Day 266: Otaru

A month ago we planned to visit Daisetsuzan National Park to hike around the mountains and see the fall foliage. This was before the ankle injury in Korea. The hike planned was 6 hours so no way this trip could happen.

Instead we took a day trip to Otaru which is a port city an hour west of Sapporo. The town is known for its canal ways from and we recently learned from the Sapporo factory that they would ship to Tokyo from Otaru when the beer was first getting started.

The train hugged the coastline and mountain side (again), and it was dark and stormy (again 😍). When we arrived, we walked down to the warehouse and canal district; it started pouring immediately. We found cover in Otaru’s German Beer hall where they brewed their own crafts and fest beers for Oktoberfest! We tried their raspberry, woodruff, dunkel, and the fest beer. They also had a delivery robot that brought food to the tables.

We walked around Sakaimachihondori street and saw soooo many sushi shops. It poured again so we ran ahead to Tanaka Sake Brewery where we followed a self guided tour and tried samples of their sake; they’ve been making it since 1899! We purchased their Autumn flavor.

We visited Sumiyoshi Shinto Shrine after and it was super cool with the stormy clouds and ocean in the background. Stopped at a conveyer sushi restaurant on the way back and then spent the evening watching Solo Leveling.

Food:
Sushi

Spots:
Otaru
Sumiyoshi Shrine
Tanaka Sake Brewery
Otaru CanalsRead more