Looking for an itinerary on how to spend one day in Otaru and feeling overwhelmed with the number of attractions to see in this city? Justin and I are here to help!
This port city is located on Japan’s western side of Hokkaido Island, and is a well-known day trip destination from Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture.
Many visitors travel to Otaru and pack their schedules with many activities. But we understand that this can lead to burnout.
Justin and I visited this city for the first time in May. We loved our time here as it wasn’t crowded and the weather was nice. Although we jumped from place to place to maximize the schedule.
From the first former railway line of the island to the Sakaimachi shopping Street with historical buildings selling handmade glassware and the adorable marine mammals at Otaru Aquarium, we wanted to see it all.
Since we want you to have a smooth trip, we’ll share with you a 1 day Otaru itinerary of what we did. We include insider tips and our experience of what to expect when exploring this city.
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Map
Click on the image to see a larger view of the map. Credit: Map data: Google
What to Do in Otaru in 1 Day
Before Your Visit: We recommend reading our post on things to do in Otaru to help plan your visit.
After arriving in Otaru from Otaru Train Station, we suggest walking or taking the bus to the nearby attractions. Other places farther away require a taxi or bus transportation.
Visit the Pokémon Poké Lid Manhole Cover.
We’ve been on a Pokémon Poké Lid manhole cover treasure hunt when we travel in Japan. These uniquely designed manhole covers of various Pokémon characters are located in popular and off-the-beaten-path spots throughout the country.
In Otaru, there is an Alolan Vulpix manhole cover in the covered Sun Mall shopping street. Alolan Vulpix is a fox that has ice-type attacks.
Alolan Vulpix Pokemon Poke Lid
If the shopping area is open, feel free to browse around. Otherwise, you can just take a photo of Alolan Vulpix and head to the next spot. We arrived around 9:00am, and the area was still quiet.
Address: Click here for the exact coordinates of the Alolan Vulpix cover.
Get an Otaru City manhole card (Optional).
If you’re a card collector, consider adding Japan manhole cards to your collection. These cards are free to pick up and are available in cities’ Tourist Information Centers, government buildings, government waterworks bureau, and more. The card design is on one or more of the manhole covers in the city.
In Otaru, there is one card for pick up at the Otaru City Waterworks Bureau 小樽市水道局. More information about the card pick up is here.
The card and manhole design are of the Otaru Canal. It’s a beautiful design worth seeing. The colorful manhole cover is on Sakaimachi Street, the old town shopping street. We only saw one on our trip. But you can see the uncolored ones scattered throughout the city’s sidewalks.
This is the Otaru City manhole card and matching manhole cover
We like how the Otaru City Waterworks Bureau has a display of other manhole covers around the city, such as a sea otter, a steam locomotive (located near the Otaru City Museum), and Yujiro Ishihara yacht (located in front of the former Yujiro Ishihara Memorial Museum).
Address: 2 Chome-11-15 Hanazono, Otaru
Take a stroll along Sakaimachi Street (Sakaimachi Hondori Street).
If you decide to get a manhole card, you’ll want to walk to Sakaimachi Street to see the colorful manhole cover, the same design as on the card. It’ll take about 20 to 30 minutes to walk there from the Otaru City Waterworks Bureau. Click here for the map coordinates.
If you don’t have the manhole card, head to Sakaimachi Street (Sakaimachi Hondori Street) as your next stop. It’s a popular old town area with historical brick buildings. The buildings have now been converted to cafes, boutique shops, and restaurants.
Otaru City has many historical brick buildings
There are many shopping opportunities along this street.
Looking for new glassware? Kitaichi Glass has a few stores selling beautiful handmade glassware. You can buy a new set of drink glassware, bowls, paperweight, etc.
For those who like Hello Kitty and friends and Miffy, there are two stores selling adorable character products. Check out Otaru Cafe x Hello Kitty (ハローキティカフェ OTARU CAFE×HELLO KITTY) or Miffy Kitchen みっふぃーおやつ堂 小樽店.
The Hello Kitty statue at the Otaru Hello Kitty Cafe is so adorable.
Other main attractions include the Steam Clock (小樽オルゴール堂蒸気からくり時計) and Otaru Music Box Museum (小樽オルゴール堂 本館). These two places are next to each other.
Sakaimachi Street is a popular place to go shopping and eating in Otaru
The Steam Clock is one of the largest in the world at 5.5 meters tall and 1 meter wide. It’s cool to see as it plays music every 15 minutes.
The Otaru Music Box Museum is technically not a museum, but it’s a souvenir shop with pretty music boxes.
I’m having fun with the Lucky Cat inside the Otaru Music Box store.
Our post on what to do in Otaru goes into more detail about the stores we visited on Sakaimachi Street.
Take a dessert or lunch break along Sakaimachi Street.
It’s quite tempting to try Hokkaido milk soft cream or one of the many desserts on this street.
We recommend Kitakaro Otaru Main Shop 北菓楼小樽本館 for the fresh vanilla cream puff. Head to the back of the store and order one. The decadent vanilla cream in the spongy puff is worth spending 300 yen. While you’re in the store, you can buy food souvenirs such as bamkuchen and rice crackers.
We loved eating this decadent cream puff!
Address: 7-22 Sakaimachi, Otaru (Other locations in Sapporo, Sunagawa, and Chitose Airport.)
