Hakodate

Hakodate needs 2 days: Mount Hakodate at sunset (one of Japan's top 3 night views) on one, and the morning seafood market and historic port area on the other. June-August brings the mildest weather of the year in this northern city. It's cheaper than Japan's major cities, with fresh seafood at notably lower prices than in Tokyo. It was one of the first Japanese ports opened to foreign trade in the 19th century, leaving it with a unique Western architecture mixed with traditional Japanese buildings, uncommon elsewhere in the country.