Sunset from Goryokaku Sunset from Goryokaku

RubyKaigi 2026

Event and my presentation

From 22-24 Apr 2026, RubyKaigi 2026 was on, in Hakodate, Hokkaido.

Getting to Hakodate in the first place was a challenge. I was in Oarai on 20 Apr, to catch the ferry ride sponsored by GMO Internet and GMO Pepabo. Then, the earthquake hit, off the coast of Iwate. This resulted in the ferry itself going ahead, but our trip called off. We were already on the ferry but had to get off.

The following day, I made it to Hakodate on Shinkansen. A lot of people had issues getting there - Haneda Airport had some issues with their traffic control.

Again, I presented my mrubyz project on my Master System. I did that on day one of the event. I feel this session was not as popular as when I presented my mruby on Dreamcast and Wii. I’d like to attribute that to the other sessions running concurrently (including the Japanese session by Mr Kazuho Oku) and also the title I used. Not a lot of interest around Zilog Z80 as opposed to “MSX” or “Master System”, and that’s probably even less interest than things like Nintendo Wii.

There were lots of really great sessions but the opening keynote by Tagomori-san was awesome. The story behind Ruby::Box and how its release coincided with RubyKaigi in Hakodate, was amazing.

The Official Party was great. I had so much fun there, and my presentation was finished on the first day. It felt soooooo good… but just not enough time (there never is at those events)!

On Day 2, I got on the tram with Treasure Data (thank you very much!). It was fun to ride the tram, eat, drink and chat with so many Rubyists.

On Day 3, I went to the mov Drinkup (thank you very much!). The venue (Jimotoya) was big, but their service and food were both good. There were some really nice sake too.

Hakodate

I stayed in Hakodate for about a week following the event. Hakodate is interesting in the way it’s spread out in multi-parts and they’re not very close. The city was beautiful.

  • Around RubyKaigi and towards the end of April, the cherry trees in Goryokaku Park were in full bloom. So beautiful. Lanterns
  • White Seed in both Goryokaku area and Suehirocho area are excellent beer pubs. The Suehirocho one is harder to find (it’s at the back of a multi-shop complex).
  • Some locals recommended Benten Sushi near Omachi (not the one near Hakodate Hachimangu shrine), and Sushi Masa inside the Jiyu Ichiba market. Benten Sushi was amazing. The chef there had been running the shop for over 6 decades, and the set was cheap! Sushi Masa was great too. They require getting there early and writing down your name on the list, then going back later, but it’s worth it.
  • Mt Hakodate had amazing views. I wanted to go back there at night to see the night view but it was so busy during the ‘golden week’ at night so I gave up. I hiked down during the day, and it was pleasant. Not recommeded for night hikes unless you’ve got some good lighting equipment. Mt Hakodate
  • Nemuro Hanamaru and Shunka were “conveyor belt” sushi restaurants but they had amazing food.
  • Lucky Pierrot was good too, but I don’t really feel I need to eat their food that often.
  • A local person recommended Waramaru (izakaya) near Hakodate Arena (whichth was the venue for RubyKaigi), and it did not disappoint.
  • Someone recommended Sawa 7 (izakaya) near Goryokaku JR station (not Goryokaku Mae on the tram). It wass great too.
  • Coffee Room Kikuchi (as seen on “How do you like Wednesday?”) had some really nice soft serves.