Goryokaku Park is one of Hakodate’s most distinctive historic landmarks. Goryokaku was one of the few Western-style fortresses built in Japan during the final years of the Edo period, when the Tokugawa shogunate constructed defensive facilities in Ezo, the region now known as Hokkaido.
The fortress was designed in a striking star shape surrounded by a water-filled moat, with a single crescent-shaped outer fortification known as a half-moon bastion. Government buildings, including the Hakodate Magistrate’s Office, were constructed inside the fortress.
Today, the area within the moat is open to the public as Goryokaku Park. Famous for its beautiful cherry blossoms and wisteria, the park is both a favorite place for local residents to relax and one of Hakodate’s leading tourist attractions. Goryokaku has been designated a Special Historic Site of Japan.
After the Meiji Restoration, Goryokaku was used as an army training ground before being opened as a public park in 1913.
Beginning in 1913, Somei Yoshino cherry trees were planted over a period of ten years. By 1923, the number of cherry trees planted at Goryokaku had reached 10,000, and a commemorative monument called the “10,000 Cherry Trees Memorial” was erected.
Approximately 1,600 cherry trees remain today, making Goryokaku one of the most celebrated hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, destinations in Hokkaido. In spring, the trees surrounding the moat transform the fortress into a spectacular landscape of pink and white blossoms.
The Hakodate Magistrate’s Office was a government facility established by the Tokugawa shogunate as part of Japan’s defense and administration of its northern frontier.
In 1854, after Commodore Matthew Perry’s arrival in Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate signed the Convention of Kanagawa with the United States. The ports of Shimoda and Hakodate were opened to American vessels, bringing an end to Japan’s more than two centuries of national seclusion and marking the country’s opening to the outside world.
The Hakodate Magistrate’s Office was initially located at the foot of Mount Hakodate. After Goryokaku was constructed, the government buildings were built inside the fortress, and the magistrate’s office moved there in 1864.
Only two years after its completion, the Tokugawa shogunate collapsed in 1868. Goryokaku subsequently became the setting for the Battle of Hakodate, the final major battle of the Boshin War. The magistrate’s office was dismantled in 1871, just seven years after its completion.
After extensive research into old photographs, historical documents, and original architectural drawings, the Hakodate Magistrate’s Office was faithfully reconstructed in 2010.
Goryokaku Tower is a 107-meter-high observation tower whose tower structure echoes the star-shaped fortress, while its observation platforms have a distinctive pentagonal form.
From the observation deck approximately 90 meters above the ground, visitors can enjoy a 360-degree panorama overlooking the entire star-shaped Goryokaku, as well as the city of Hakodate and the surrounding landscape.
Goryokaku was designed using European fortification techniques of the time, with the aim of defending Hakodate against foreign warships equipped with increasingly powerful artillery.
However, budget limitations and the realization that the foreign threat following the opening of Hakodate was not as severe as initially anticipated led to a reduction in the scale of the planned outer defenses.
Today, a single crescent-shaped bastion remains on the southwest side of the star-shaped fortress, connected to the main fortification by the Ichino Bridge. The original plan called for five such bastions. The proposed design was even more elaborate, with two overlapping star shapes created by rotating one star by 36 degrees.
Goryokaku offers a fascinating combination of history, architecture, and seasonal beauty. The unusual star-shaped fortress reflects the rapid changes Japan experienced as it opened to the world in the final years of the Edo period, while the restored magistrate’s office provides a tangible glimpse into the political history of the era.
From ground level, visitors can stroll through the peaceful park and admire its trees and moats. From Goryokaku Tower, the extraordinary geometry of the fortress becomes clear, revealing why Goryokaku has become one of Hakodate’s most recognizable landmarks.
20 minutes by bus from Hakodate Station → 1 minute walk from the back of the Public Health Center