Goryokaku Park, Hakodate Overview
A five-pointed star fort of 1866, the only Western-style fortress in Japan, built to defend the newly opened treaty port and then taken by the short-lived Republic of Ezo, which fell here in 1869 in the last battle of the Boshin War. The park is free and always open, and 1,600 cherry trees fill the star in early May. The park and the tower beside it are separate tickets.
