When you cross the Onobashi Bridge, you can see the pagoda of Kingonzan Hokiji Temple. Hokiji Temple is said to have originated in 1849 (the 2nd year of the Kaei era) when Nichino Kaneko, the 15th head priest of Jikkoji Temple in Hakodate, was granted permission to establish Hokian in Onomura Higashi-shimomachi at the request of the devout believer Kinbei Nakamura.

There is a weeping cherry tree (shidarezakura) on the temple grounds, which blooms beautifully every spring. The shidarezakura is a type of cherry tree belonging to the Rosaceae family, characterized by a vertically split trunk and drooping branches, and is also known as itozakura (thread cherry). It is a deciduous tall tree appreciated as a garden tree or for bonsai. It is a variety of Uba-higan cherry, with those having a particularly deep red color being distinguished as Beni-higan, and there are many other horticultural varieties. The Taki-zakura (waterfall cherry) in Miharu, Fukushima Prefecture, is famous as a natural monument, and the cherry trees in Gion, Kyoto, are also shidarezakura.

This is one of the largest weeping cherry trees in Hokkaido, said to be over 300 years old. It is approximately 12 meters tall with a very fine branch structure, and it is a spectacular sight when the drooping branches are in full bloom. It is very rare for a shidarezakura to grow this large in Hokkaido, and because it is a type of cherry tree not seen in the vicinity, people come from far away to view the blossoms.