14 Classic Sightseeing Spots in Otaru: Our Recommendations

Otaru Canal

The Otaru Canal is a landmark of Otaru. It is 1,140 m long and was built in 1923 to load and unload cargo efficiently.
Along the canal stand 63 gas lamps. The atmospheric, nostalgic scenery makes it a great place for photos, and it draws many visitors.

Several stone warehouses surround it, making it a symbolic place of retro, nostalgic Otaru. It has been selected as one of Japan’s 100 outstanding urban landscapes, 100 beautiful historic landscapes and a Night View Heritage of Japan.

You can also enjoy a roughly 40-minute Otaru Canal cruise departing from Chuo Bridge on the canal.

Kitaichi Glass Sangokan (No. 3 Village)

Kitaichi Glass is a long-established Otaru glass maker, founded in 1901.
It originally made kerosene lamps, an everyday necessity, and floats for herring fishing. Kitaichi Glass Sangokan (No. 3 Village) is a historic building designated by Otaru City. It displays and sells a wide range of glass products, also sells local sake and wine, and operates as a cafe and restaurant.

Otaru Music Box Museum (Main Building)

Otaru Music Box Museum (Main Building) is housed in a historic building built in 1915. It is one of the largest music box shops in Japan, with about 38,000 music boxes in about 3,200 varieties. You can also make your own music box at the museum’s workshop, Otaru Orgel Doh Music Box & Handicrafts Studio You-kobo. (Advance reservation required)

Kitaichi Venetian Art Museum

The exterior is modeled on the Palazzo Grassi in Venice.
The museum displays 3,000 traditional Italian furnishings and furniture pieces, introducing the lives and culture of the nobility.

You can also try the noble experience, dressing in Italian-themed costumes for a commemorative photo.
When it is crowded you may have to wait, so we recommend reserving in advance.

Otaru Art Base

Otaru Art Base is a complex of five museums: the Former Mitsui Bank Otaru Branch, the Stained Glass Museum, the Nitori Museum of Art, the Western Art Museum (opened April 28, 2022) and the Ukiyo-e Museum (opened July 24, 2025).

It houses and displays modern and contemporary Japanese paintings, Western-style paintings, sculpture, glass crafts, stained glass and furniture.

Wall Street of the North

Around the Ironai district, where Nichigin Street and Ironai Street cross, there were as many as 25 financial institutions at its peak, making it a financial hub.
Compared with 16 in Hakodate and 10 in Sapporo, this shows how prosperous Otaru was even within Hokkaido.

The Former Bank of Japan Otaru Branch, the Former Hokkaido Bank Head Office and others are lit up at night and attract attention as retro bank buildings.

The Bank of Japan Otaru Museum

Completed in July 1912, it is a historic building more than 110 years old.
The building of The Bank of Japan Otaru Museum was designed by Tatsuno Kingo, also known as the father of modern architecture.
Tatsuno Kingo is the architect who also designed Tokyo Station and the Main Building of the Bank of Japan Head Office.

The construction cost was 400,000 yen at the time, the third highest after the Bank of Japan Head Office and the Bank of Japan Osaka Branch, which shows how important the building was.

Former Hokkaido Bank Head Office

The Former Hokkaido Bank Head Office is designated an Otaru Historic Building.
It was designed by Nagano Uheiji, a pupil of Tatsuno Kingo, who designed the Former Bank of Japan Otaru Branch.

It is now Otaru Bine, a wine café and shop.

Otaru Sankaku Market

1 minute on foot from JR Otaru Station.
Located on the left as you exit JR Otaru Station, it houses 16 shops (6 of them eateries), including places serving seafood bowls and stores selling crab, sea urchin and more.
Some shops serve meals from 7:00.

Otaru Sushi Street (Otaru Sushiya Dori)

Otaru grew as a fishing port and has so many sushi restaurants that it is called the “city of sushi.”
Otaru Sushi Street is an area where about 15 sushi restaurants line up, centered on the Sushi Street Famous Restaurants Association: Otaru Masazushi, Sushi & Japanese Cuisine Shikama, Otaru Yamatoya, Otaru Machi no Sushi and Nihonbashi.

You can enjoy sushi unique to Otaru, such as summer sea urchin.

Rinyu Morning Market

Otaru Sankaku Market near JR Otaru Station is a market many tourists visit, while Rinyu Market is an off-the-beaten-path market that locals go to.
It is about a 25-minute walk from JR Otaru Station, so it is some distance away.

True to its name, Rinyu Morning Market opens from 4:00, but many shops are not yet open, so be aware.
It is also not a tourist-oriented market but a genuine one, so it closes at 14:00.

Inside Rinyu Morning Market are two eateries: Asaichi Shokudo, where you can have seafood bowls and other dishes, and Ichinoya.

Former JNR Temiya Line Site

The former JNR Temiya Line began as the government-run Horonai Railway, the first railway in Hokkaido.
The Otaru Temiya–Sapporo section opened in 1880. In 1882 the whole line, about 90 km as far as Horonai, was open.
The government-run Horonai Railway was built to carry coal from Horonai to the port of Otaru.

After the line closed, the site was turned into a walking path of about 1.6 km that keeps the original tracks, level crossings and crossing gates.
With the tracks, level crossings and crossing gates still in place, it is also a popular spot for taking photos on the tracks.

Former Aoyama Villa (Otaru Kihinkan)

The former Aoyama Villa was used as the second residence of the Aoyama family, who built their wealth through herring fishing. It is a historic building from the Taisho era, designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.

The former Aoyama Villa is also known as a herring mansion and is popularly called Otaru Kihinkan.
It also appears in “Golden Kamuy”, the popular manga and anime set in Hokkaido.

Otaru Aquarium

It is one of the leading aquariums in Hokkaido.
Harbor porpoises are kept only at Otaru Aquarium in Japan.

At the Marine Mammal Park, you can try feeding the seals.
At the indoor Dolphin Stadium, you can also watch South American sea lion and dolphin shows.

Cape Shakotan, Shimamui Coast and Cape Ogon

The Shakotan Peninsula is about 1 hour from JR Otaru Station by car or bus.

The view from Cape Kamui on the Shakotan Peninsula, selected as a “Hokkaido Heritage” site, is spectacular.
The scenery changes with the seasons, and the sunset over the quiet coast is breathtakingly beautiful. Walking paths are also available, so you can stroll around the area.

The path down to the shore at Shimamui Coast and the walking path from the gate at Cape Kamui to the tip are closed for construction until early April 2027.

Shimamui Coast is one of Japan’s “100 Best Beaches.”
You can look out over the spectacular sea in clear Shakotan Blue.

Cape Ogon is a cape that juts out into the sea beyond Bikuni Port.
Cape Ogon gets its name because schools of herring shine golden in the morning and evening sun.