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Otaru, Hokkaido Is A Great Day Trip From Sapporo
Otaru is a port city located in Hokkaido, Japan, about a 30-40 minute train ride from Sapporo, it’s a popular day trip from the biggest city in Hokkaido with some notable sights to take in. Staying in Otaru is certainly an option but this post looks at making a day trip or half-day trip for those staying in Sapporo.
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The Otaru Canal
The most well-known feature in Otaru is the Otaru Canal. This canal was an integral part of transporting goods from the ships stationed in the main port in the 20th century. Smaller vessels would transport goods from these larger vessels down the canal and unload them at the warehouses lining the canal. The canal became obsolete as modern technology took hold and more efficient unloading methods developed.
The canal remained during this shift of goods transportation and a part of the canal was restored in the 1980s with the warehouses being renovated into various shops, restaurants, and museums.
It’s a beautiful area and makes for quite a nice stroll. You can spend the majority of your day in the area around the canal since there’s so much to see here.
The Otaru Canal 
The Otaru
Canal at night, illuminated by lightsSakaimachi Street
Located near the Otaru Canal, Sakaimachi Street is a very popular tourist destination spot. It’s convenient location next to the town’s most popular attraction means you’ll most likely spend some time on this street. It’s home to several souvenir shops, museums, restaurants, and stores. The street is quite long so there’s a TON to see and eat here.
The Food
As mentioned above, Sakaimachi Street is jam-packed with all sorts of shops and stores. As one would imagine there’s a TON of different food options. Not only is there plenty of traditional Japanese food and seafood located on the street, there’s plenty of dessert options as well, not only on Sakaimachi Street but near the canal too.
A popular spot is Sawawa whose speciality are matcha and green tea products. Even though it was early December I had to try the the green tea ice cream with matcha mochi (670 yen, $4.28 USD). The ice cream was very rich with a heavy green flavor to it while the mochi was quite soft and chewy. It was quite jelly like.
Popura Farm was another stop. It’s not on Sakaimachi Street but is quite close to it. Popura Farm offers half cut or quarter cut melons piled with ice cream. I got the quarter melon (1900 yen, $12.13 USD). Even in December, the honeydew melon I got was sweet and juicy, while the vanilla ice cream makes it that much tastier!
Naruto Honten Fried Chicken is a famous fried chicken restaurant that’s located in Otaru. About a 10 minute walk from the Otaru Canal, it’s a large two-story restaurant with a waiting room, so you know the place is quite popular.
The menu is quite large, with many options besides just fried chicken, but the restaurant is known for its chicken so it was a must try for me. I got a half chicken combo meal and a beer for 1850 yen, $12.02 USD. Quite a good deal for the amount of food you get. The fried chicken is quite good. The skin is exceptionally crispy while the meat maintains its juiciness. It really is some tasty fried chicken.
LaTao is a famous dessert company not only in Japan but in other countries throughout the world. The orignal location is found in Otaru on Sakaimachi Street. It’s easily recognizable due to the tower that’s connected to the store. The tower was the original location of LaTao and you can walk to the very top and get a nice view of the surrounding area.
LaTao made its name based off its famous Double Fromage cheesecakes, so it’s certainly an item that deserves attention. Within the store, upstairs, there’s a restaurant where you can order and enjoy the many desserts that LaTao has to offer. I got a combo that included a slice of the original cheesecake (I believe) and a slice of lemon cheesecake, and a cup of tea (1500 yen, $9.60 USD).
Both slices of cheesecake are incredibly light. With a subtle sweetness, they are not overpowering or overly sweet at all. Both maintain great flavor and are extremely tasty!
Otaru Music Box Museum
At the end Sakaimachi Street is the Otaru Music Museum. A solid stone building, this is the main building that was constructed in 1915 and used as an office for a wealthy merchant. It was converted to a music box museum in 1989 and now houses over 80,000 music boxes.
As one might imagine with a place with so many music boxes, the air is filled with music as you walk around which is quite pleasant. There are so many different types and variations of music boxes housed here. It really is amazing. The wooden interior really adds to the unique feel and it’s just a really cool place to walk around and purchase a unique music box if you’re so inclined.
In the front of the museum is the world’s largest steam clock. Every 15 minutes, the steam whistles at the top of the clock produces a melody, which is really cool to both see and hear!
The Railway Museum
The Railway Museum is a little bit outside of Otaru Canal tourist area, about a 20 minute walk. It’s located at the site of Hokkaido’s first railway line. In the old trainyard outside there are several full size trains from various eras which are on display.
The inside of the museum has several exhibits detailing the history of trains in the Otaru area. If you have an interest in trains and museums this will be a place of interest for you!
Conclusion
There’s a lot more to see and do in Otaru but if you only have a day or half-day this is a good starting point. The Otaru Canal and its surrounding area, namely Sakaimachi Street, will undoubtedly be the biggest draw and there’s a lot to explore, especially if you enjoy shopping. You can’t really go wrong just walking around the area and exploring. It’s a charming place with lots to see and especially EAT!
Related Links
Is The Famed Naruto Honten Fried Chicken In Otaru Fulfill It’s Hype?
Does The Famous Japanese Bakery LeTAO Live Up To The Hype?
10 Popular Things To Do In Sapporo, Hokkaido
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Does The Famous Japanese Bakery LeTAO Live Up To The Hype?
