Pension Country Born

The meals and the owner’s casual thoughtfulness made this inn good value, and we were very satisfied. Dinner began at 6pm: a tasty Japanese-Western course with lots of seasonal dishes, enjoyed with the view changing from Abendroth to the glittering nightscape. Since we told them we’d drive to the Mt. Hakodate Observatory afterwards, there were no aperitif cocktails, though the alcoholic drink selection was decent. The morning plate lived up to its reputation, and breakfast started at 8am. I’d forgotten to ask at check-in, so I called around 7:40 to confirm, which was a bit of a hassle. We came by car. The parking lot is uphill, with the pension on the right. Although the sign says to park close to the back right, pulling in forward might make it difficult to get out. I’d wanted to stay somewhere that offered dinner and lodging with a view of Hakodate at night for a while. COVID-19 had delayed that plan, and I finally got to go. I booked on January 29 for Saturday, April 23, with two meals, in a second-floor twin-compatible double room with a sink and a deck overlooking the night view. When I saw on the official website that dinner service would stop from April 1, I called on April 11 to check. The owner kindly reassured me, “It’s okay. We’ll provide it,” which was a relief. My room was an 8.5-tatami double, next to a 6-tatami double. It was closest to the toilet, tea room, and smoking room. To the right were the 6-tatami room and dining room, so that smaller room would have the best dining-room view. The lights at Hakodate Orthodox Church went out at 10pm, and its bells rang pleasantly at 6:30am. The building is old, and the loose doors take quite a bit of force to open and close.