Chasing the Star Fortress – A Visit to Goryōkaku in Hakodate
For many years, Goryōkaku had been sitting firmly on my personal travel bucket list. The famous star-shaped fortress in Hakodate is one of the most recognizable historical sites in Hokkaidō. After seeing it prominently featured in the recent Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram film, the urge to finally visit became irresistible.
Naturally, my plan was a little more ambitious than the typical sightseeing stop.
A Drone Flight That Never Happened
I had applied for an official drone flight permit to capture the fortress from above. The geometric perfection of Goryōkaku almost demands an aerial perspective. After all, the full star shape only becomes visible from above, especially a 90°-angle was the idea.
At first, my permit was approved — only to be revoked later, which was honestly heartbreaking, yet it was not revoked by the MLIT itself but by a female administration worker of the nearby tower. Applying at the MLIT is only step one, you need to apply at the town hall of Hakodate as well. Being there only 2 days made it impossible to apply at the townhall and shifting my pre-approved time slot, therefore I did the application process for nothing.
Because of being unable to do a drone shot, I walked around the whole park, took a few shots of the momiji Autumn leaves and practised a little with my DJI OSMO Pocket that I bought in Germany before coming to Japan and my new DJI OSMO 360 that I bought in Akiba just a few days, ago.
One of the main reasons I traveled all the way north to Hokkaidō was exactly that: photographing Goryōkaku from the sky.
To make the trip possible, I purchased the JR East-South Hokkaidō Rail Pass, which allowed several days of Shinkansen travel between Tōkyō and southern Hokkaidō.
Riding the Shinkansen to Japan’s Northern Frontier
The journey itself is already an experience. From Tōkyō, the trains of the Tōhoku Shinkansen continue north as the Hokkaidō Shinkansen.
The fastest service on this route is the Hayabusa Shinkansen, which travels from Tōkyō through northern Honshū before entering the famous Seikan Tunnel beneath the Tsugaru Strait.
This tunnel connects the islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō and remains one of the longest undersea railway tunnels in the world.
The journey from Tōkyō to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station takes roughly four hours, followed by a short local train ride into Hakodate.
Interestingly, the Shinkansen currently stops there. The extension toward Sapporo is still under construction. Traveling from Hakodate to Sapporo therefore requires the Limited Express Hokuto and takes around 3.5–4 hours.
Because my itinerary also included stops in Sendai and Morioka, and the rail pass only allowed a limited number of days, a detour to Sapporo unfortunately wasn’t possible this time.
Anime Tourism: When Fiction Inspires Travel
Hakodate and its star fortress recently gained renewed attention thanks to the long-running franchise Detective Conan, created by Gosho Aoyama.
The 2024 film Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram prominently features Hakodate and Goryōkaku as part of its mystery storyline.
Anime tourism has become a powerful cultural phenomenon in Japan, with fans traveling to real-world locations that appear in their favorite series.
Returning to Hokkaidō After Many Years
My previous visit to Hokkaidō dates back to January 2016, during my Working Holiday year in Japan.
At the time I participated in WWOOFing, which led to some unforgettable experiences. One of them involved sleeping in a treehouse during winter with more than one meter of snow outside.
During that same winter I also visited the famous Sapporo Snow Festival and even had a surprisingly memorable Tinder date with a traveler from Hong Kong.
Although I would have loved to revisit Sapporo again — preferably at a warmer time of year — the limited validity of the rail pass and my travel schedule simply didn’t allow it.
A Familiar View with a Personal Twist
So yes — the drone flight above Goryōkaku never happened.
And technically the photo I captured is the same viewpoint millions of visitors take every day and every year.
But at least I tried to give it a personal touch.
Using a tilt-shift lens, I experimented with perspective and focus to create a miniature-style interpretation of the fortress. It’s a small artistic twist on a very famous scene. I always try to do some unique shots wherever I go in Japan and at some point there is barely any other way of doing exactly that except by either using a drone or a special lense.
Standing above the star-shaped fortress also triggered a small linguistic joke. Coming from Leipzig, the word Stern inevitably reminds me of Sternburg, a well-known local beer brand.
The idea of a “Sternenburg meets Sternburg” moment is admittedly a funny wordplay — although I should clarify one thing: I actually don’t drink beer at all. In fact, I generally avoid alcohol almost entirely.
So the connection remains purely linguistic.
Still, it felt strangely fitting that a star fortress in Japan would remind me of a Leipzig beer name — even if only as a playful coincidence.
