Hokkaido Attractions | Otaru | The Charm of Hokkaido's Little Harbor | Otaru Steam Clock | Taisho Glass Hall | Otaru Canal
Otaru, a small harbor town not far from Sapporo, has a completely different atmosphere. It preserves many old buildings from the Meiji and Taisho eras, and glasswork, music boxes, sweets, and harbor scenery make up the four main impressions of Otaru. During the Meiji era, the Japanese government actively promoted the development and modernization of Hokkaido. Because of its strategic location between Sapporo and the Sea of Japan, Otaru gradually developed into an important port for importing goods, exporting seafood, and transporting coal.
When planning a trip to Hokkaido, Otaru was one of the spots I definitely wanted to fit in. It's only half an hour from Sapporo and can be done as a day trip, so I set aside about half a day to a full day for Otaru.
🚄 Getting There
The most convenient way to get to Otaru is by JR. Board at Sapporo Station and take the "Rapid Airport" train, which takes about 30–40 minutes to arrive. The fare is about 750 yen, and you can conveniently use IC cards like Kitaca or Suica directly.
Since Otaru's famous Sakaimachi shopping street is quite long, running all the way from Otaru Station to Minami-Otaru Station, after searching online, the recommended route is:
Get off at "Minami-Otaru Station" → Stroll along Sakaimachi Street all the way to "Otaru Station" for the return
Not only is most of the route a gentle downhill slope, effortless and neatly linking up the main sights, but on the way back, boarding at Otaru Station also makes it more likely to get a seat.
⛩️ Sumiyoshi Shrine
- Address: 2 Chome-5-1 Suminoe, Otaru, Hokkaido 047-0014, Japan
- Opening hours: 06:00 ~ 16:30
- Official website: http://www.otarusumiyoshijinja.or.jp/
After arriving at Minami-Otaru Station, walk a short way uphill and you'll reach Sumiyoshi Shrine. It's relatively quiet with few tourists. The long stone steps, the tree-lined approach, the wooden torii gate, and the main shrine hall all carry a faint sense of the passage of time.
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| From within the shrine you can look out directly over the ocean—the scenery is quite beautiful |
At Sumiyoshi Shrine, the most interesting thing is the "water fortune (mizu-mikuji)" experience. You can buy a water fortune slip at the shrine office; there's water at the entrance for soaking it. Place the fortune paper into the clear water, and characters will slowly appear on the white paper.
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If your journey could use a little ritual, why not draw a fortune here—consider it your first conversation with Otaru |
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| Sumiyoshi Shrine looking straight out to the sea |
⏰ Otaru Steam Clock and Otaru Music Box Museum Main Hall
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| Otaru Steam Clock |
Following the road along Sakaimachi Street, you'll come across the famous steam clock in front of the Otaru Music Box Museum Main Hall. From afar you can see quite a crowd gathered, trying to take photos or videos to capture the moment the steam clock chimes.
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| From a distance you'll see the crowd gathered in front of the Otaru Music Box Museum Main Hall, waiting for the moment the steam clock chimes |
It was designed by a Canadian engineer and is a "sister clock" to the steam clock in Gastown, Vancouver. Every fifteen minutes it chimes, releasing steam and music at the same time, filling the whole street with a nostalgic atmosphere.
The Otaru Music Box Museum Main Hall houses thousands of kinds of music boxes: glass ones, wooden ones, carousel-shaped ones, and even little night lights that twinkle to the music. With every step, a different melody rings in your ears.
Besides all sorts of novel and unusual music boxes, there are also traditional, very Japanese-style ones. If you're interested, why not pick out a souvenir here!
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| Sushi music box |
🍰 LeTAO Main Store
Behind the plaza across from the Otaru Steam Clock stands a European-style building—the main store of "Otaru Confectionery LeTAO," one of Hokkaido's must-buy souvenir brands.
Besides the ground-floor retail section, this LeTAO building also has "LeTAO Cafe," where you can enjoy cake and tea, and the third floor is a free observation room where you can look down over this district.
Ground-Floor Retail Section
Here you'll find all the LeTAO products, many of which can't even be found at airport duty-free shops (though the most popular items are available at the airport). I especially recommend the black tea chocolate sandwich cookies—very aromatic and delicious, and one of LeTAO's star souvenirs.
LeTAO Cafe
Because of the large tourist crowds, if you want to enjoy dessert on the second floor, remember to take a number from the queuing machine at the counter, and once your number is called, a staff member will guide you to your seat.
Online menu: https://tabelog.com/tw/hokkaido/A0106/A010601/1000304/dtlmenu/
This time I chose a set combination where you can pick any three cakes paired with two tea drinks. Besides the cakes being very tasty, this time I chose two different black teas for the drinks, and they were quite impressive too.
Third-Floor Observation Room
Since the third floor isn't very high, the main view from the observation room is the crossroads intersection in front, where you can look straight across at the steam clock opposite.
🍭 Kitakaro and Rokkatei
Continuing down Sakaimachi shopping street from LeTAO, you'll come to another Hokkaido sweets brand—Kitakaro, known for its rice crackers, cream puffs, and baumkuchen. The Otaru main store is converted from an old warehouse, full of historical flavor.
🛍️ Sakaimachi Shopping Street
Sakaimachi Shopping Street is one of Otaru's most iconic old streets. About 1.3 km long, it connects the middle section between JR Minami-Otaru Station and JR Otaru Station. This street is home to more than 120 various old shops and specialty stores, including glasswork, music boxes, sweets, seafood, and souvenir shops. It's the street tourists in Otaru walk most and least want to miss.
Walking along Sakaimachi Street feels like traveling through the transition between the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras: over there an old brick or stone warehouse has been turned into a glasswork shop, over there a wooden old house has become a dessert shop. The shop signs, street lamps, and paving materials all retain much of their quaint charm.
🏞️ Otaru Canal
When it comes to impressions of Otaru, the Otaru Canal is absolutely one of the most representative and symbolic sights. Completed in 1923, its original purpose was to improve cargo transshipment and warehousing efficiency, providing a smoother water route between the port and the reclaimed land.
As times changed, the canal's practical logistics function gradually declined, and parts of the waterway were once filled in and turned into roads. However, thanks to a strong local preservation movement, in the end only part of the canal was retained, and the stone warehouses along the banks were converted into shops, restaurants, museums, and other tourist uses.
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| Finally walking to Otaru Station to take the train back to Sapporo |
After a full day in Otaru, walking all the way from Sumiyoshi Shrine to the canalside, I had strung together almost all of this city's most iconic sights. The old town's rhythm is very slow, with the sounds of glass shops, dessert shops, and music boxes intertwining—there's a kind of quiet from a bygone era.
If you're planning a trip to Hokkaido, you can set aside half a day to a full day to stroll around Otaru and experience a charm completely different from big cities like Sapporo.
Full Overview of a Car-Free Hokkaido Itinerary
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