Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse

As I wrote in the previous post, hubby and I stayed at Hakodate Kokusai Hotel in Hakodate City on the night on 20th June 2016. The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and visited Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse located at a walking distance from the hotel. Kanemori Warehouse is a row of red brick warehouses that were built more than a century ago at the end of the Meiji period. They are the first commercial warehouses of Hakodate. These warehouses face Hakodate Bay across a navigation channel that conjures up a feeling of nostalgia and have the atmosphere of yesteryears. The complex has its roots in the Kanemori haberdasher’s shop, which opened in 1869. The warehouses are now famous culture spots in Hakodate that attracts numerous visitors. Today they house a variety of commercial facilities and restaurants where visitors can do shopping as well as enjoy gourmet cuisine.

In 1859 Hakodate Port opened as one of the first international trading ports of Japan, along with Yokohama and Nagasaki. As the port flourished, the city saw many people and cultures come and go. Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse witnessed the history of the city through its warehousing business. As one of the symbols of the early days of the shipping industry of Hakodate Bay area, Kanemori Warehouse offers visitors an unforgettable time. In fact due to its historical importance, the warehouse area of the cityscape has been recognized as an ‘important preservation district for groups of historic traditional buildings’.

Watanabe Kumashiro founded the first warehouse business in Hakodate. He is considered to be the man behind Hakodate’s prosperity. He came to Hakodate from Nagasaki in 1863 when he was 24 years old. In 1869, he founded the former Kanemori haberdasher's shop, which now houses the Municipal History Museum. He also founded the former Kanemori ship chandlery shop, which sold imported products and ship chandlery. In addition, he engaged in many other businesses, contributing enormously to the foundation of Hakodate's prosperity. He started his warehouse business in Hakodate in 1887. The present red brick warehouse buildings were rebuilt in 1909. The view of these beautiful warehouses is certainly a must-see tourist spot.

On 21st June 2016, hubby and I left Hakodate Kokusai Hotel at about 10 am and started walking towards the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse located just 700 meters southwest of the hotel. Ideally it should just take 9 minutes to reach the warehouse buildings but we leisurely walked along the street and enjoyed looking at various historic buildings along the way. The first building we saw was named Hakodate Beer Factory where the most impressive Hakodate Beer is brewed. The building has a restaurant inside where people can enjoy the beer. We noted that the building had a Meiji period red brick exterior and was formerly a glass-blowing craft shop. The building looked grand and nostalgic. We continued walking along the street and enjoyed the surrounding views and buildings. This street was renamed as ‘Kaiko Street’ in July 2014 to make the area more appealing to the visitors. The street connects JR Hakodate Station with the bay area and the Motomachi area. We saw many history panels and street galleries along the street. We read the history of Hakodate from such panels and galleries and felt connected to the bygone era history of the city. While walking we also saw an artistic manhole cover with a colorful image of the Orthodox Church of the Russian Consulate, one of the oldest Western-style buildings in Hakodate. Next, we saw a stately red brick building named Hakodate Meijikan located along the street. It was originally built as Hakodate Post Office Government building in 1911. The building was used as a post office and other government departments. It is one of the typical Meiji period Western buildings in Hakodate. After 50 years of usage, it was sold to a private individual in 1962. It is now used as a shopping mall where visitors can try their hand at making a musical box. We loved the exterior of the building.

