Otaru City 小樽市, located west of Hokkaido, Japan, is a port city and a popular day trip destination from Sapporo. It’s a quick 35-minute train ride from Sapporo!
Many tourists travel to Otaru for the old historical ambiance, ocean views, fresh seafood, and seeing marine mammals and fish at the oldest aquarium in Hokkaido.
It was Justin and my first time visiting, and we had a fantastic time exploring for the day. Since there are so many things to do in Otaru as a first time visitor, you’ll need to prioritize what to see. We wish we had two days as we have places on our bucket list that we’ll need to check out next time.
To help with your planning, we put together this list of what to do in Otaru. Many places are within walking distance to Otaru Station. Other attractions will require a bus, taxi, or ropeway (cable car) ride.
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Map
Click on the photo to see a larger view of places to go in Otaru. Credit: Map data: Google
1. See adorable marine mammals and unique fish at Otaru Aquarium.
Otaru Aquarium おたる水族館, opened in 1958, is a fun place for children, families, and animal lovers.
It’s a small aquarium with old school vibes, yet it has over 5000 creatures and 250 species. The main building has two floors of fish, sea turtle, lumpfish, Amazonian fish, harbor porpoises, and more.
The length of the Amazonian fish are very long compared to me!
The outdoor Marine Mammal Park area has marine mammals such as walruses, sea lions, penguins, seals, and dolphins. You can walk around to see the animals and also have an amazing view of the coastline. During your visit, you can check out the animals’ 10-minute performances.
The walrus show is worth seeing at Otaru Aquarium
We recommend the walrus show. We loved how they blew kisses at us and showed us their tricks in and out of the water. Plus, we love how adorable they are!
There are 3 walruses named Uchio, Uurya, and Tsumugi. Uchio and Uurya are the parents of Tsumugi, who is 4 years old. Also, Tsumugi is the younger sister of Tsurara, a walrus living at Japan’s Toba Aquarium in Toba, Mie Prefecture.
As an aside, I have a 30 year old walrus stuffed animal that I adore as my comfort toy. So, walruses are the best!
The sea lion performance is also worth watching, as they’re agile and have strong upper bodies!
We wrote about our experience at Otaru Aquarium, so we encourage you to read it to learn more.
Address: 3 Chome-303 Shukutsu, Otaru
2. See manhole covers around Otaru.
We’ve been obsessed with looking down and seeing unique manhole covers wherever we travel in Japan. These manhole covers have various designs to represent the city, such as a historical landmark, an attraction, or anything of significance.
Otaru has a few manhole covers to check out. These are scattered throughout the city on the sidewalk and are free to see.
We found an Alolan Vulpix Pokémon Poké Lid cover at the Sun Mall shopping center (click here for map coordinates), a colorful cover of the Otaru Canal on Sakaimachi Street, sea otters, a general Hokkaido cover, and more.
Alolan Vulpix Pokemon Poke Lid
It’s a scavenger hunt to find these.
3. Pick up an Otaru manhole cover card for free.
Did you know that Japanese cities offer collectible manhole cover cards for free? These cards can be picked up at Tourist Information Centers, government city halls, and other locations. We discovered these cards in January 2025, so we’re starting our collection now.
In Otaru, there is one manhole card of the Otaru Canal. As we mentioned above, the colorful manhole cover is located on Sakaimachi Street. But you can see the uncolored manhole covers around the city.
This is the Otaru City manhole card and matching manhole cover
The card pick up is at the Otaru City Waterworks Bureau 小樽市水道局. Click here for more information about the card pick up.
While you’re at the Otaru City Waterworks Bureau, you can see the city’s other colorful manhole covers on display.
Address: 2 Chome-11-15 Hanazono, Otaru
4. Wander, shop, and eat along the old town, Sakaimachi Street (Sakaimachi Hondori Street).
We love walking around the old town and shopping streets in Japan, and Sakaimachi Street is no exception. The historical Western-style brick buildings are now souvenir shops, cafes, and restaurants.
Since it’s a touristy spot, you’ll see tour groups and more crowds walking around.
Here are a few places that we visited:
Otaru Steam Clock (小樽オルゴール堂蒸気からくり時計)
This steam clock is one of the top attractions along Sakaimachi Street. It is considered one of the largest steam clocks in the world at 5.5 meters tall and 1 meter wide. Raymond Saunders, a Canadian clockmaker, made the clock.
We liked how the clock played music every 15 minutes.
Address: 4 Sumiyoshicho, Otaru
Otaru Music Box Museum (小樽オルゴール堂 本館)
This store is located behind the Otaru Steam Clock. It’s a music box souvenir shop and the decor and products for sale are gorgeous. You can find unique music boxes such as a lucky cat, sushi, animals, and more. A few of the music box tunes had instrumental Disney songs.
Address: 4-1 Sumiyoshicho, Otaru
Otaru Cafe x Hello Kitty (ハローキティカフェ OTARU CAFE×HELLO KITTY)
If you’re a Hello Kitty and Sanrio fan, then this place is for you! The outside of the store has adorable Hello Kitty statues to take photos of.
This building has two floors. The first floor is a typical gift shop with Sanrio products. The store has mostly Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Cinnamoroll products. The second floor has a cafe. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open on the morning of our visit.
Address: 1-6 Sumiyoshicho, Otaru
Colorful manhole cover
As mentioned earlier, you can find the Otaru Canal colorful manhole cover.
Address: Click here for the map coordinates.
Miffy Kitchen みっふぃーおやつ堂 小樽店
Miffy is the adorable white bunny created by Dick Bruna. Every old town shopping street seems to have a Miffy store, and each store has regionally limited edition souvenirs. We love browsing to see the cute Miffy products, especially when Miffy looks like baked bread.
Address: 4-11 Sakaimachi, Otaru, Hokkaido 047-0027, Japan
Lots of Glass Shops
I don’t remember which one we visited, but there are many shops selling glassware, such as Kitaichi Glass.
You can buy a new set of cups, paperweight, or decor made of glass. The glass craftsmanship is gorgeous and well worth the higher price.
In one store, we saw a glass cup with seals (the animal). The cup changed colors when it had hot or cold liquids. The worker dipped the cup in a pot of warm water to show the color change. It was pretty cool to see.
Another cool opportunity is to make your own glassware at the Kitaichi Glass Experience Studio.
5. Eat sweets and desserts.
It comes as no surprise that Hokkaido has delicious desserts and sweets. Hokkaido milk soft serve is a popular thing to eat, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to try this dessert.
Here are two dessert places to get your sugar rush:
Kitakaro Otaru Main Shop 北菓楼小樽本館
We stumbled upon this shop when we were on Sakaimachi Street. The shop had rice crackers, bamkuchen, and baked goods to buy.
But we were here for the dessert. We went straight to the back of the shop and bought a cream puff. It was the #1 seller.
We loved eating this decadent cream puff!
This was one of the best cream puffs that we’ve eaten. (Sorry, Beard Papa, you’ve been overthrown!) We inhaled the vanilla cream as it was smooth and decadent. The cream puff was affordable at 300 yen.
Address: 7-22 Sakaimachi, Otaru
Note: There are other locations in Sapporo, Sunagawa, and Chitose Airport.
LeTao Main Store 小樽洋菓子舗ルタオ本店
This is another well-known dessert shop known for its French-style sweets. Many visitors order the Double Fromage cheesecake for its lighter, airy texture.
We didn’t have a chance to try this place, but it has high reviews from visitors.
Address: 7-16 Sakaimachi, Otaru
Note: There are other shops in Otaru. Another location is across the Otaru Station.
6. Walk along the former Japan Railways (JR) National Temiya Line.
Did you know that the JR National Temiya Line 旧手宮線 was the first train line created in Hokkaido? The train line opened in 1880 and carried coal, herring, and kelp between Otaru and Sapporo. It closed in 1985.
In 2016, the former train line was revitalized and converted into an open park. This 1.6 kilometer (1 mile) walking route is from Sushiyadori Street to Otaru City Museum. You walk here after visiting the shops on Sakaimachi Street.
Take a stroll along the former Temiya Line
The walking path is pancake flat, so it’s accessible to many visitors. It’s also free to visit.
We enjoyed seeing the former tracks and taking photos. The greenery and spring flowers brightened the area. We only walked a portion of it on our way to Otaru Aquarium.
Address: 1 Chome-7-14 Ironai, Otaru
Related Post: Read our adventures walking the Old Fukuchiyama Line (Takedao Abandoned Railway) in Hyogo
7. Wander and take a canal ride through Otaru Canal.
Otaru Canal 小樽運河, built in 1923, is listed as one of the must-visit attractions to visit in Otaru.
There are historical buildings and warehouses along the canal. Many of these buildings have been converted to art museums, souvenir shops, and restaurants. At night, gas lamps light up to brighten the area.
You can take a canal ride for another perspective and to learn more about its history. The 40-minute ride is available in the mornings or evenings. Click here for more info and pricing of the Otaru Canal Cruise.
Here is our view of the Otaru Canal on an overcast day
To be honest, the canal was underwhelming. The day of our visit didn’t have sunshine and bright skies, so the canal looked plain. Also, the canal wasn’t that long, so the boat ride didn’t seem to be worth the price.
But we heard that the nighttime views are worth a visit. So, we’ll need to return to see a different perspective.
8. Eat seafood and seafood rice bowls at Sankaku Market.
Located near Otaru Station, Sankaku Market 小樽三角市場 is an ideal place for foodies.
Opened in 1948, this is a bustling market with fresh seafood galore. You need to have an empty stomach to eat mouthwatering seafood rice bowls, crab, sea urchin, and more.
My friend recommended this place for the fresh King crab. But we didn’t know about this market until we came home. So, we’ll visit and try the fresh seafood on a future visit.
Address: 3 Chome-10-16 Inaho, Otaru
9. See Otaru City from Asahi Observation Deck.
Want to see Otaru City and the ocean from an unobstructed view? Visit the Asahi Observation Deck 旭展望台, located in the Otaru Park hills.
This small observation deck is free to visit and can be visited at any time of the day. We can imagine the gorgeous evening view from here.
We didn’t have enough time to visit this observation deck, but I bookmarked this place for next time.
Note: This place is not close to the Otaru train station. You’ll need to take a bus and walk to the Observation Deck or take a taxi.
Address: 2 Chome Tomioka, Otaru
10. Check out another view from Tenguyama Observation Deck and visitor area.
Tenguyama, also called Mount Tengu, is considered one of Hokkaido’s “Three Great Night Views,” yet visitors can visit throughout the day. The peak has an altitude of 532.4 meters (1747 feet).
Visitors need to take a ropeway (cable car) from the foothill to the visitor area and observation deck. A fee is required. Click here for more info and the pricing of the ropeway.
The visitor area has many activities to check out for a few hours, such as the Mount Tengu Shrine, Tengu-no-Yakata (a museum of tengu masks), Otaru Ski Museum, a cafe, a large slide, and zip lining.
For those who want to stretch out their legs and take a walk, there is a short 30-minute walking course to see various observation points on the mountain.
During winter, the lower levels of Mount Tengu turn into a snow resort. So, people can ski and snowboard here.
Due to our quick day trip to Otaru, we didn’t have a chance to visit Tenguyama. We saw visitors’ photos, and the city and ocean views are beautiful! So, we will check it out on a future visit.
Address (Starting location for the ropeway): 2 Chome-16-15 Mogami, Otaru
11. Visit the Otaru Snow Light Path in February.
Hokkaido is a popular place to visit in the first two weeks of February due to the snow festivals on the island. Sapporo Snow Festival in Sapporo and Otaru Snow Light Path in Otaru are the two heavily visited festivals during that time.
Otaru’s Snow Light is located around the main attractions – Otaru Canal and the former Temiya Line. Fresh snow covers these areas, and you can see snow art and snow lit by candles. It looks like the walking path is cleared for visitors. Click here for more details.
We haven’t had a chance to visit Hokkaido’s snow festival, yet it’s on our bucket list.
Final Thoughts
Otaru is a fun port town in Hokkaido to explore. Whether you want to see city views, observe ocean animals and fish up close at the aquarium, or shop in the old town, there are many attractions and things to do on your next trip. We can’t wait to return to explore Otaru further!
Need help on how to organize these places to visit for a day trip? Read our 1 day in Otaru itinerary to see what we did.
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