2014.09.22 | 北海道夏(7A)

[Volume 9 Issue 9, #1944]

Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014 - DAY 7A of 8 Half-day Excursion to Beautiful Otaru (小樽)

中文讀者請注意: 因為篇幅問題, 這一系列日本遊記只有英語版本, 敬請見諒..

the previous two days in Hakodate (函館) [Day 5A, 5B and 6] let us experience a "not-so-Japan" Japanese city which is quite influenced by the western culture.. on day 7, we went on a half-day excursion to Otaru (小樽), a small harbour city northwest of Sapporo (札幌), in which we enjoyed another beautiful blend of Japanese and Western, as well as the co-existence of the old and the new..

The famous Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) you must not miss, very beautiful and serene Beautiful buildings and shops around Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) that are converted from warehouses A nice stroll along Sakaimachi Street (堺町通り Sakaimachi Dōri) enjoying the very uniquely designed and built shops Scrumptious seafood lunch, so fresh and delicious, followed by cheesecakes for desserts

Click the numbered buttons to the right of the photo to browse between photos. Otaru (小樽) is about 40-minute train ride from Sapporo (札幌), and throughout our trip travelling between cities in Hokkaido, such a short train ride away was considered as just a "nearby" place - something like you travel from KL to Klang.. another early day, we took the 7:34am train from Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo-eki) and arrived at Otaru (小樽) at 8:23am, the fare was ¥640 for each of us.. nope, no ekiben (駅弁 "station lunchbox") for breakfast this time, but some onigiri (おにぎり rice balls) bought from a convenience store in the station.. [Tip #1] trains to Otaru (小樽) before 9am are all local trains, meaning the train stops at every station along the route.. as such there are likely more passengers and you will not have a seat.. that was why we didn't bother to get any ekiben (駅弁 "station lunchbox") since we won't be sitting comfortably to enjoy, furthermore it's just a short ride, so forget about it.. [Tip #2] you may consider buying a "Sapporo-Otaru Welcome Pass" at ¥1530 which entitles you to unlimited rides on JR Hokkaido trains between Sapporo and Otaru as well as on all subway lines in Sapporo for one day [website].. since a single trip ticket between Sapporo and Otaru is already ¥640, it would be worth to get this pass if you are making stops in between as well as taking subway rides in Sapporo on the same day.. did i get this pass, you asked?? nope, because we just travelled between the two cities, and while in Sapporo since we stayed near the Sapporo Station, we did most by walking.. so, plan your trip and do your maths~~ :p we were not lucky to get a seat this time (but no big deal for a short journey), hence we only consumed our onigiri (おにぎり rice balls) upon arrival at Otaru (小樽).. maybe we should have forgotten about getting anything from Sapporo (札幌) since there were a convenience store and a bakery inside the Otaru Station (小樽駅 Otaru-eki) which i saw selling very delectable snacks, aahh, mistake for being too kancheong!!! anyway, after our "breakfast" we took some maps from the tourist information center and started our walking tour.. in case you will be doing the same thing, i recommend the blue route [#7A.2.2], which covers the major attractions.. one of them is the old Temiya Line (旧手宮線 Kyū Temiya-sen) rail [#7A.2.4] constructed as part of Hokkaido's very first railway but defunct since 1985, which i happily stepped on to pose for photos, haha!! :p the next stop and also the if-you-missed-that-you-have-not-been-to-Oratu attraction, is the Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga).. it was a nice stroll along the pedestrian pavement by the canal (though can be packed with tourists), enjoying the blended views of old warehouses [#7A.3.2] on one side and new modern buildings [#7A.3.3] on the other side with the calm water of the canal.. you may not want to miss art crafts along the canal too, and no worries the local artists are definitely not the touting type like those you find in many other places of the world.. in fact, i found some very nice hand-drawn postcards that were not expensive at all and i almost bought them.. or you may be interested in hiring a jinrikisha (人力車 rickshaw) and let the licensed puller guide you around the city [#7A.3.5], but of course, we were more into walking on our own.. :p this 1140m long and 40m wide Otaru Canal was built in 1914 and completed in 1923, played an important role for ships to transport goods (mainly coals and marine products) unloaded from large vessels at the port to warehouses along the canal.. however, as modern docks were built at the Otaru Port (小樽港 Otaru Minato) allowing direct loading of goods to trucks, the canal slowly went into disuse and the water became stale.. there was initially a plan to fill the canal and build a road over it, but thanks to the voices of the citizens, in 1986 it was agreed that the Otaru Canal was to be preserved.. only part of the canal was filled but mostly intact, the current pedestrian pavement was built, 63 Victorian-style street lamps were installed and the old warehouses converted into eateries shops and museums.. the Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) is