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Hakodate Local Onsen & Comfort Food Tour: Showa Onsen, Lucky Pierrot & Hasegawa Store Through Local Eyes
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Hakodate usually means the morning market, fresh squid sashimi, and the night view — but the places locals actually go are way more low-key. Wandering around the Showa-cho area, I stumbled onto a side of Hakodate you won’t find in any guidebook.
📌 What You’ll Learn in This Article
- The atmosphere, price, and highlights of Showa Onsen, a bathhouse with continuously flowing natural source water
- A first-hand report on eating Chinese Chicken Curry at Lucky Pierrot’s Showa branch
- What makes the yakitori bento at Hasegawa Store, a convenience store chain found only in Hakodate, so good
- Stories you can only find on a local-style trip to Hakodate
目次
- ① Showa Onsen: A Natural Hot-Spring Bathhouse Loved by Locals for Generations
- ② Lucky Pierrot Showa Branch: Trying Hakodate’s Reigning Comfort-Food Champion
- ③ Hasegawa Store: The Convenience Chain with Yakitori Bento, Found Only in Hakodate, Hokuto, and Nanae
- Wrap-Up: The Fun of a Hakodate Local Trip Is in What’s Outside the Tourist Spots
① Showa Onsen: A Natural Hot-Spring Bathhouse Loved by Locals for Generations
Showa Onsen sits in the Showa 2-chome neighborhood of Hakodate. With its retro exterior and the reassurance of being open every day of the year, it’s a bathhouse the locals swear by. The natural source water flows straight into the tubs, so you get properly warmed through.
By 7am it was already busy with local elderly regulars. There’s a small diner attached too, so you can go straight from a morning bath to breakfast — it’s the perfect combo. Finding a local bathhouse like this while traveling always feels like a lucky find.
Showa Onsen Facility Info
- Address:Showa 2-chome 39-1, Hakodate, Hokkaido
- Hours:7:00 AM – 11:00 PM (open every day)
- Features:Continuously flowing natural source water, an attached diner, retro bathhouse style
② Lucky Pierrot Showa Branch: Trying Hakodate’s Reigning Comfort-Food Champion
Lucky Pierrot is Hakodate’s own local burger chain. It’s not McDonald’s, it’s not MOS Burger — it’s a completely original Hakodate thing. Every location has its own interior theme, giving it the feel of a “theme-park fast food joint” with a presence nothing else really has.
I ordered the Chinese Chicken Curry. It’s karaage fried chicken in a sweet-savory sauce combined with curry — a combo that’s pure junk food but somehow completely addictive. I genuinely wondered why you can’t get this anywhere outside Hakodate.
If you’re in Hakodate, you absolutely have to go to Lucky Pierrot. My first thought about the Chinese Chicken Curry was “that’s a weird combination,” but one bite in, it made total sense. I’m definitely going back.
③ Hasegawa Store: The Convenience Chain with Yakitori Bento, Found Only in Hakodate, Hokuto, and Nanae
Hasegawa Store — locally nicknamed “Hase-suto” — is a convenience store chain that exists only in the Hakodate, Hokuto, and Nanae area. Its signature item is the yakitori bento, grilled to order after you place it.
Despite the name “yakitori” (grilled chicken), it’s actually pork skewers grilled and served on top of rice. You can choose from sauce, salt, or spicy miso versions, and the charcoal-grilled aroma is fantastic. The quality is honestly hard to believe for a convenience store.
- What kind of onsen is Showa Onsen? Is it worth visiting on a Hakodate trip?
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Showa Onsen is a bathhouse with continuously flowing natural source water that locals have loved for a long time. There are very few tourists, so you get a real feel for everyday life in Hakodate. The price is also reasonable compared to tourist-oriented facilities, and the water is gentle enough to soak in for a long time. It’s a great hidden spot to recharge after tiring sightseeing at places like Goryokaku or Mt. Hakodate.
Q
- Which Lucky Pierrot location is best, and what should I order?
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There are multiple locations around Hakodate, and each one has its own distinctive interior. If it’s your first time, the “Chinese Chicken Burger” is the classic choice — a locally loved, one-of-a-kind burger with a hearty portion that feels far more substantial than typical fast food. It gets busy, so it’s best to go either before the lunch rush or close to closing time.
Q
- What is Hasegawa Store’s yakitori bento, and where can I buy it?
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Hasegawa Store is a local convenience store chain found only in the Hakodate, Hokuto, and Nanae area, and its signature item is the yakitori bento. Despite the name, it’s actually made with pork skewers, and you can choose between sauce or salt flavor. It’s not sold at Hakodate Airport or souvenir shops at tourist spots, so you have to visit an actual Hasegawa Store location. Since it’s grilled after you order, you get to eat it piping hot.
Q
- What other local comfort food is there in Hakodate?
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Hakodate is also known for shio ramen (Hakodate-style salt ramen), Hakodate Garana (a local soft drink), and live squid sashimi at the morning market. If you want to go all-in on Hakodate’s local food scene alongside Lucky Pierrot and Hasegawa Store, a good flow is: morning market in the morning, Lucky Pierrot (“Rappi”) for lunch, and Hasegawa Store (“Hase-suto”) at night.
Q
Wrap-Up: The Fun of a Hakodate Local Trip Is in What’s Outside the Tourist Spots
✅ Hakodate Local Trip Summary
- Showa Onsen — open every day, continuously flowing source water. The morning bath → diner breakfast combo is unbeatable
- Lucky Pierrot — the Chinese Chicken Curry is a must-eat if you’re in Hakodate. The interior theming is fun too
- Hasegawa Store — the yakitori bento, grilled to order, is a one-of-a-kind dish you can only get in Hakodate
- A local trip that touches Hakodate’s everyday life, away from the tourist spots, never gets old no matter how many times you come back
On top of the classic Hakodate sightseeing route — the morning market, squid sashimi, the night view — adding Showa Onsen, Lucky Pierrot, and Hasegawa Store to your itinerary instantly makes the trip richer. The places locals actually go are where you find the real Hakodate.
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Hi, I’m Yagi, an outdoor enthusiast from Japan who loves trout fishing and travel. I share firsthand fishing reports, local rules and licenses, destination guides, gear reviews, and outdoor adventures from across Japan and beyond. Whether you are planning a fishing trip to Japan or simply enjoy exploring nature, I hope these guides help you travel with confidence and discover something new.
