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.

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.

Sakaimachi 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!

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