LeTao Main Store 小樽洋菓子舗ルタオ本店 is another popular dessert spot for the Double Fromage cheesecake. We heard that it’s very airy and has a light texture, but we haven’t tried it yet.
Address: 7-16 Sakaimachi, Otaru (Another location is across from Otaru Station)
Alternate option: Prefer eating seafood rice bowls or fresh crab? Head to Sankaku Market 小樽三角市場. It’s located next to the Otaru Station. We haven’t eaten here, but my friend recommended it.
Address: 3 Chome-10-16 Inaho, Otaru
Snap a photo of the Otaru Canal.
Otaru Canal 小樽運河 is the most famous attraction in the city. It was built in 1923 and had historical buildings and warehouses from the former port days. Now these buildings are cafes, souvenir shops, and museums.
Here is our view of the Otaru Canal on an overcast day
We recommend taking a quick photo of the canal and continuing with your day. To us, it wasn’t an exciting part of the trip, as the view was just okay.
If you have time or have interest, you can take a 40-minute canal ride. Otaru Canal Cruise offers this service in the mornings or evenings. Click here for more information.
Stroll through the former Japan Railways (JR) National Temiya Line.
We think walking through the JR National Temiya Line 旧手宮線 is more exciting than the Otaru Canal.
The Temiya Line was the first train line created in Hokkaido. It opened in 1880 and carried coal, herring, and kelp between Otaru and Sapporo. The line closed in 1985.
In 2016, the former train line turned into an open walking path. This 1.6 kilometer (1 mile) walking route is from Sushiyadori Street to Otaru City Museum.
Take a stroll along the former Temiya Line
We only walked a small portion of the path and enjoyed how accessible it is to visitors. It’s a flat, easy walk for visitors. Plus, the former train tracks are still present, so they’re great for photos.
Address: 1 Chome-7-14 Ironai, Otaru
Visit Otaru Aquarium, the oldest aquarium in Hokkaido.
If you like seeing marine mammals and fish, then head to Otaru Aquarium おたる水族館.
Opened in 1958, there are 5000+ creatures and 250 species here. This place isn’t too large, and it’s on the older side, yet it’s fun to explore. We suggest staying for 2 to 3 hours.
Our favorite part of the aquarium was seeing the marine mammal performances in the Marine Mammal Park. This area is outside of the main building, so the animals have space to swim and relax. There are walruses, seals, penguins (and a penguin walk in winter), and sea lion shows. Each show is 10 minutes long.
The walrus show is worth seeing at Otaru Aquarium
The animals are adorable, especially the walrus family. We loved the playful mom, dad, and 4 year old walrus. They did tricks and blew kisses to the audience.
Cool Fact: The mom and dad are parents to Tsurara, the female walrus at Toba Aquarium in Toba, Japan. Tsurara is also a popular walrus at the aquarium.
You can take the bus directly from Otaru Station to the aquarium or hop onto the bus #10 or #11 along the bus route.
We encourage you to read our Otaru Aquarium review and learn more about why we like this place.
Return to Otaru Canal for an evening view. (Optional)
If you have time after the aquarium, head back to Otaru Canal by bus to see the canal at night. The gas lamps light up, so that’ll give a different feel for the stroll along the canal. You may consider taking the evening canal boat ride.
Otaru City Tour Options
If you prefer a tour instead of visiting places on your own, we have a few options for you to consider. Click on the links below to learn more about these tours.
Note: These are day tours, which include transportation to/from Sapporo or have a meeting spot at Otaru. Please read the tour details so you know where to meet.
How to Get to Otaru
Depending on your starting location, you can either take public transportation, such as the train or bus. Or, you can drive directly to Otaru or take a tour that includes transportation.
Since we did a day trip to Otaru from Sapporo, we took the train here. It was only 35 minutes one way.
Read our post on how to get from Sapporo to Otaru.
Where to Stay in Otaru
Otaru has a variety of hotels and accommodations to consider depending on your budget.
We use either Booking.com or Agoda to reserve our hotels in Japan. We like to filter by price, amenities, room accommodations, breakfast, and more. We prefer to stay near the main train station so there is less travel time.
Click here to see accommodation options in Otaru on Booking.com.
Check availability and reviews for Otaru on Agoda here.
Where We Stayed
We stayed in Sapporo and took the train to Otaru Station. It was easier for us to do a day trip instead of traveling to different areas of Hokkaido in 4 days.
Click here to see accommodations in Sapporo on Booking.com.
Check out accommodation options in Sapporo on Agoda here.
We spent 4 nights at Sapporo’s Dormy Inn Premium. This place was a 20-minute walk to the Sapporo Station, so farther than what we would have liked. But we loved how this hotel had a public onsen (hot spring). Plus, we were in the heart of the city and had many restaurant options to choose from.
Click here to book a room at Dormy Inn Premium on Booking.com.
Check availability for Dormy Inn Premium on Agoda here.
Note: There is a Dormy Inn Annex located across from Dormy Inn Premium. It’s the same hotel chain but separated into two buildings.
Final Thoughts
Our day trip to Otaru was a fun experience. We loved the old town area of Sakaimachi and the Otaru Aquarium. We would love to return during the Otaru Snow Light Path Festival in February. Seeing the area covered in snow would be a beautiful sight.
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