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~1.5h小樽 人力車

Rickshaw through the old town

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Rickshaw through the old town, OtaruGuided: Otaru Rickshaw Tour1 / 2

Otaru rickshaws by world waif in HokkaidoPhoto: world_waif from Otaru, Hokkaido / CC BY 2.0

Tap a photo to see it large. 2 photographs, every one credited.

Round trip
1 hr 30 min
From the ship and back
Fits
a 3.5-hour call or longer
Margin already counted
Getting there
On foot or by taxi
See the rides below
Booking
Worth booking
No tour desk at the pier

Checked against official sources · updated · Takumi Yamada

Why we send people here

Twelve or thirty minutes at strolling pace past the canal warehouses and the old shipping-line office. Ebisuya takes walk-ups at its Asakusa-bashi stand by the canal: about 10 minutes ¥5,000 or 30 minutes ¥10,000 per rickshaw for two. An English-speaking puller can be asked for at ¥1,000 extra; the Viator listing does not promise one. Allow about 90 minutes from the ship and back.

Why it earns the hours
  • Short enough to be certain of: 1 hr 30 min door to door, so even a tender day works.
  • If you would rather be guided, the operator here holds 5.0★ across 90 reviews.
Before you count on it
  • 1 hr 30 min door to door needs a 3.5-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
  • Book it before you sail. There is no tour desk at the pier and walk-up places are not a thing here.
  • No single published ride covers this one. Budget for a taxi both ways, or fold it into a guided day.
The story

Why Rickshaw through the old town is famous

Rickshaws briefly carried Japan before trams, and the pullers who work the Otaru waterfront now are guides first and athletes second. On a street this dense with 1900s banks and warehouses, having someone name the buildings as you pass is the difference between a photo and a story — ask the operator for an English-speaking puller (¥1,000 extra); the Viator listing does not promise one.

If you would rather have it arranged

Book it with a guide

Booked before you sail — there is no tour desk at the pier. Booking through this link supports the site.

Otaru Rickshaw Tour5.0★ · 90 reviews

Otaru Rickshaw Tour

From US$39.

What is included
Pairs well with

What to put beside it

Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.

Build your own day
The canal, on foot from the ship, Otaru2 hr 30 min for both

The canal, on foot from the ship

Finished in 1923 on reclaimed land so barges could unload straight into the warehouses.

See the detailBuild your own bowl at Sankaku Market, Otaru3 hr for both

Build your own bowl at Sankaku Market

Sixteen shops, six of them small eateries, under one roof on a triangular plot beside the station.

See the detailThe Wall Street of the North, Otaru3 hr for both

The Wall Street of the North

When the herring were running, Otaru was the financial centre of Hokkaido and Nichigin-dori held branch after branch in cut stone.

See the detail
The one rule: be back on board 60 minutes before all-aboard. Build the whole day on the Otaru plan page.
Everything in one pageThe complete Otaru guide: berth, into town, your hours, tours that fitOpen the complete guide →