Goryōkaku Fort

Goryōkaku is unlike any other castle site in Japan. Its five-pointed star of earthen bastions and stone walls (encircled by wide water moats) follows a European citadel tradition found nowhere else in the country except Tatsuoka Castle in Nagano. Built in Hakodate's final shogunate years to house the regional magistrate, it went on to become the dramatic stage of the Hakodate War, and today holds designation as a Special National Historic Site.

When to go

The park opens daily from 5:00 AM, making the early morning hours a quietly rewarding time to walk the moat paths before the day's visitors arrive. The grounds are open until 7:00 PM, so a late-afternoon visit in any season offers softer light across the star-shaped earthworks.

“Amazing place! Absolutely worth a jog to get the star-shaped gps log in your Strava. The outer ring is about 1.8km, while the inner ring is around 1.2km. Although it’s not a huge park, somehow it’s not too chaos, and you can always find a peaceful place to wander.”— Ingrid Chou, Google review