Ramen Shinano

It was still raining when we decided to head out to grab some dinner. There is a popular ramen restaurant near our hotel that is renowned for its traditional Hakodate-style shio (salt) ramen. The store opens at 5 PM and it made sense to go early to avoid the queues.

We made good use of the covered walkways in the bus station, next to the JR Station, to shelter us from the rain for most of the way to the restaurant. Thankfully, there was no queue and we managed to get seated immediately.

A friendly staff came to take our orders which was a nice change from having to order from a ticket machine.

The place itself is quite small, but still very comfortable.   

Menu on the wall. The food items are reasonably priced. 

Signature Shio Ramen with clear and tasty broth for 1,000 JPY.

Gyozas for 600 JPY.

Like most small Japanese restaurants, service was fast and efficient.

Slurping on a hot bowl of Shio Ramen noodles is a good way to end a day of exploring Hakodate on a wet day. The ramen was incredibly delicious. No wonder there was a line queuing outside when we left the restaurant!