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Otaru (小樽) is a port city in Hokkaido, Japan.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By train

Otaru is a major station on the JR Hakodate Line from Sapporo, with very frequent train runs. At a cost of ¥620, there are at least five trains per hour; the fastest service, the Airport Rapid, reaches Otaru in 30 minutes. The complete journey on the Airport Rapid from New Chitose Airport to Otaru takes 70 minutes.

[edit] By car

Otaru is 25 minutes away from Sapporo by car.

[edit] By ferry

Otaru is one of Hokkaido's key ferry ports, and the closest to Sapporo. Shin-Nihonkai Ferry (06-6348-1120) operates a daily service between Sapporo and Niigata (18 hours, ¥6,200+) and between Sapporo and Maizuru near Kyoto (20 hours, ¥9,600+). Both services are overnight, and private cabins are available for a higher fare (the base fare buys sleeping space on the floor).

[edit] Get around

[edit][add listing] See

• Otaru Canal. The canal was completed in 1923. The canal has been developed as a walkway. It is lit at night by gas lamps and walkway lights. Located 10 minutes walk from Otaru Station.  edit
• Otaru Music Box Museum, [1]. A museum that contains exhibits about the development of music boxes, a collection of several notable music boxes, as well as an extensive store that carries many different types. For an additional fee, customers can build their own music boxes. The museum is also part of a larger complex of buildings in the surrounding area, which include a stuffed animal collection as well as an antiques museum.  edit
• Steam Clock. Outside of the music box museum, the steam clock was a gift from Vancouver to Otaru. Powered entirely by steam, the clock plays a chime every 15 minutes, and features the main steam whistle on the hour.  edit

[edit][add listing] Do

[edit][add listing] Buy

Kitaichi Glass. Otaru hand-made crystal is one of the most famous in Japan. It might be a good souvenir.

[edit][add listing] Eat

For sushi, certainly Otaru is the most town in Hokkaido, and it ranks high on the national scale too. Sushi here is expensive, but worth trying. Foreigners may want to avoid "uni" (sea urchin) and "uni-don" (sea urchin rice bowls), though many Japanese people love this specialty.

[edit][add listing] Drink

The locally-brewed Otaru beer [2].

[edit][add listing] Sleep

• Otarunai Backpackers' Hostel MorinoKi, Aioi 4-15 (10 min on foot from JR Minami-Otaru station), ☎ +81-134232175, [3]. checkin: 3PM; checkout: 10AM. Top notch hostel, with a laid back owner and interesting decoration - but you're gonna have to be OK with dogs to stay here. 3400 JPY.  edit
• Otaru Hilton, (Take the Sapporo-Otaru rail two stops west from Otaru. The hotel is next to Otaru Chikko Station.).  edit

[edit] Get out

Asahikawa ← Sapporo ←

N  S

→ Yoichi → Hakodate