LeTAO is a Japanese dessert company that was founded in Otaru, Hokkaido in 1998. The first shop was opened in a tower right in the center of Otaru, which the founder, Kawagoe, taking inspiration from his travels in France, named La Tour Amitie Otaru – LeTAO – or The Amiable Tower of Otaru. In a creative twist to the name, the name is also comprised of a combination of the syllables of the city it was founded in.
The bread of butter of LeTAO is its cheesecake, most notably the Double Fromage. Each year LaTAO bakers churn out a whopping 25 million Double Fromage cheesecakes. Not only is that a staggering number, but it shows how popular the brand and its cheesecake is worldwide.
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The Original LeTAO in Otaru
The orginal LeTAO shop may have been small enough to fit within a tower but it has now expanded to include a massive store filled with baked goods attached to that original tower. When I went, it was extremely busy. I’m guessing that’s the norm here since LeTAO is now a worldwide brand and clearly extremely popular. Upstairs is where the restaurant is located. I went in the late afternoon, around 4pm, and it was packed. They have a number system so I grabbed a ticket and periodically would come back and check to see where I was in line. It was about a 45 minute wait.
The orginal tower is still there and you can continue going up the stairs from the restaurant floor to get to the top of it. You can enjoy the views it provides of Otaru while you wait for your table. It’s right across from the Otaru Music Box Museum.
The Cheesecake
With LaTAO being known for their cheesecake, I obviously HAD to try it. There are many many cheesecake and pastry options and different combos to choose from, all of which came with a cup of tea as well. Some of the combos were already sold out for the day, but there were some yummy looking options still on the table to choose from.
I ended up with a slice of the original cheesecake (I believe) and a slice of lemon cheesecake (1500 yen, $9.60 USD).
It’s a very simple, clean presentation. Slices are quite tiny, just big enough to get a nice sample taste. With this being cheesecake it’s probably a good thing the slices are on the smaller side!
I started with the original slice. It was very light with a subtle taste to it. It has the clear cheesecake taste to it but the flavor is not overbearing or super rich at all. Crust is incredibly light as well. Definitely quite tasty.
Next up was the lemon cheesecake. It had two layers on it, with the top layer being whip cream than the bottom layer being the lemon flavored cheesecake. Again, the flavors here are very subtle. With this having a couple layers I expected this to be a lot more rich in flavor. It wasn’t. It’s still very, very, light with a subtle taste to it. I really enjoyed this as well, even more so than the other slice!
Is It Worth A Visit?
If you’re a fan of pastries and cheesecake LaTAO is certainly worth visiting and stopping by to sample some slices of cake. With so many excellent sounding options, it can be slightly daunting to choose just one or two to sample, but that’s a fun (and hopefully delicious) decision to make.
I was very satisfied with the combo that I bought. Getting two slices of cheesecaske with a cup of tea for sub-$10 USD is an excellent price for such a well-known bakery like LaTAO.
The cheesecake itself is certainly unique. These were by far the lightest slices of cheesecake I’ve ever had, which is a good thing. Even though the flavors were subtle, they were still very flavorful. I actually prefer this subtle falvor where the cheesecake is not overly rich and sweet. I didn’t feel all heavy after eating a couple slices and honestly probably could have sampled another slice or two (don’t judge, lol).
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Is The Famed Naruto Honten Fried Chicken In Otaru Fulfill It’s Hype?
Otaru is a port city located in Hokkaido, Japan, about a 30-40 minute train ride from Sapporo, it’s a popular day trip from the biggest city in Hokkaido. Of course it has a number of outstanding restaurants to choose from. Depending on how long your stay is you may only get one or two meals here so it can certainly be a tough choice deciding on what to get!
I had seen a video on Naruto Honten and hadn’t had fried chicken up to this point on my trip so I definitely had a hankering for it. I decided to make this my meal in Otaru so I certainly had high expectations and even higher hopes (that I made the right decision lol).
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The Experience
I walked over to the restaurant around noon, so peak lunch time. It’s about a 10 minute walk from the famous Otaru Canal. You know the place is popular and expecting crowds when there’s a ticket machine where you pull a number with a waiting room where you can sit until your turn is called. With it being lunch time it was fairly busy, not overly so though. It took about 15 minutes or so to get my number called.
The front of Naruto Honken in Otaru There’s a lot of options to choose from on the menu. They have much more to offer than just the fried chicken they’re known for.
But I came here specifically for the fried chicken. That half-chicken combo meal was just calling my name and that’s what I went with along with a beer (1850 yen, $12.02 USD)
The Fried Chicken
The first thing you notice about the fried chicken is how crisp the skin is. Exceptionally crispy and seasoned well, it really is delicious. Digging into the meat, it’s tender and extremely juicy. With fried chicken you can sometimes run into places where the meat is a little dry, but it wasn’t the case here. The fried chicken was done perfectly and juicy throughout.
The seasoning is mild which I enjoyed. It’s not overly salty at all. For my taste preference it was perfect. The fried chicken isn’t very greasy either, another positive!
The combo meal also came with a bowl of rice, miso soup, tofu, and radish. Quite a filling meal for $12!
Is Naruto Honten worth visiting?
If you’re in the mood for fried chicken and have had your fill of sushi (which Otaru is also known for) then Naruto Honten is certainly worth the trip. It’s an iconic, well-known establishment in Otaru and the fried chicken is quite good! You get quite a bit of food for only $8.25 as well.
