From late July to early August, I planned a road trip from Sapporo to Hakodate. Having never been to Hokkaido before, I wanted to see and experience it firsthand, while also gathering some material for my upcoming work.
What was supposed to be a quiet visit to the port town unexpectedly coincided with a rare nationwide tsunami warning. This time, the cause was a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia's Far East, ranking among the top three earthquakes in history. This was followed by the third national tsunami warning in Japan's history.
The moment the alarm sounded, the scene of Hakodate Bay changed instantly: Passengers lingering on the road and vehicles parked at the port fled the coast, as if the entire coastline had pressed the "Evacuate" button. For the first time, I heard the hotel announcement from my room, clearly instructing us to evacuate to designated floors. It wasn't like a typical hotel announcement, but rather carried an undeniable sense of urgency. Fortunately, we arrived in Hakodate a day early, otherwise we might have been stranded on the road, or even had to seek shelter in an unfamiliar place.
The alert was issued early in the morning, and there was no announcement of its lifting until the afternoon. Although the sky had cleared and the sea appeared calm, a sense of uncertainty still hung in the air. Only when tourists began to appear on the road did we decide to proceed with our original plan and head to our destination for the day: the NIPPONIA HOTEL Hakodate Minato-machi .
This inn is the site of Hakodate's once-thriving konbu factory, producing gagome konbu, a type of kelp harvested only in this area. Its sticky, nutritious texture was once a key export and a key player in Hakodate's trade with the world. Today, NIPPONIA has renovated the factory into an inn, preserving its red brick exterior and heavy wooden beams while incorporating details that echo the port town's culture. These include konbu-inspired art installations and a chandelier in the lobby, inspired by an inkjet-like squid, which captures the breath of the ocean in its light and shadow.
Hakodate itself, a pivotal historical stage during the late Edo period, was one of the first Japanese ports to open to the outside world. With the opening of Hakodate's port, cultures from around the world converged and merged, shaping its unique cityscape. Once ranked alongside Hong Kong and Naples as one of the "three most beautiful night views in the world," Hakodate still retains numerous Western-style buildings and Ijinkan (traditional Chinese architecture) and has been designated an Important Preservation Site for Traditional Buildings. Its Goryokaku (Goryokaku) was a key setting in the Detective Conan film "A Million Dollar Star," lending the city a unique allure, a fusion of reality and fiction.
That afternoon, we stood by the harbor, watching the bay, now unusually empty after the alarm. The sea reflected the faint light, breathing quietly. I realized that Hakodate isn't just a tourist attraction or a historical setting, but a real, living city—one that welcomes countless ships from afar and repeatedly faces threats and challenges from the sea.
Unexpected events during travel often become the most deeply etched memories. The tsunami warning that day, like a transparent filter, allowed me to see the port town as more than just a landscape. With the resilience of the tide and the gentleness of its old buildings, it quietly welcomes every coming and going. The night I left Hakodate, the sea breeze still lingered, and the lights of the harbor flickered, as if reminding me that the meaning of travel isn't to avoid uncertainty, but to embrace it and keep moving forward.