Otaru walking tour & city guide

The canal and Sakaimachi

The Otaru Canal, lined with stone warehouses and old gas lamps, is the town's postcard view, especially at dusk when the lamps are lit. Part of the canal was filled in during the 1980s, but residents fought to save the rest, and a walking path now follows the water.

From the canal, Sakaimachi-dori leads past glass workshops, music box shops and sweet shops housed in historic merchant buildings. At its end, the Marchen crossroads has a steam clock and the large Otaru Music Box Museum.

Winter in Otaru

Otaru receives heavy snow, and winter walks along the canal, with snow piled on the warehouse roofs, are memorable. In February, the Otaru Snow Light Path festival places small lanterns and candles in snow along the canal and old railway line.

The old Temiya railway line, Hokkaido's first, has been turned into a walking path through the town, and the Sankaku Market near the station is the place for a seafood breakfast.

Visiting tips

Rapid trains from Sapporo take about 35 to 45 minutes and run along the sea for part of the way. Otaru is easy to see on foot in a day, but staying overnight lets you enjoy the canal after the day visitors leave. The New Chitose Airport is about 1 hour 15 minutes by direct train.