Sapporo to Otaru

Our short stay in Sapporo is coming to a close. Glorious sunny morning greets us and our short train ride to Hokkaido University and the famous Ginkgo tree boulevard. Only just turning. Will definitely return in a couple of weeks to get the full autumn colours. We head of to the station at 11.00am. Catch the 11.30am train to Otaru. And it was packed!

Alexis insisted we must buy Onigiri. Mission completed. I believe we have found our go-to snack while on the go.

After checking out we make our way to Sapporo station and the JR line. We decide to purchase an IC travel card and after much fumbling eventually succeed and make it on to the train either minutes to spare.

The journey to Otaru begins with the suburbia of Sapporo. As we reach the outskirts, apartment buildings become standalone dwellings interspersed with open spaces and light industry before suddenly there is the sea!

The train line hugs the shore for about ten minutes before the port infrastructure of Otaru begins to appear.

The train terminates at Otaru station and we wait on the platform allowing hundreds of people to go ahead of us. We have more than two hours before we can check in to our accommodation so we find a cafe to park ourselves in for a while.

After toasties and salted caramel lattes topped with whipped cream Richard goes exploring and reports back on the local shopping centre and fish market.

A short bus ride gets us to within a five minute walk to our accommodationRead more