I am standing in front of Hakodate Beer Factory building

I am standing next to a history panel gallery along Kaiko Street

I am standing next to another history panel gallery along Kaiko Street

Manhole cover with an image of the Orthodox Church of the Russian Consulate

Hakodate Meijikan building

Enlarged view of Hakodate Meijikan building

I am standing at the entrance area of Hakodate Meijikan building

After about 15 minutes of walking leisurely along Kaiko Street, we reached in front of Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse complex. The warehouse complex consists of four zones, each of which has its own distinctive characteristics. The fours zones are Bay Hakodate, Kanemori Yobutsukan, Hakodate History Plaza, and Kanemori Hall. These red brick warehouses are considered very valuable in Japan. The Bay Hakodate zone and the Kanemori Warehouse (which includes Kanemori Yobutsukan, Hakodate History Plaza, and Kanemori Hall zones) differ in brickwork and wood used. Now I will briefly write about these differences. Bay Hakodate was first completed in 1882 as a warehouse for the Hakodate branch office of Mitsubishi Shokai. During the early Meiji period when the warehouse buildings of this zone were constructed, the French method or the Flemish bond was mainly utilized in brickwork. This method was practiced before 1886, where long bricks and short bricks were lined alternately, producing an exquisite, elegant appearance. Non-cut Japanese cypress logs were used for all the posts and beams. Unfortunately some parts of the warehouse disappeared due to a massive fire that broke out in 1907. The warehouse was then rebuilt during 1909-1912. Since the British method or English bond method became the main popular method of brickwork during this time, the area near the roof was reconstructed utilizing the English bond. In fact, English bond method was practiced after 1886, where long-brick layers and short-brick layers were laid alternately, producing a solid, robust appearance. And it is said that the Bay Hakodate was rebuilt utilizing parts of the walls that remained after the massive fire. Next, I will write about the Kanemori Warehouse (the other three zones). The brickwork method used for the Kanemori Warehouse is the British method or English bond. These warehouses feature massive architectural structures as exemplified by the walls that are 30 to 50 centimeters thick. Heavy bricks and tiles were laid on the roof to make the buildings fireproof, which was a common practice around 1909 when these warehouses were built. To support the heavy roofs, non-cut Japanese cypress posts with a circumference of 150 centimeters were used.

First we reached in front of the Bay Hakodate zone of the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse complex, and entered the complex through a black colored metal gate located at the southeast corner of the zone. The two red brick warehouse buildings of this zone looked amazing. As written in the previous paragraph, Bay Hakodate has an aspect different from other zones of the Kanemori Warehouse complex. Bay Hakodate warehouse buildings were first completed in 1882 utilizing Flemish bond brickwork method. The warehouse buildings were then rebuilt during 1909-1912 with the area near the roof reconstructed in the English bond brickwork method. Bay Hakodate’s symbol is a canal which was constructed in 1882 and seems to flow with timelessness. The canal now is the last remaining canal in Hakodate, and is designated as a valuable cultural property of Hakodate. A chapel, a cruising spot, and a cafe are located around the canal. Bay Hakodate is an atmospheric area that is a popular date spot for couples. We clicked a few photos in and around the Bay Hakodate area.

I am standing in front of a black colored metal gate located at the southeast corner of the Bay Hakodate zone of the warehouse complex

Hubby standing in front of a panel with historical details of the Kanemori Warehouse complex

A red brick warehouse of the Bay Hakodate zone

The red brick warehouse looks grand

Hubby standing in front of the red brick warehouse in the Bay Hakodate zone

I am standing near the canal along with two red brick warehouses in the Bay Hakodate zone

I am standing next to the canal and one of the warehouses

Hubby, the canal, and the warehouse in the Bay Hakodate zone

The canal and the other warehouse in the Bay Hakodate zone

In the Bay Hakodate area, we saw a monument which stands for the trademark logo of for the old Kanemori haberdasher’s shop. At this point, let me briefly write about the trademark logo. The trademark of Kanemori has an inverted mirror image of L-shaped character which is the symbol for carpenter’s square. It depicts faithfulness and honesty and represents the founder Watanabe Kumashiro’s motto that we need no diplomacy in business. The ‘Kane’ part of the name Kanemori represents money. The ‘Mori’ part was named after Moriya, the name of the pharmacy in Nagasaki where the founder of Kanemori Warehouse used to work earlier. The Kanji character of ‘Mori’ is written below the inverted mirror image of L-shaped character in the trademark logo. Now back to the monument. The monument is made of bricks from the Meiji period that had been used in the roof. The bricks were collected during construction work on the commercial establishment of the Kanemori Warehouse in 1988. The bricks are therefore sentinels that have witnessed a lot of history. The bell attached to the brick monument probably depicts peace. However, a bell is pronounced as ‘Kane’ in Japanese, which is similar sounding (but different Kanji character) to ‘Kane’ part (meaning money) of the trademark logo name Kanemori. So probably the bell represents peace as well as money! We noted two brick raised flower beds located on either side of the monument. The brick designs of the flower beds were based on the Flemish bond and the English bond, respectively. We loved and appreciated the simple way of depicting both the brickwork methods. Afterwards, we left Bay Hakodate zone of the warehouse complex through a black colored metal gate located at the southwest corner of the zone.

I am ringing the bell of a brick monument located at the Bay Hakodate zone. The monument represents the trademark logo of the Kanemori Warehouse.

Flemish bond designed brick raised flower bed

English bond designed brick raised flower bed

I am standing near the black colored metal gate located at the southwest corner of the Bay Hakodate zone

Next, we walked towards the north along a paved pathway surrounded by red brick warehouse buildings of the Bay Hakodate zone on one side and the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone (described later on) on the other side. It was a pleasurable stroll. We noted a few cute metal statues along the way. Hubby touched the brick layout of the warehouse building in the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone of the warehouse complex and appreciated the English bond brickwork method. He was surprised to note that at some places long-brick layers and short-brick layers were not laid alternately, but just had several long-brick layers one above the other. I guess, it is very complicated for a common person like us to understand the intricate details.

