Otaru Area Guide
Short, practical guides to Otaru for visitors from overseas. One new guide a day at most, each one built from public sources (village and city offices, the prefecture, national agencies, transport operators) that we list at the end with the date we read them. If we could not check something, we say so and leave it out.
Latest guides
When Should You Visit Otaru? Climate, Seafood and Festivals
What to wear month by month, which seafood is in season, the Ushio Festival and the Snow Light Path, this autumn's listed events and where to find medical help.
What Is the Otaru Canal, and How Do You Walk the Port Area?
How the canal was saved in the 1960s, its gas lamps, the old bank buildings of the Wall Street of the North, a quiet morning walk and the evening lanes.
How Do You Get to Otaru from Sapporo and New Chitose Airport?
The Rapid Airport train, the highway bus, overnight ferries from Niigata and Maizuru, driving times and the four tourist information centres where English is spoken.