Visiting Otaru

Otaru Canal

From Furano, we took the train to Sapporo, where we would stay for a few days, making day trips out to the surrounding areas. The first of these was to Otaru.  Otaru is an old shipping town, which historically was an important trading centre for countries such as China and Russia.  From the latter, European influences crept in. Today, Otaru is famous for its canal, old merchant houses, music boxes and beautiful glass.  It is also a handy day trip out of Sapporo.

I had forgotten to mention this earlier but it turned out whilst we were safely in Hokkaido, southern Japan was being lashed by Typhoon Nangka. We did, however, experience rather rainy weather on our visit to Shisaki- no-oka, near Biei, and it was likewise a rather windy day in Otaru, with the weather worsening as the day went along. 

But when we started the day, taking the train out from Sapporo station, it was a beautifully sunny day.  The

Otaru Orgel Doh - one of the glass shops,
with the steam clock in front

train would take us also down the coast in some sections, giving us the opportunity to to gaze at the cold blue waters of the sea. When we got off, at Otaru, we followed the crowds and sure enough, they took us to the canal where once upon a time the canal boats would load up from the warehouses situated on the sides of the canal. Today, the warehouses have been transformed to eating places, and tourist boats ply up and down the canal. Strapping young men in striped t-shirts also offer trishaw services - I suppose this is meant to establish Otaru's claim to be the Venice of the East, or at least of Japan. 

The other point of similarity between Otaru and Venice is, of course, glass. There are many glass shops  here

Music Box lovers rejoice!

in Otaru, along the main shopping street of Sakaimachi Street.  This was the old merchants' quarters, and these sturdy houses indeed look a little more European than Japanese at least to my eyes.  Today they are shops - mostly selling souvenirs, glass and music boxes.  Some times they combine the two and you can get a music box, with a little glass figurine of your choice perched on top!  We spent some time looking for and finally found the Music Box museum.  The music boxes mainly feature European themes, and include a rather large organ which is really a music box!  

Other highlights of our visit include a steam clock (a gift from Vancouver, Canada), walking along the old railway line and taking a morning break at  Le Tao.  Le Tao is Otaru's answer to Furano Delice, with its own version of the Double Fromage cheesecake.  But it has expanded well beyond Otaru with branches in Sapporo as well.   We did have another break at Misono, a little ice cream parlour on the way back to the station.

More info on Otaru here and more pictures of Otaru at my Flickr page - Hokkaido album.