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Hakodate, a seaport on the lower eastern coast of Hokkaido, is normally the first stop for travelers coming to the island from Honshu. Founded in 1454, Hakodate was one of four Japanese ports opened to foreign trade in 1859 as a result of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce that Japan signed with the U.S. the prior year. The city is famous for its fresh seafood (witness the daily morning market, where all kinds of fish, squid, crabs, and other seafood are sold), and is known for its ramen (where sliced squid is used instead of braised pork as a topping in the soup).
Hakodate
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The bear plays a very important role in Ainu spiritual rituals, to the point that a "bear festival" is deemed the most important of said rituals. While we won't go into the gory details of said festival (which is really an elaborate ceremony that is centered around killing a bear), all over the island of Hokkaido you will find these carved bear statues, indicating the place that the bear has in the history of the island.
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