A paved pathway with red brick warehouse buildings of the Bay Hakodate zone on the right side and the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone on the left side

Side view of the warehouse building of the Bay Hakodate zone

Side view of the warehouse building of the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone

I am standing next to a few metal statues along the pathway

Hubby touching and appreciating the brickwork of one of the walls of the warehouse building in the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone

After about 2 minutes of walking along the paved pathway, we reached right in front of the port of Hakodate Bay. Facing the bay, we saw a group of red brick warehouse buildings (actually a total of five buildings) that survive from the past trading days. In fact, all these warehouse buildings aligned in a row along the waterfront form the other three zones of the warehouse complex. It was wonderful to see so many red brick warehouse buildings. All these warehouse buildings were constructed in 1909 utilizing English bond brickwork method. These warehouse buildings have recently been redeveloped into an atmospheric shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. A range of trendy souvenir, fashion, interior, and sweet shops abound at the complex. While strolling down the port area, we noted that the fronts of all the warehouse buildings had a prominent white colored mark consisting of the Kanji character for ‘Mori’ under an inverted mirror image of L-shaped character. This mark was the official trademark for the old Kanemori haberdasher’s shop.

A group of red brick warehouse buildings aligned in a row along the waterfront

The fronts of all the buildings have the official trademark (in white) of the old Kanemori haberdasher’s shop

The leftmost two red brick warehouse buildings (with respect to us facing the buildings) aligned in a row along the waterfront formed the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone of the warehouse complex. In fact these two warehouse buildings were the launching point of the Kanemori haberdasher’s shop (Yobutsuten) by Watanabe Kumashiro 147 years ago in 1869. Haberdasher’s shop used to have general goods under the rich theme of Western European lifestyle culture, and was known as the shop selling exotic dreams. With the theme of Watanabe’s rich Western culture, the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone offers a series of unique shops, like daily fun flea markets. It is packed with shops with personality and plenty of variety. It is said that this zone is a place where imported imaginative culture is gathered from across time and place. The next two red brick warehouse buildings aligned in the row formed the Hakodate History Plaza zone of the warehouse complex. This zone is home to the popular Hakodate Beer Hall which is open from around noon to 10 pm, and where visitors can enjoy fresh local beer shipped directly from the brewery. There are also a variety of other shops at this zone for the visitors to enjoy. The last red brick warehouse building in the row formed the Kanemori Hall zone of the warehouse complex. Kanemori Hall is a multi-purpose facility which is used for wedding ceremonies, concerts, and parties. We strolled down the port area and enjoyed looking at this group of red brick warehouse buildings. These elegant Meiji period buildings were a treat to the eyes. Afterwards, we entered inside one of the warehouse buildings of the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone and purchased a few souvenirs. We clicked several photos of the three zones from various positions and angles.

I am standing in front of two red brick buildings that form the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone of the warehouse complex

The Kanemori Yobutsukan zone buildings in the foreground along with the Bay Hakodate zone buildings in the background as viewed from the northwest

The Kanemori Yobutsukan zone buildings as viewed from a slightly different angle in the northwest

Two buildings of the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone in the background and two buildings forming the Hakodate History Plaza zone in the foreground as viewed from the northwest

The two buildings of the Hakodate History Plaza zone

Hubby standing in front of one of the buildings of the Hakodate History Plaza zone

Two buildings of the Hakodate History Plaza zone in the foreground and the third building forming the Kanemori Hall zone in the background as viewed from the north

Building of Kanemori Hall zone

At this point, we finished the tour of Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse buildings. We left the warehouse complex and started walking back towards Hakodate Railway Station. On our way, we saw a small shrine named Toyokawa Inari Shrine. The shrine was built during the Bunkyu era (1861-1864) by well-wishing townspeople. The shrine met with five fires including the great fire in 1934, and the present-day shrine was built in 1940. Its front is now facing the opposite side of the original construction. The god enshrined inside the shrine has long been worshipped as a god of prosperous business. I washed my hands at Temizuya water pavilion and then rang a bell located in front of the main building of the shrine. Afterwards I prayed in front of the shrine altar.

