So the soft-spoken, genial 16-year-old did what he does best. "I wondered how I could help," he told CBS News from his home in downtown Hakodate, in northern Japan.

Hokkaido's Hakodate stands out as the nation's most attractive tourist destination for the second year in a row, according to a recent survey by a private think tank.

After seven hours on the plane and another three-and-a-half hours on the train, I finally found myself on a street of Hakodate, the southernmost city of Japan's northernmost prefecture.

Hakodate Park joins Hakodate’s other valuable cultural properties like museums and libraries established by the early settlers to the area. A cushion-like covering of snow on a bench inside ...

Senshūan Sōhonke in Hakodate (2019). Dorayaki —sweet adzuki bean paste between two castella-like pancakes—has been on the menu at Senshūan Sōhonke since the mid-1920s.

Hakodate, a popular tourist destination in Hokkaido favoured for its ultra-fresh seafood and stately Western architecture, is also known to have one of the top three night views in Japan.

Hakodate has its own star-shaped fortress in the middle of the city, in the same vein as the Halifax Citadel. Goryokaku, as it's called, was built in 1855 based on a design by a French architect.

When Ichiro Oh opened the first Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, in 1987, getting customers in and out quickly was the operating model of chain restaurants across the country.

For the freezing winter months, the resort also has an indoor onsen with tatami floors. Photo: Hewitt Resort Hakodate. There are 221 guest rooms that can each accommodate up to four people.