Only this old school shop didn’t participate in it.

We visited an old colonial-style assembly house on a hill where we saw a fantastic view of Hakodate Bay. While Tokyo was in the middle of the rainy season, it was a perfect early summer day in Hakodate. But our happy errand was sniped by a series of soliciting actions by young women: They wanted us to buy their “best soft serve” in the city. I had had one, and yes, soft-serve ice cream in Hakodate was excellent, and in fact, after enjoying the historical landmark, we wanted to have something sweet. But those ladies’ aggressive solicitation immediately turned us off. The old assembly house was surrounded by at least six soft-serve shops. Excessive, no?