Hubby standing near the Torii gate of Toyokawa Inari Shrine

The shrine building

‘Toyokawa Inari Jinja’ written on a wooden plaque hanging from the shrine building

Temizuya water pavilion

I am ringing the bell located in front of the shrine building

Afterwards we returned to Hakodate Railway Station and took several local trains as well as Shinkansen bullet trains, and returned home to Akita the same day. Our Hokkaido sightseeing trip was over and it was very memorable.

Hubby walking back towards Hakodate Railway Station

Hakodate Kokusai Hotel

As I have written in an earlier post, hubby and I had been on a sightseeing trip to Hokkaido in mid-June. On the morning of 20th June, we visited Ueno Farm in Asahikawa City and then took a couple of local trains to travel down to Hakodate City where we stayed overnight at a hotel named Hakodate Kokusai Hotel. Hakodate Kokusai Hotel is a refined luxury hotel with over 44 years of history. The hotel is located just a 7 minute walk from JR Hakodate Station, and overlooks Hakodate Bay. The hotel has elegantly designed features, and is suitable for leisure, business, as well as sightseeing. The hotel offers twelve types of rooms from single-bedded to suite rooms for the guests to choose from.

The hotel has two buildings namely the East building and the West Building. The interior design of and the outside views from both these buildings have different characters. The hotel has a total of 305 rooms with a capacity of 536 people to stay at a time. So the visitors have a wide variety of rooms to choose from. In fact, rooms of the type namely, deluxe single-bedded, single-bedded, deluxe twin-bedded, deluxe twin-bedded with rounded-windows, twin-bedded, double-bedded, Japanese and Western mixed-style, barrier-free, imperial suite, and royal suite are available to choose from. Non smoking rooms are available in both the buildings. Car parking lots are available in the hotel which is preferable for sightseeing purposes. The hotel has a chapel and a Shinto-style wedding facilities. In addition, 25 banquet rooms, bridal products shops, souvenir shops, vending machines, as well as a bread and cake shop are also available. The hotel has four restaurants where Japanese, Chinese or Western style foods are available.

On 20th June, hubby and I reached Hakodate Railway Station at about 9 pm. We took a taxi and reached Hakodate Kokusai Hotel within a few minutes. We noted that the main entrance and the reception are located in the East building. We checked in and immediately went to our room located at the sixth floor in the West building. The West building can be accessed via an accessway from the East building, so we reached our room without any hassle. Our room was deluxe twin-bedded Western-style with ensuite facilities. The interior of our room was beautifully designed, and the room overlooked Hakodate Bay and provided a nice ocean view. It was a luxurious room and had various facilities like a bathtub with a shower, toilet seat with warm-water shower feature, television, cable and satellite television, radio, air-conditioner, refrigerator, hairdryer, and humidifier. We noted that bath towels, face towels, toiletries, and gowns were also provided in our room. In addition, free Wi-Fi system and high-speed internet was also available. We loved the room interior and the facilities provided. We enjoyed the nighttime view of Hakodate Bay from the window of our room for some time. A brightly lit memorial ship named Mashumaru looked amazing. The ship was one of the Seikan railway ferries that operated between Hokkaido and Honshu until 1988, following which it was permanently moored at the bay. Afterwards, I watched some television program and hubby did his office related job. We retired for the night at about 11pm. We loved staying in the room which was very clean, spacious, and had a comfortable atmosphere with relaxing beds. I would like to mention here that I usually do not write about the hotels we stay at during our sightseeing trips to various places as we stay in relatively inexpensive hotels. But Hakodate Kokusai Hotel is a luxury hotel and we really had a relaxed time there, so I decided to write about it.

I am standing in front of Hakodate Railway Station

Nighttime view of Hakodate Bay as seen from the window of our hotel room

Brightly lit Mashumaru ship moored at the bay

Nighttime view of Hakodate City as viewed from our room

Our deluxe twin-bedded Western-style room

I am watching some television program

Hubby doing office related job in our room

The next morning, on 21st June, we got up quite early and again enjoyed the pleasant views of Hakodate Bay and the city surroundings from the window of our room. It was a cloudy day but Mashumaru ship moored at the bay looked majestic and grand. We took shower, got ready, and left the room to explore the interior of the hotel. This is because, the previous day after checking in at the hotel front, we had directly gone to our room without exploring the hotel interiors as we were a bit tired. At the first floor of the West building, we saw a chapel where Christian-style wedding facilities are available along with a costume room and a photo studio. Later we came to know that the hotel also provides Shinto-style wedding facilities. Right in front of the chapel, we saw a shop selling bridal products though it was closed at that time as it was just 6.30 in the morning. The contrast between my casual wear and the bridal dresses was so remarkable that hubby took a few photos of me standing along with the bridal dresses.

