Lucky Pierrot Hamburger, Hakodate

Lucky Pierrot is a popular chain of hamburger shops only found in Hakodate. Featured in most guide books and ranked No.1 in the local hamburger chain across Japan, Lucky Pierrot has become a "must eat" place when you visit Hakodate. 

Each shop has it's own unique theme, such as Santa Claus theme, guardian angels theme, audrey hepburn theme, flower theme etc. The one I went to was located at the Hakodate Bay Area, and it has a rocking horse and swing theme! This is also the first Lucky Pierrot hamburger shop set up. 


If you are not comfortable sitting on a swing while eating, there are also normal seats in the restaurant. 

The number one popular burger on the menu is the Chinese Chicken burger. You can order a set including fries and oolong tea at JPY650 (approx SGD9).

Lucky Pierrot menu - a wide selection of western and Japanese style burgers. Some burgers are very interesting, such as the Hakodate Snow burger, pork sukiyaki burger, Genkis Khan burger, or dare to try the Futotcho burger - a super sized burger consisting a combination of the Chicken hamburger, Lucky Egg hamburger and Pork Cutlet hamburger.   

Besides burgers, they also serve a variety of Japanese curry rice, and in fact quite a lot of customers were having it in the restaurant as well. 

The ordering counter was filled with a variety of posters, with the majority promoting their no.1 best seller - Chinese Chicken burger. 

Of course we had to order the Chinese Chicken burger set to try. The chicken was well marinated, crispy while juicy inside, dipped in a mild sauce. Delicious also when eaten on it's own, but tastes even better when eaten together with the soft sesame bun, lettuce and mayonnaise. Indeed worth the No.1 title. The fries (or what they call fried potato in Japan) comes in a mug, and was also very good, with a drizzle of melted cheese and meat sauce along with it. 

A variety of merchandise are also sold in the restaurant, mostly mugs and glasses. 

There was also some pictures framed on the wall, showing an event in 2008 where they made a 15kg super burger. 

Lucky Pierrot - a burger place worth visiting when you are in Hakodate. You definitely won't miss their shop! Just look out for the huge clown signboard. And there's no mistake - he's no Ronald McDonald clown!

Lucky Pierrot Hamburger (Bay Area main branch)

函館末広町23-18
23-18 Suehiro-cho, Hakodate
Opening hours : 1000 - 0030hrs 

www.luckypierrot.jp (Japanese only) 

Hakodate Comfort Hotel

From Aomori, we took the Limited Express Hakucho which passes through the Seikan Tunnel to get to Hokkaido. 
Japan main island (called Honshu 本州) and Hokkaido are separated by the Tsugaru Straits (津軽海峡) and it is definitely a great feat to be able to build the longest tunnel in Japan in order to connect Japan main Island with Hokkaido. 

On the backrest of the train seat, you can see the details of the tunnel, including the train schedule, from the moment it enters, to the deepest area and time it exits. After all, Japanese are really detailed with their schedules.

We finally reached Hakodate (函館), Hokkaido's third largest city located on the Southern part of Hokkaido. 

Comfort hotel Hakodate is just a 5 minute walk from Hakodate JR station, situated at a very convenient location.  

The rooms and the toilet are standard from what you expect from a business hotel. Also having the same decoration as the Comfort Hotel chain. 

A simple photo frame on the wall, but if you look closely, these are actually pictures of famous buildings and scenery which fully represent Hakodate. 

Buffet breakfast is provided complimentary, with a simple fare of assorted breads, sausages, eggs, soup, salad, fruits and even a variety of onigiri (Japanese rice balls). There is even a coffee machine which provides 24hr complimentary coffee and tea for inhouse guests.  

Comfort Hotel Hakodate

北海道函館市若松町16-3

16-3 Wakamatsu-cho, Hakodate 
Nearest Train station; JR Hakodate

Aomori Nokke don (のっけ丼)

Have you ever come across ordering a bowl of sashimi or kaisen seafood don but it comes with some items which are not your favourite? Well you definitely will not have this problem at the Aomori Furukawa Market where the speciality of this market is their Nokke don. 

Nokke don is buying a bowl of rice and various of your favourite toppings to go on top of your rice. By doing so, you would have created your unique bowl of rice or donburi which the Japanese call it.

The Furukawa Market, or more popular known as the Aomori fish and vegetable centre is just 5 minutes walk from JR Aomori station. 

You can also find English instructions on how to make your own Nokke don at the market. 

At the entrance of the market, you will find this information stall where you can purchase your ticket for the Nokke don. 

The ticket comes in either JPY500 or JPY1000 with individual JPY100 tear off coupon. 

To start off "making" your own Nokke don, you have to purchase a rice bowl first from any of the stores which have the orange flag. These are the stores which sell cooked rice. You can either purchase a small bowl rice for JPY100 or a larger portion for JPY200. 
The stores with the blue flag sells raw fish, meat or vegetables for your rice bowl. 

The variety of toppings available are huge! As the market is not very big, you can actually tour one round of the market to pinpoint your favourite stalls or toppings before starting to make your own rice bowl. 

Besides raw food, there are also a variety of fried foods for your selection. 

Our one and only unique bowl of nokke don!

As we still had some coupons left, we bought some fried stuff and also chu-toro. 

Don't worry about finding a place to sit in the wet market. They have designated areas with tables and chairs, and even packet soya sauce, wasabi, chopsticks and even hot green tea for you to enjoy your nokke don. And as usual, as this is Japan, the place is kept very clean even though it is located inside the wet market. 

Locals also come to buy their daily fresh fish and seafood. 

As Aomori is surrounded by both the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean, you can get fresh and cheap seafood here. These fresh scallops are huge! They are meant for sashimi use, so you can actually eat it just like this. And a plate of 7-8 scallops only cost you JPY1000 (approx SGD15) which is certainly very cheap!

Fresh abalone is also sold here. Although there is no price tag to it, I believe it should be quite affordable as well. 


Furukawa Market Nokke don

青森魚菜センター, 青森市古川1-11-16Aomori Fresh Fish and Vegetable center
1-11-16 Furukawa, Aomori shi, Aomori
Opening hours: 7am-5pm (individual stores may have different operating hours) 
Closed on Tuesday
5 mins walk from JR Aomori station

www.aomori-ichiba.com (Japanese only)