Where is otaru japan

There is also a small information booth at Unga Plaza near the Otaru Museum. Download Otaru brochures in English, Chinese and Korean. Shopkeepers and restaurants also place lanterns outside their businesses during the festival. The Otaru Tide Festival in July gives thanks to the sea and is one of the most popular sea festivals in northern Japan. More than 10, participants take to the streets to dance and numerous paper lanterns decorate the whole city.

At Otaru Wharf, some 4, paper lanterns are set adrift on the sea and many boats and ships parade around the bay amongst them. Other attractions include mikoshi portable shrines and fireworks.

Otaru has some excellent hotels, ryokan and minshuku to stay. See here for a full listing of hotels in Otaru. Otaru is easily reached from Sapporo , 40 km to the south east on the JR Hakodate mainline from Sapporo Station to Otaru Station, taking 30 minutes by express and 49 minutes by local train. From Osaka Kansai International Airport 10 flights daily 2 hours.

Sapporo has direct air connections with most major cities in Japan and some international destinations. Buses 80 mins and trains 36 minutes to Sapporo city center from the airport.

Sapporo has the smaller Okadama Airport nearer to the city with flights to Hakodate, Rishiri , Memanbetsu and Kushiro. Trains from Otaru to Shin-Chitose Airport take about 70 minutes.

There are regular highway buses from Otaru to Sapporo journey time around 1 hour operated by Hokkaido Chuo Bus. A bus connects Otaru Port and Otaru Station.

A ferry leaves Maizuru at From Niigata the boat leaves at For Maizuru the Otaru ferry leaves at For Niigata the boat leaves Otaru at The Sunday boat leaves at 7. Hotels in Sapporo - Booking. You can take a minute tour of the manufacturing site in which you can observe the sake brewing process. After the tour, you can sample about 10 types of Japanese sake and liqueurs, such as freshly brewed raw sake, carefully crafted with the pure water of Mt.

Tengu and local rice. For those who don't drink, you can enjoy sake manjuu steamed bun , sembei rice crackers alcohol sake crackers, and kuromame black soybean tea. Anyone can enjoy strolling the various beautiful landscapes of historical Otaru. Overlooking this beautiful seaside city and the Sea of Japan is Mt.

Tengu, about 15 minutes by car from the Otaru IC. The Mt. Tengu Ropeway can take you from the foot of the mountain to the very top, a total distance of meters, in about 4 minutes. From the mountain summit you can even get a great view of the Shakotan Peninsula. Though it is highly recommended to get a glimpse of this refreshing seascape during the day, you certainly cannot miss out on the stunning night view either.

The nighttime scenery here is regarded as one of the top three Hokkaido night views , a beautiful landscape of jewels that could only be found here. In addition to the observation deck you can also visit the Tengu Shrine and rub its nose for good luck, and feed chipmunks in the Chipmunk Park. RV rentals are a great way to see a new side of Japan from the open road!

Sapporo Clock Tower. Rukku and Uohei. So Is It Worth the Hype? Table of Contents 1. Otaru Mt. Upper left: A popular location for walking and photography. Upper right: You can also enjoy a cruise along the canal. Bottom left: Warehouse groups are lit up with gas lights at night. Bottom right: The event venue of the "Otaru Snow Light Path," an event held annually in February each year in which the surface of the canal and the walking paths are decorated with candle lights.

Here you can see a range of different historical pieces and you can even have a go at designing one of your own. Of course there is also a shop here where you can buy the boxes as souvenirs of your trip to Otaru.

Otaru is known as one of the main fishing ports in Japan and throughout the ages the fishing industry has flourished here. The main item that is fished in the waters around Otaru is herring and with that in mind this is how the city rose to prominence in the days of old. The building would have been built in the 19th century and now you can come for a visit and check out some galleries with items such as fishing antiques as well as dioramas that explain the history of the herring industry in this part of Hokkaido.

Otaru is located next to the water and this means that some of the main activities that you can enjoy here take place on the water.

One thing that many visitors sign up for is a cruise along the canal, but if you want to get out onto the open water then you can opt for a cruise around Otaru Harbor. There are a number of cruise companies that will take you out on a cruise boat and you can listen to an English commentary that will fill you in on all the points of interest along the way.

Most cruises also include a stop off so that you can feed the myriad water birds that live in the harbor. The clock actually came to Otaru by way of Canada when it was offered to the city as a gift from Vancouver and it is unusual as it is still powered by steam. As a result, people gather in front of the clock on the hour to watch as a steam whistle is activated and it also chimes ever 15 minutes.

Otaru is famous in Japan for its antique shops and you can find a range of fascinating emporiums all over the city. Many of these are located in the center of town and you can spend hours browsing here and searching for items such as period kimonos, hair pins and other ornaments and antiques. One of the most famous antique shops in Otaru is called Shichifuku which is known for selling period sake cups, some of which are said to be up to years old.

One of the great charms of Otaru is that it is relatively small and this means that many of the most important historical buildings here as well as shops and eateries are located conveniently close to each other.