Goryōkaku Tower, Observation tower in Hakodate, Japan.
Goryōkaku Tower is a concrete observation structure rising 98 meters above the park of the same name in Hakodate. Its six viewing levels feature glass facades that provide unobstructed views of the city and the fortification below.
Shimizu Corporation built the first tower in 1964 to make the fortification beneath visible from above. The current building replaced the earlier one in 2006 and opened to the public that April.
The structure takes its name from the star fort beneath, whose outline becomes clear through the tower windows. A bronze figure of Toshizō Hijikata stands near the entrance, while the top level offers a view over the entire fortification layout.
Trams from Hakodate Station stop at Goryōkaku-kōen-mae, and the tower base stands a short walk through residential streets. Elevators inside carry visitors to the upper levels, where wide window areas make it easy to move around each floor.
The upper floors show the complete five-pointed outline of the fortification, which becomes visible only from above. More than one thousand cherry trees grow along the old moats and turn the green perimeter pink each spring.
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