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The short call · Otaru

The canal on foot

2–3 hours ashore, no transport at all. Timed from the gangway and back, with the hour before all-aboard already set aside.

~3h door to door5 stops2–3 hours ashore
Open the whole route in Google MapsOr build your own day →
Photo: Suicasmo / CC BY-SA 4.0
Door to door
~3h
From the gangway and back
Best for
2–3 hours
2–3 hours ashore, no transport at all
What it costs
¥0
Transport spend: ¥0. Food ~¥2,500.
Booking
Nothing
Every stop here takes walk-ups
The route

How the day runs

Times are from the moment you step off, not from the scheduled arrival. Everything shifts if your ship is late; the order does not.

  1. +0:00
    Walk from the berth to the canal

    10–15 minutes. One of the few Japanese ports that needs no shuttle

    What you will see here →Full guide: The canal →
  2. +0:20
    The canal and the warehouse row

    Finished 1923. Half of it was paved for a road; you are walking beside the half that was saved

    What you will see here →Full guide: The canal →
  3. +0:50
    Nichigin-dori — the bank street

    Stone facades from the herring boom, when this was Hokkaido’s financial centre

    What you will see here →
    Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.5
  4. +1:20
    Sushi on Sushiya-dori, or a bowl at Sankaku

    Order what the board says is in season, not what you recognise

    What you will see here →Full guide: Sankaku Market →
    Photo: kantokuruza / CC BY-SA
  5. +2:20
    Walk back
The margin is not optional. This route ends an hour before all-aboard on purpose. If you are running late, drop the last stop, not the hour.
What the day looks like

Otaru, along this route

Real photographs of the places above and the streets between them. Every one is credited.

The former Bank of Japan Otaru branch in cut stone
The former Bank of Japan Otaru branch in cut stonePhoto: 663highland / CC BY 2.5
Inside the Otaru Music Box Museum
Inside the Otaru Music Box MuseumPhoto: Liandrei / CC BY-SA 4.0
The Nikka Whisky distillery at Yoichi, Hokkaido
The Nikka Whisky distillery at Yoichi, HokkaidoPhoto: 663highland / CC BY 2.5
A seafood bowl at Sankaku Market, Otaru
A seafood bowl at Sankaku Market, OtaruPhoto: bryan... / CC BY-SA 2.0
Sakaimachi
SakaimachiPhoto: 663highland / CC BY 2.5
Sankaku Market
Sankaku MarketPhoto: bryan... / CC BY-SA 2.0
Different hours, different day

The other routes in Otaru

Canal, glass and Sakaimachi4–6 hours · ~5h4–6 hours ashoreYoichi, and the whisky8 hours or more · ~7h8h+ ashore, with the tour booked in advanceThe rainy-day OtaruA wet day · ~4hWet weather, and Hokkaido rain is cold
Pick your own stops instead →Back to the Otaru guide →