Otaru

Getting to Otaru 
It is very easy to get to Otaru from Sapporo. Just take the JR train from Sapporo (JR Hakodate Line) and algithg at Minami Otaru Station if you plan to walk around. Otherwise, alight at Otaru Station to buy tickets for the Stroller Bus. The ride is 30 min and costs Y620 (SGD$8). There may not be seats though and I noticed that the young people in Japan do not give up seats to the elderly. So actually we in Singapore are doing quite well! 


Our day didn't go as well as planned. We bought tickets for the Otaru Stroller's Bus （おたる散策バス with a "One-Day Pass （一日乗車券)" at Y750. It is supposed to bring us to many touristy places in Otaru but all the instructions are in Japanese! 

We boarded the wrong bus and the terminal stop was the Aquarium. We are not fans of the underwater world and were famised. Luckily we spotted an eatery nearby and decided to get lunch there. 

Unintentional 'Visit' to the Aquarium at Otaru

We were very excited to see the words '食堂‘ meaning canteen after losing our way.

The nondescript 'canteen' turned out to offer the most delicious seafood we've had in Japan. Otaru is a port town on the coast of the Sea of Japan so it is well-known for its fresh supply of seafood. Here's what we had :

Very reasonable prices with various tyeps of seafood available 

My favourite grilled sotong ! Nothing like what we've tasted in Singapore. Fat and Juicy ! 

Grilled fish with lots of bones 

The scallops were BBQed on the spot at the shop front! Fresh and succulent !

Equally fresh and yummy prawns

We took the same bus back to the 'interchange' and this is when things got 'interesting'. On the way back, we saw a hot spring place and decided to take the same bus back travelling towards the Aquarium so we could stop by the onsen. Alas ! The bus went by a different route !  We ended up taking the bus to and fro for 1 hour before we eventually ended up at the 'interchange' again. 

Ok, now we decided to go straight to the Otaru canal and we waited for a bus. After like 15 min, we realise that the buses do not stop at the bus stop. We went to like 3 -  4 different bus-stops before we found a bus that could take us to the canal ! 

So here's the canal....finally ! 

Otaru Canal is the symbol of this city. It will look romantic at night with the gaslights and stone warehouses. As there was a drizzle that day, we can hardly see painters who would usually set up their easels along the canal, reminiscent of the artists on the banks of the River Seine in Paris. 

Rows of quaint looking shops

Venetian Museum, an Italian style glass museum with a huge gondola in the middle of the ground floor.

You can dress in period costumes for memorial photograph and buy Venice-imported glass items here.