now an prominent attraction of the city.. [Reference] while modern buildings are to the west of Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) and to the east the old warehouses, i actually realized something more interesting than this blend of modern and ancient.. the warehouses facing the canal are preserved to look as what they originally were, the other sides behind were all given touch-up with modern elements [#7A.4.2], the interiors slightly renovated to remain a warehouse feel [#7A.4.5].. if you could visualize, it is something like ancient sandwiched between modern, and wrapped inside both old and new.. errr, don't know what i'm talking about?? forget it, just look at the photos~~ :D our stroll along the Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) started from the Chūōbashi (中央橋 Central Bridge) and about 250m away south was the Asakusabashi (浅草橋 Asakusa Bridge) where the canal makes a 90° turn into the Sakaimachi (堺町) Area.. i believe this part of the canal was filled since it was way narrower (like a big drain), giving more space to the pavement outside these shops belonging to Taisho Glass Museum (大正硝子館 Taishō Garasukan).. Otaru (小樽) is famous for glass (硝子 garasu) and if you love glass, you will probably go crazy over what you can get here, haha.. yes, this stretch of shops and more, where you can find very beautiful glass crafts in all kinds of colors and shapes [#7A.5.2], and if you are keen to make one for your own, they have workshops [#7A.5.3] you can pay to join too.. ok, you know whether we joined, haha!! :) more shops appearing down the Sakaimachi Street (堺町通り Sakaimachi Dōri) towards the center of Sakaimachi (堺町) Area.. most selling glass crafts and music boxes, the more popular one in this "section" is the Kitaichi Glass (北一硝子 Kitaichi Garasu).. you know me well of course, i spent more time enjoying myself in gazing at the very nicely built shop buildings on both sides of the street.. some traditional Japanese some European influence, one thing in common is that all shops looks old but very well preserved, that was the best part to be frank, that makes the place so beautiful.. :) and i know, i just know what you are looking forward to, haha!! okay, come to Otaru (小樽) and you must not miss sushi and seafood.. i guess it needs no more description but you probably can already "taste" the freshness and goodness from the photo huh?? kaisendon (海鮮丼 seafood rice) at ¥2000 average, kanijiru (かに汁 crab soup) at ¥580 and akaebi no shioyaki (赤えびの塩焼き grilled red prawns with salt) at ¥1200 for 5 big ones - all these at an eatery named "Kita no Ryōba" (北の漁場) [website].. for desserts, we had cheese tart and the top favorite "double fromage" cheesecake (¥380) from LeTAO [website], as well as milk pudding (¥140) and dehydrated potato fries we bought earlier from the convenience store in Otaru Station (小樽駅 Otaru-eki).. "wah, this SK ate so much!!" you said?? hehe.. wait, i actually also wanted to try the legendary 6-layer soft-serve ice-cream (slurps!!), but my stomach had no more space for it, regret but no choice.. well, i'll leave you to google about this yourself.. besides glass art, sushi, seafood, cheesecake, chocolates, ice-cream and whatnot, another famous thing from Otaru (小樽) has to be music box (オルゴール orugōru - from the German word "orgel" which means musical organ).. like their famous glass crafts, there are many big and small shops selling music box in Otaru (小樽).. among them the most popular is the Otaru Music Box Museum (小樽オルゴール堂 Otaru orugōru-dō) [website] built in 1912, where you can find thousands of music boxes of different shapes and tunes under one roof, probably take you half a day to decide, and if you couldn't find any you like, personalize one!! seeing my friends all bought some, i also could not tahan and joined the team to buy myself a music box photo frame [#7A.8.4] which cost me ¥1140, not my first choice but the one with Doraemon theme song that i wanted was not available!! hmph!! before you get in to or when you get out from the Otaru Music Box Museum (小樽オルゴール堂 Otaru orugōru-dō), stop to take a look at the Otaru Steam Clock (小樽蒸気時計 Otaru jōkidokei) standing right in front of the entrance.. this is another attraction of Otaru (小樽), installed in 1993 with a twin in Vancouver, this steam clock chimes every 15 minutes and the steam that runs the clock whistles hourly.. so what was it like when the steam shoots up?? how would i know?? we were not at a good timing to wait to see that happen, but walked to the Minami-Otaru Station (南小樽駅 Minami-Otaru-eki) to catch the 3:34pm train back to Sapporo (札幌), haha!! but can't blame us, you see the time?? we have spent like 7 hours there since morning, and the tired uncle need some rest~~ :D

alright, that's our half-day excursion to Otaru (小樽) covering major attractions in the Central Area.. despite some imperfections (no 6-layer ice-cream and Doraemon music box, haha!!), i actually enjoyed myself very much in this rather laid-back small city that somehow gave me a little nostalgic feeling, which i especially love.. next, we were back to Sapporo (札幌) to spend our final night of the trip, stay tuned for the coming up post!! :) travelogue posts in this series: