Otaru



Otaru (小樽) is a port city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the Sea of Japan, the city is near Sapporo and it is a tourist destination for its food, its historical buildings and its shops.

Understand
Approximately 30 km to the west of Sapporo, Otaru is a port city by the Sea of Japan with a canal and well-preserved architectures of early modern Japan in the Meiji era. Most of the attractions are found in the city center surrounding the Otaru port.

Otaru's original name in the local Ainu language was "Otarunai" or "Ota-or-nai", meaning "river flowing through sand". The area's recorded history goes back to the 16th century, when an explorer from the Honshu island reported settlement. Otaru's early modern history as a port city started in 1871, when Japan's Meiji government opened a colonization office in Sapporo. Rapid development followed, especially after the first railway in Hokkaido was built in 1880 between Otaru and Sapporo. Still a busy port town, today's Otaru has a thriving tourism industry.

Winter in Otaru is less severe than in most other cities in Hokkaido; the yearly average temperature is 8.6 °C.

Tourist information site
The local tourist association has a guide site with integrated Google Translate.

By train
Otaru is a major station on the JR Hakodate Line from Sapporo, with very frequent train runs. At a cost of ¥620, there are at least five trains per hour; the fastest service, the Airport Rapid, reaches Otaru in 30 minutes. The complete journey on the Airport Rapid from New Chitose Airport to Otaru takes 70 minutes.



By car
Otaru is 25 minutes away from Sapporo by car.

By ferry
Otaru is one of Hokkaido's key ferry ports, and the closest to Sapporo. Shin-Nihonkai Ferry(+81 6-6348-1120) operates a daily service between Otaru and Niigata (18 hours, ¥6,200+) and between Otaru and Maizuru near Kyoto (20 hours, ¥9,600+). Both services are overnight, and private cabins are available for a higher fare (the base fare buys sleeping space on the floor).

On foot
Many of its historical buildings, restaurants and shops are within easy walking distance so walking is a very easy (and cheap) means of getting around. A suggested walking itinerary begins from the Otaru Music Box Museum at one end of Sakaimachihondori Street, follow the street until it crosses a small canal, walk up the street until the Museum of the Money, and then follow the canal down and then keep following the canal when it turns left and widens up.

Do

 * Create your own music box at the Music Box museum.

Buy
Music boxes. You'll find these in Hakodate and Sapporo as well, but shops dedicated to music boxes are especially prevalent here. The two museums selling music boxes are well worth a look, particularly for the hand-cranked variety which emit tunes using a piece of cardboard with holes punched in it.

Antiques. If you walk from central station straight towards the canal district, you'll see a karaoke centre called Thriller Karaoke with a bat gargoyle above the sign. Turn right until you see an eatery called Kongetsudo on the left hand side. Across the road are two antique dealers, one male and one female, on the second storey of a small building that sell mainly kimono. This place is worth a visit as you can pick authentic kimono quite cheap here. Just remember that you may have to haggle up to 50% off the price of a kimono with the male dealer if you are a foreigner.

Glassware. Otaru is famous among Japanese for its glassware. You can buy all types of articles made of glass, from useful cups, bottles and plates, to tiny decorative fishes.



Eat
Otaru is the best town in Hokkaido for sushi, and it ranks high on the national scale too. Sushi restaurants near Kitaichi are expensive, but if you walk to the canal you can find cheaper but good sushi.

Stay safe
Like most of Hokkaido, the footpaths of Otaru tend to accumulate a lot of ice in the winter. Try to wear shoes with corrugated soles that will grip the ice. Alternatively you can buy metal-studded wraparound bands to put on your shoes from roadside shops for about ¥1700.

Go next

 * Yoichi
 * Shakotan
 * Niseko
 * Sapporo
 * Chitose
 * Akaigawa
 * Kutchan
 * Kyowa