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:
