Otaru is a small city, and is normally not the place that most people think of when they think of Hokkaido. So how did I end up spending the first full day of my Hokkaido trip in Otaru?

An important thing you should know about Otaru is its proximity to Sapporo. It is an easy day trip, and I had put it on my list of places to go for just that reason!

Firstly, I was in Hokkaido because I was doing an internship in Tokyo from the end of February through mid-August 2019. Towards the end, we had a week off for our company vacation. Taking full advantage of that, I headed to Hokkaido to see the wonderful north of Japan!

Once I got to Sapporo, I had to make my way to the hostel I had previously reserved. It was Guest House Yasube, and even though I had gotten there late due to a late flight, the proprietor stayed up and waited for me since I had previously told him. He showed me to my bed, which had a large wood locker to put valuables, and curtains for privacy. I would HIGHLY recommend this hostel for future travelers.

In the morning, my breakfast was toast with jelly, coffee, and mochi with beans. The mochi was a gift from another person staying at the hostel, and the coffee was from the in-house cafe, with a room discount. (The toast and toppings are free with your stay. If you’re looking for other foods, there are always convenience stores, aka conbinis, nearby, with a plethora of choices.) I chatted with a Taiwanese girl who was working at the hostel short term, and then headed out. I walked through the park near the hostel, and took the train to Sapporo Station. This was followed by an express train to Otaru.

The Otaru Music Box Museum

Once I got to Otaru, I made my way towards the first attraction on my list, the famous Music Box museum! It almost appeared more European than Japanese, and the majority of tourists were also Chinese (since most conversations around me were in Chinese.)

As I walked in, it was apparent that the museum was actually more of a gift shop! There were many types of music boxes, made with wood, glass, metal and plastic, and all super impressive and beautiful. I had limited luggage space, and as the music boxes were both a bit out of my budget, and very fragile, I didn’t want to run the risk of struggling to get them back to Tokyo.

On the second floor, they had a great museum area, with huge impressive music boxes. They also had an area with the history of music boxes, in both Japanese and English, so I (and many other tourists) were able to follow along without issue.

Sakaimachi Shopping Street

After the Otaru Music Box museum, I headed over to the main shopping street of Otaru, Sakaimachi Street. I wandered back and forth, overwhelmed by all of the options, from the sweets shops, to the glass shops, antiques, and many more.

Storytime: Earlier in that day, I had skinned my knees, and was still suffering from it. I sat for a while along this street. Many people, seeing my skinned knees, came to help me. I was thoroughly impressed and touched by the kindness of people, both tourists and Japanese locals alike. Although I could have used a bit more common sense that day, the kindness of humanity really helped boost my mood, at a time where I was feeling very lonely.

The first people who came up were a Japanese couple, who had band-aids, and bought me a cold bottle of water. Although I only have rudimentary Japanese, the brief moment of contact was enough for me to start to feel better. The second woman who came up was from Hong Kong, and had a first-aid kit, using antibiotics and better bandages. She gave me advice (in English), and her motherly demeanor helped me feel more cared for.

A trend that I’ve noticed in Japan is that many people are very willing to help the traveler/stranger to Japan, as much as they can. Even if it resorts to body language, many people will help you as much as they can, even going out of their way to do so! This is one of the reasons I believe Japan is one of the top places in the world to visit (along with the amazing history, food, and sights!).

I stopped at a roadside stall that sold both seafood and melons, and grabbed a piece of my first Hokkaido melon for 400 yen. It was juicy and succulent, and a nice treat on a hot summer’s day. There were a great number of seafood stands in the area, but the heat in July made it hard for me to work up any appetite, let alone one for seafood.

One thing that did continually catch my eye was the Snoopy shop, called Cha-Ya. The food inside the shop was too expensive, but they had a gift shop I perused, and food to go. I ended up getting a Snoopy lavender fields folder, as well as a Charlie Brown scallop curry bun. Otaru was famous for its scallops, and other seafood, and Japan is famous for its spin on curry. Together, it was a great mid-day snack.

After this, I made my way back to a few sweets shops. I would highly recommend stopping by both! The first was Kitakaro, known for their Marusei raisin butter cookies, and their cream puffs. For less than 100 yen, you can get a cream puff and a free cup of coffee. That was my sweet snack. A coworker had brought back several Marusei cookies, so I already knew I liked them. Two of them became souvenirs, one for me, and one for my boyfriend, Christian (who you may have seen pictures of in previous posts!)

The second was LeTao, well known for their cheesecakes. I was tempted to get something, but the prices were decadent, so I opted for their signature tea blend, which I can confirm is fantastic! As an added perk, when I walked outside, there was a performance from an traditional Japanese drum group, called taiko.

Finally, I circled back to the glass shop that I had been eyeing a tanuki figurine at, and fulfilled my desires!

On the rest of my walk down Sakaimachi Street, I stopped into many of the dozens of glass, antique, and novelty shops. I was slightly disappointed to see many of the items repeating themselves, such as the glass figurines, hair sticks, and necklaces. However, most shops had their own distinct features to make them stick out. If you’re looking for something totally unique, I’d recommend the antique shops!

The Gorgeous Otaru Canal

Once I got to the canal, it was the perfect time for a breather. Taking a long walk along the canal was perfect after that, enjoying the air, seeing street artists sketching the canal, and taking a few lovely pictures. The Japanese teenagers/college kids were joking around about me, especially after I asked them to take my picture, but I shrugged it off.

Tips for traveling in Japan based on the above excerpt: Firstly, “Shashin o toriimas ka?” is how you can ask someone to take your picture. Furthermore, if you look non-Asian in Japan, you will definitely stick out as a visitor…. even if you live there, like I did!

Stumbling Upon an Obon Festival

Nearby the canal, there was a festival going on! I found out later it was the Otaru Port Festival. It was for the holiday of Obon, which honors ones’ ancestors. As with all Japanese festivals, there were traditional foods, such as yakisoba (Japanese fried noodles), takoyaki (Japanese octopus balls), and tapioca (aka bubble tea). However, I had some restaurants in mind for later that day, and decided to skip the festival food, with the exception of the tapioca (which turned out to be a bit disappointing). The festivities, with the parade, were amazing though. It depicted a man turning into a dragon, with traditional Japanese drums in the background. A link to that can be found here on my Instagram channel: https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Fk4tFg4Z-/?igshid=tswffq92360z

On my walk to the restaurant, I played Pokemon Go, and stumbled across a glass festival. Although I didn’t buy anything (since I had bought the tanuki earlier), I loved the aesthetic of the festival along the train tracks!

At the first restaurant I made my way to, with the signature udon (or thick noodles), the line was way too long. Starving, I made my way to a chicken restaurant that was known in the area (NOT KFC, despite the picture above), and the line was even longer. Frustrated, I weighed my options, and decided to head back to Otaru Station. I wandered around a mall across the street, but found no good food options.

The one upside of the long walk was that I found a mask, toy, and costume shop. I had had my eye on a kitsune (fox spirit) mask, and I was able to get one for about $10, which was significantly less than at the festivals I had seen it at. It was a great souvenir and memory of the day.

After getting back, I looked at the soba options in the station, but I had lost much of my appetite or desire for it. I decided to go for a nice salmon and cream cheese sandwich with a pineapple smoothie at one of Japan’s chain coffee stores, Doutor. Totally exhausted, I looked forward to my next day, in Sapporo, which will be in a future post!

Thanks for reading, and feel free to contact me with questions!