Hakodate City on a cloudy day as viewed from the window of our room

Mashumaru ship moored at Hakodate Bay

I am standing in front of our room at the sixth floor of the West building

I am standing in front of the chapel located at the first floor of the West building

A shop selling bridal products

I am standing along with Western-style wedding dresses and formal Japanese-style Kimonos at the shop

Western-style wedding reception dresses at the shop

Afterwards, we took rest for some time at the front lobby of the West building located near the chapel at the first floor. We wished to have breakfast at a restaurant located in the East building, so we walked along the first floor accessway connecting both the buildings. While walking, we saw displays of wonderful artworks on the walls of the accessway.

Front lobby of the West building along with the accessway in the foreground

Hubby standing along with the displays of artworks on the wall of the accessway

Soon we reached a restaurant named Azalea located at the first floor of the East building where we had a sumptuous breakfast. Buffet style breakfast is served at the restaurant from 6.30 am to 10 am. The restaurant serves Japanese, Chinese, and Western cuisine, and offers a variety of choices and carefully selected dishes. Although various kinds of dishes are served for breakfast, Hokkaido’s seafoods are considered to be the best choices. In fact, the restaurant boasts of the availability of over 50 kinds of menus for breakfast at all times of the year. The breakfast here is so delicious and delightful that Hakodate Kokusai Hotel is ranked 4th in all over Japan for ‘Delicious Breakfast Hotel Ranking 2016’. Many Japanese consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day, and these all-you-can-eat buffet style morning feasts are one of the best perks of staying at a nice hotel. In fact, usually we stay at relatively inexpensive hotels during our sightseeing trips but this time our main purpose of staying at this luxury hotel was to have breakfast at Azalea restaurant.

Entrance of Azalea restaurant

Nice ambience inside the restaurant

Inside Azalea restaurant, we noted that various kinds of Japanese, Chinese, and Western dishes were available for the buffet style breakfast. Seafood corner had Sashimi of salmon roe, squid, cod roe, deep-water sweet shrimp, and salmon. We made our original Kaisendon by using our favorite seafoods. Three kinds of meat namely, beef, pork, and chicken were available. The restaurant staff recommended us to make a bowl of rice topped with such meat. We noted that in the freshly made food corner, hot-steak bowl and fluffy omelet prepared by the hotel chefs in front of the guests were very popular. We had pork-steak bowl (Butadon) and omelet from this corner. From the soup corner, we had hot Tonjiru soup served in large bowls. An extensive variety of fresh vegetable salads were available in the salad corner. The vegetables and leaves were locally produced and we had fun making a large plate of salad for both of us. From the bread corner, we had several kinds of freshly baked breads made by the hotel chefs. We also had bacon slices, sausages, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, mashed potato, grilled salmon fish, Korokke, several kinds of Nimono and Tsukemono, fruit juice, and green tea. We even had a dessert of Annin Tofu for breakfast. Many more menus and dishes were available but it was just too much for us. We leisurely enjoyed having the wide spread of breakfast. We were very satisfied and fulfilled with many kinds of Japanese, Chinese, and Western dishes. The breakfast was sumptuous and really delicious. It is no wonder that the breakfast of this hotel is the fourth best amongst all the hotels in Japan.

Hubby’s and my breakfast spread

Hubby’s tray of breakfast

My tray of breakfast

Hubby’s favorite dishes of Butadon (upper left) and Kaisendon (upper right) and my favorite dishes of Kaisendon (lower left) and pork steak pieces (lower right)

I am very happy seeing so much food for breakfast

Hubby having breakfast

I am enjoying the breakfast

We checked out of the hotel at about 10 am. As written earlier in this post, the reception and the main entrance of the hotel are located in the East building. We clicked a few photos of the front lobby and the reception desk area of the East building while checking out. We noted that the front lobby was designed in a chic manner and the brown-based design gave it a modern and grand atmosphere. After leaving the hotel, we took a few photos of the main front entrance area of the East building as well as of the building itself for the sake of memories.

I am standing at the front lobby of the East building of the hotel

Reception desk (left) and the lobby (right)

I am standing near the main front entrance area of the East building

East building of the hotel

Another view of the East building

Hubby along with the East building in the background

We had a nice relaxed time at Hakodate Kokusai Hotel. Our room was spacious and very comfortable. We loved having the deliciously sumptuous buffet style breakfast at Azalea restaurant located inside the hotel. After leaving the hotel, we visited historic Kanemori red brick warehouse buildings located nearby about which I will write in the next post.