We first spent time in Hakodate in June 2026, and in this post I’m sharing exactly what we ate in Hakodate over the 2 days we stayed there. If you’re planning a Hokkaido trip and, like me, you’re a huge seafood lover, I really hope you’ll consider adding Hakodate to your itinerary — it might just be one of the best places in Japan for fresh seafood.
One thing that surprised me: Hakodate is a strange place in the best way. Despite being famous for having some of the freshest seafood in Hokkaido, the streets themselves were oddly quiet. Most of the crowds were concentrated at the major attractions — places like Hakodate Morning Market and Goryokaku Tower were buzzing, while spots like Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse and Hakodate Museum of Literature (Bungakukan) had visitors, but nothing I’d call crowded.
A few of the best foods to try in Hakodate include fresh sashimi, uni (sea urchin), and grilled shellfish like abalone, scallops, and Ark shell — all staples of the Hakodate seafood scene that make this city such a must-visit for any seafood lover. Hakodate is also home to its own local fast food chain, Lucky Pierrot, famous for its Chinese chicken burger and impossible to find anywhere outside the city. With 17 outlets across the area, it’s simply something you can’t miss while you’re here.
Since Yubari Town — famous for its prized Yubari melons — is only about a 4-hour drive away, you’ll also want to grab some fresh melon at Hakodate Morning Market while you’re browsing the stalls. And with thousands of dairy farms scattered across Hokkaido, the region is famous for its dairy products, so despite the cold, we decided we had to try the local milk ice cream too.
Read on below to find out more about the places we visited and what we ate in Hakodate.
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Chamu Seafood Restaurant – The Kaisendon for Locals
Chamu Seafood Restaurant is located within walking distance of JR Hakodate Station, right inside the famous Hakodate Morning Market. I don’t think you can find fresher seafood than this — it’s literally sourced next door.
Chamu Seafood Restaurant’s main menu revolves around kaisendon, with a long selection of at least 9–12 different permutations to choose from. If you’re a fan of uni (sea urchin), this is definitely one of the must-visit spots for Hakodate seafood.
That said, if raw seafood isn’t your thing, they also serve cooked dishes like grilled salmon belly, simmered cod in soy sauce, and grilled mackerel.
This place is clearly popular with foreign tourists, so don’t hesitate to ask for an English menu. Despite catering to visitors, the pricing was still very reasonable for the quality of seafood on offer.
Since we flew in from Tokyo that morning and had to drop our luggage at the hotel first, we didn’t arrive until close to 2pm — which meant we were the last customers of the day and lucky enough to avoid the lunch crowd entirely. Judging by the Google reviews, if you show up during peak lunch hours, expect a long queue.
Since Chamu sits right inside Hakodate Morning Market, take some time to explore the market itself before it closes at 2pm. You’ll find all kinds of fresh seafood stalls, including ones specializing in cooked king crab claw made right in front of you. It’s also where you’ll spot the famous Yubari melon that everyone raves about when visiting Hokkaido.
Hakodate Fusaya – The Best Izakayas that others cannot Match
Hakodate Fusaya is an izakaya you won’t forget — so much so that we ended up going back for a second night.
We’d originally planned to eat at another izakaya nearby, but it was fully booked. My husband found Fusaya at the very last minute, and we waited in the drizzle for about 15–20 minutes for a table.
The food turned out to be amazing, and the menu is incredibly extensive — enough that we reserved a table again the next night just to try more of it.
They do have an English menu, but the Japanese menu has far more variety, so bring a translator app if you can’t read Japanese, like we did.
On our first night, we ordered grilled hoki fish, otoro tuna, salmon and hotate (scallop) sashimi, yakisoba, and yakitori. The yakisoba was excellent, loaded with shrimp and vegetables. And for me, great yakitori is the real test of a good izakaya — Fusaya’s chicken yakitori was moist and tender, with a sauce that was flavorful without being overly salty.
In Japan, izakayas are typically thought of as drinking spots where people order small side dishes to go with their drinks and socialize late into the night. But at Fusaya, we saw couples and families with kids too, most ordering full spreads that covered the entire table.
On our second visit, on top of skewers and sashimi, we added okonomiyaki, grilled surf clam in butter, and grilled oysters to the mix — because really, no Hakodate food experience is complete without indulging in the sashimi this city is famous for.
Lucky Pierrot – The only Fast Food outlet in Hakodate
Lucky Pierrot is Hakodate’s one and only local fast food chain, and it’s genuinely exclusive to the city — you won’t find it anywhere else in Japan. There are 17 outlets scattered across Hakodate, and you might even spot two locations facing each other on the same street.
Like most fast food joints, the menu centers on burgers, fries, and soft drinks — a refreshing change of pace from the sushi, sashimi, and kaisendon Hakodate is typically known for.
If you’re craving a break from seafood, this could be exactly what you’re looking for. I went in a little skeptical since fried food usually isn’t my thing, but the fried chicken burger genuinely surprised me. If you’re pescatarian, the shrimp burger is a nice nod to Hakodate’s seafood roots.
Their signature Chinese chicken burger is the standout. Unlike a lot of Western-style fried chicken that comes drenched in oil, this felt distinctly Japanese in execution — deep fried, but with zero lingering oil smell, and fresh, clean flavor throughout. Normally, a heavy fried meal like this leaves me feeling sluggish and a bit guilty afterward, but there was none of that here — you genuinely can’t tell it’s deep-fried.
Gelato + Bar Mooma – Best Milk Ice – Cream
In a city famous for seafood and melon, Hokkaido is just as well known for its milk. The region is home to over 4,000 dairy farms housing nearly 800,000 cows, supplying roughly 60% of Japan’s milk — so you’ll definitely want to save some stomach space for milk ice cream on top of all that seafood.
Gelato + Bar Mooma serves milk ice cream made from nearby dairy farms. It’s a small, popular little café located right outside Hakodate Morning Market. What I loved most is that their milk ice cream isn’t overly sweet — the light, refreshing milk flavor makes it enjoyable even if you’re not usually a milk drinker.
If one cup isn’t enough to satisfy your cravings, Gelato + Bar Mooma also sells their flavors by the pint, so you can keep enjoying it back in your hotel room.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, our 2 days in Hakodate turned out to be one of the most memorable food stops of our entire Hokkaido trip. From the freshest kaisendon and uni at Chamu Seafood Restaurant, to the hearty spread of sashimi and yakitori at Hakodate Fusaya, to the surprisingly satisfying fried chicken at Lucky Pierrot — every meal told us something different about this quiet, seaside city.
What struck me most is how Hakodate manages to feel understated despite having some of the best seafood in Japan. The streets may be quiet outside the main attractions, but the food scene more than makes up for it. Whether you’re a die-hard seafood lover chasing the freshest uni and sashimi, or just looking to try something different like Lucky Pierrot’s Chinese chicken burger or a scoop of Hokkaido milk ice cream, Hakodate has a little something for every kind of traveler.
If you’re planning a trip to Hokkaido, I’d say don’t skip Hakodate — 2 days is enough to get a real taste of what this city has to offer, but honestly, I wouldn’t mind going back for more.
Have you been to Hakodate before, or is it on your Hokkaido bucket list? Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to bookmark or Pin this post for your own Hakodate food guide!
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