Otaru Tours

Otaru is a romantic port town famous for its canal, glass workshops, and music box museum.

Otaru first started out as a fishing village founded by the Ainu people. The name of the town was originally Otarunai and derives from Ainu language, which translates to “river running through the sandy beach.” In 1865, the Tokugawa Shogunate recognized the settlement as an actual village. Even when the bakufu, Shogunate, came to an end and the Meiji Restoration began, Otaru was a key factor to developing Hokkaido in 1871. In 1899, an imperial decree was made that Otaru would be an open port for trade with United States and United Kingdom.

Otaru Canal was used to transport materials from larger vessels and store them in the warehouses along the canal. First built in 1923, the canal was used by businesses to transport their merchandise to warehouses with smaller ships since the bigger ships could not directly unload their goods to their destinations. The city built walking paths next to the canal so now, during the day people can take leisurely walks about the scenic route. The walkways were designed with square shaped granite arranged in a ginkgo design. They added 63 old fashioned gas lamps along the path way. In the winter time is the Otaru Snow Light Path. It is a festival that lasts for 10 days with lanterns made of snow adorning different areas of the city. The Otaru Snow Light Path has two main areas to visit which are the Unga Kaijo and Temiyasen Kaijo. The Unga Kaijo is by the Otaru canal and covers about 300 meters worth of street. This area has gas lamps lining up against the canal with restored warehouses, which are restaurants, shops, cafes, workshops etc.

Located at the southern end of Sakaimachi Street (境 町通り) in a small cluster of buildings is the Music Box Museum in Otaru. The museum features over 1500 music boxes, orgel (オルゴール) in Japanese, which can be purchased or enjoyed. In 1912, the building, which the museum resides in, was constructed with an exterior of bricks while the inside is designed with wood. The largest building out of the cluster is the main shop and can be singled out with the steam clock placed in front. The steam clock was made by a Canadian clock maker named Raymond Sounders. Every fifteen minutes, the five steam chimes, plays a melody while the main steam whistles on the hour. Otaru is also famous for its refined craftsmanship with glass. Around the city you can visit different glass workshops and see the artisans at work.

Please see below for tours that include Otaru: