Otaru
Otaru is a port town on Ishikari Bay in western Hokkaido, about forty minutes from Sapporo by train, whose canal and stone warehouses were built for the herring trade that made it rich.
The canal at blue hour, Otaru
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Journeys
- Three include Otaru
overview
A herring port of stone, glass and gaslight, with the sea at the end of every street.
In the last decades of the nineteenth century the herring came to Hokkaido's west coast in shoals so great that the sea turned white, and Otaru became the busiest port on the island. Fishing families built mansions on the headlands, shipping firms raised warehouses of soft volcanic stone along the water, and banks from Tokyo and Osaka opened branches on a single street that came to be called the Wall Street of the North. The canal, dug so that barges could carry cargo to the warehouses, was finished in 1923.
The herring vanished by the 1950s, the trade moved on, and in the 1970s the canal was to be filled for a road. The town campaigned to keep it, and half was saved: the stone warehouses along the water, their walls under ivy, and the gas lamps lit along the towpath in the evening. Many of the warehouses are now glass studios and galleries. Otaru's glass grew from the oil lamps and fishing floats of the herring years, and its music box hall and steam clock belong to the same street.
Otaru is a town to walk slowly, and it is also a base for western Hokkaido. Half an hour along the coast, the Nikka distillery at Yoichi still fires its pot stills with coal, and beyond it the Shakotan Peninsula has cliffs above water of so deep a blue that it has its own name, Shakotan blue, and some of the most prized sea urchin in Japan. In the hills above the town, the onsen of Asarigawa offer a quiet stay a quarter of an hour from the canal.
Our tours stay overnightOur tours visit for the dayOn a Custom Tour of Japan
see and do
What to see in Otaru
Otaru Canal
The canal of 1923 and the stone warehouses of the shipping firms along it, about a kilometre of towpath under gas lamps, the most photographed street in Hokkaido.
Sakaimachi Street
The old merchant street running from the canal, lined with stone and timber buildings of the Meiji and Taisho eras that now house glass studios, confectioners and craft shops.
Otaru Music Box Museum
A red-brick hall of 1912 filled with music boxes, at the end of Sakaimachi, with a steam clock outside that plays a tune on the quarter hours.
The Former Bank of Japan Otaru Branch
A stone bank of 1912 designed by Tatsuno Kingo, the architect of Tokyo Station, on the street of banks once called the Wall Street of the North, now a museum of currency.
The Former Aoyama Villa
The house of a herring family, built in the Taisho era, with lacquered rooms, painted screens and a garden of peonies, on the hill above the fishing village of Shukutsu.
The Herring Mansion at Shukutsu
A great timber house of 1897 where the fishing family and its seasonal crews lived under one roof, moved to the headland above the bay.
Sushiya-dori
The street of sushi counters near the canal, where the catch of Ishikari Bay, sea urchin, scallop and herring roe, is served by chefs who buy it each morning.
The Nikka distillery at Yoichi
The distillery Masataka Taketsuru founded in 1934 after studying whisky in Scotland, its pot stills still fired with coal, its stone buildings set in lawns, with a tasting at the end of the visit.
Shakotan Peninsula and Cape Kamui
The peninsula west of Yoichi, its cliffs above water of a vivid blue, and Cape Kamui, where a path runs along the ridge to the point above the sea.
experiences
The best of Otaru
A glassblower's studio
An hour with a glassblower in one of Otaru's workshops, watching a vessel or a lamp shade formed at the furnace, and the chance to shape a piece of your own.
Yoichi with a whisky specialist
The stills, the cooperage and the warehouses at Nikka's Yoichi distillery explained by someone who knows them, followed by a tasting of single malts rarely poured outside Japan.
Sea urchin at Shakotan
A drive along the coast to the Shakotan Peninsula, the blue water at Cape Kamui, and sea urchin on rice at a fisherman's counter above the sea.
The canal in the evening
The towpath when the gas lamps are lit and the day visitors have gone, and dinner at a sushi counter nearby.
plan your visit
Otaru on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- Two nights in the hills above Otaru allows a day for the town and a day for Yoichi and the Shakotan coast; Otaru alone also makes an easy day from Sapporo.
- Getting there
- By the rapid train from Sapporo in about forty minutes, or by private car in about an hour. From New Chitose Airport the rapid train runs through to Otaru in about an hour and a quarter. Asarigawa Onsen is a quarter of an hour by car from the canal.
where to stay
Luxury hotels and ryokan in Otaru
The place to stay is Asarigawa Onsen, in the wooded valley of the Asari River in the hills behind the town, a quarter of an hour from the canal. A ryokan of dark timber and stone stands here with nineteen rooms, each with its own onsen, and a bar and dining room that are part of the stay.
Staying in the hills gives Otaru its best rhythm: the town and the coast by day, and the quiet of an onsen ryokan in the evening.
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Otaru
Each journey below includes Otaru; choose one to see its route, dates and price. For a journey on your own dates, the Custom Tour of Japan can include Otaru and anywhere else you would like to go.
SummerThe Summer Tour of Hokkaido
12 days25 June to 6 July 2027, or 11 to 22 July 2027$18,500per person, twin shareSee the journey
The Private CollectionPure Hokkaido
9 daysOn the dates you choose$21,600per person, twin shareSee the journey
SpringThe Cherry Blossom Tour of Hokkaido
13 days28 April to 10 May 2027$18,500per person, twin shareSee the journey
Planned around youThe Custom Tour of Japan
Your party aloneWith your own Tour DirectorFrom five nights, on the dates you chooseSee the journey
questions
Otaru: questions answered
How far is Otaru from Sapporo?
About forty minutes by the rapid train along the coast, or about an hour by car. Otaru is also an hour and a quarter by train from New Chitose Airport.
How long should you spend in Otaru?
A day is enough for the canal, the glass studios and the old streets; two nights allows a second day for Yoichi and the Shakotan Peninsula.
Is there an onsen ryokan in Otaru?
Yes. Asarigawa Onsen, in the hills a quarter of an hour from the canal, has ryokan with private onsen, among them a ryokan of dark timber and stone whose nineteen rooms each have their own.
What is Otaru famous for?
Its canal and stone warehouses, its glass, its music boxes and its sushi, all legacies of the herring trade that made it Hokkaido's richest port.
Can you visit the Yoichi distillery from Otaru?
Yes, it is about half an hour away by car or train. The Nikka distillery at Yoichi offers guided visits and a tasting, and is often combined with the Shakotan Peninsula.
Is Otaru worth visiting?
Yes, for its canal and stone warehouses, its glass and its sushi, and as a base for Yoichi and the Shakotan coast. A night in the hills above it, at an onsen ryokan, shows the town at its quietest.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Otaru?
The Summer Tour of Hokkaido and Pure Hokkaido include nights in Otaru, and The Cherry Blossom Tour of Hokkaido includes a day in Otaru. The Custom Tour of Japan can include Otaru on any dates, created around your party alone.
Can Otaru be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with a Tour Director beside you, and it can include Otaru. For independent travel, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Otaru, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Otaru. We will answer with a journey shaped around it: one of our tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.