Walking tour of snowy OTARU and the infamous canal ❄️

With temperatures well below freezing, I walked the streets of Otaru, Japan in winter. Once Hokkaido’s center of business and wealth, Otaru today is in the shadow of nearby booming Sapporo. But Otaru has its own identity, with its famous historic canal and warehouse area, the remnants of Hokkaido’s oldest train line running through town, and some very hardy citizens. In this video I first wander the streets of Otaru at night, finding fresh sushi for dinner and looking for those ancient train tracks somewhere under the huge, dark piles of snow. Then the next day I see the Otaru Canal area: incredible snowy scenes in the sunshine, lots of tourists negotiating the icy walkways, and row upon row of the biggest icicles I’ve ever seen. Fun walk around a very cold and beautiful city!

🔔 *SUBSCRIBE* → www.youtube.com/t1dwanderer?sub_confirmation=1
👉 *PATREON* → https://www.patreon.com/t1dwanderer
🌍 *EMAIL NEWSLETTER* → https://www.t1dwanderer.com/subscribe

Music provided by mellowstu / Pond5

Hey, good morning from Otaru.  I’m walking around on these very,   very slippery streets – whoa! – and the famous,  famous Otaru Canal area and all its old buildings.  [Music begins] In today’s video,   I’m wandering the freezing cold  snowy streets of Otaru, Japan,  

In Hokkaido. First at night, after roaming  the back alleys in search of fresh sushi–  “Cheers!” …I encounter the   remnants of Hokkaido’s first rail line from 1880,  which tonight is buried under eerie, quiet, and   beautiful snowdrifts. Then, in the sunshine the  next day, I walk over to the famous canal area to  

See its spectacular old buildings, impossibly huge  icicles, and a lucky view across the dramatic sea.  “Look where we have ended up!” The temperature is far below freezing,   but I’m layered up for a thrilling adventure on  the sidewalks and paths of a Japanese city like no  

Other. But first, a tour of my guesthouse room by  a guy who seems a little tired. Probably needs to   get out and eat some of that fresh seafood. [Music ends]  I am in Otaru. I’ve just arrived and I wanted  to show you my room here in the Plum House. And  

I opted for the Japanese-style room just because  it’s cheaper and cooler: the tatami floor with two   beds, a low table with cushions, and a chair  that I’ve been sitting in. The view outside.  For now, dinner and a little walk around town  at night. Pretty cool place, huh? Plum House  

And Garden House. So anyway, it’s uh, -1 or  -2°C tonight in Otaru, which is chilly, and uh,   snow is everywhere. Snow is in huge, huge piles  everywhere. The roads are slippery, the sidewalks   are slippery. It’s hard to tell those things  apart. But it’s not actually snowing tonight.  

It’s just negotiating the sidewalks is kind  of pretty, kind of fun, kind of uh, dangerous. Found a place right across the street from my  hotel, right around the corner called Ōtomi. A   little kind of place run by an older couple. Got  the seafood, 12 different pieces of seafood. All  

Very fresh. Also got some tempura and a salad.  And a beer. Cheers – to Hokkaido. To Otaru! [People talking, plates rattling] I think I overordered. But I ate everything they  gave me. That was great, that was excellent,  

That was uh, a big meal. I don’t usually eat  all that big, but that was uh, bigger than I   usually eat. And the one beer didn’t really  cover the meal. I ran out halfway through,   so I bought a second. So, having had two  beers where I normally have one or zero,  

Let’s go walk around this town  full of slippery sidewalks. No, I don’t want to look at food. Oh, that’s why  I had sushi today. We’re on Sushiyadori Street: sushi shop or sushi restaurant street. I  see, I see. It is a bit cold. I like this look.

That says the frozen north, doesn’t it? You’ll  probably find that after I’ve had two beers,   my observations are not quite as fascinating and  scintillating and perceptive as perhaps they might otherwise have   been. [silly voice] “Look, that person got snow  on his car. Guess we’re up north now!” Give me a  

Break, I’m doing my best. Hey, I’m getting  my mojo back after all that food. I mean,   I’m getting my mojo back *because* of the food.  It’s giving me energy to walk around here. Otaru,   look at that, look at the snow at night. What  a place Hokkaido is. I had no idea… I mean,  

I had an idea, but never saw it for  myself and wouldn’t have understood   it until I actually got here. I’m actually  looking for something. I heard there was   the remnants of an old train line around here.  Hokkaido’s original train line. Not quite sure where.

Here it is, check it out. The Temiya Line. The  Temiya Line was the old train line here from   1880 to 1985. So, I think you can actually see the  actual rails. I mean, look, there’s this crossing  

Here which is no longer a crossing, ’cause there’s  not actually a train line here. Where are the   tracks? Anyway, there’s some kind of path here. So,  the Temiya Line, the first train ever in Hokkaido,   was built in 1880 and it went from Otaru to  Sapporo and part of it was actually here.  

There was a little branch line here and it went – it was only two stations. Like, went from the main   Hakodate Line to somewhere over here. And so, for  a few decades after the 1880s, it took passengers  

And freight kind of back and forth, just a  small little short line. In the ’60s, when the   coal industry took a dive here in the Otaru area,  the train line was used by so few passengers that  

They cut the passenger service and they left it  only for freight. And then in 1985, another train   line somewhere else in Japan closed, and this one  became the shortest rail line in Japan of the JNR,   which is the predecessor to JR. And then eight  months after it became the shortest in Japan,  

The Temiya was closed, and that was it. But now,  apparently, the old line, the rails are still   there, and it’s kind of maintained by the city of  Otaru. And there’s even talk of bringing it back   somehow, maybe as a tourist thing. I think you  can actually see the rail somewhere, but maybe not  

When it snows. I do need to shut up ’cause this is  – rail aside, this is a really cool walk. Look at   all of this snow! And it continues. Whoa, that’s  tough. Can I get over this hump? [grunt] Okay, did it. Wow, very, very slippery.

This is superb.  I think it’s been snowing here a lot the last few days and now it’s not, but I’m left with the  benefit of all that. Out there, can’t see it,   but behind that big building where the sky gets  even darker, I’m not sure if my camera’s picking  

That up, but that’s the Japan Sea. Otaru is  right on the edge of the water. And tomorrow,   we’re going to go down and see the canal, which  is the number one kind of tourist thing, I think.  

But the number one site to see here, I think, is  like these old, old buildings along the canal,   and they’re really cool looking, a lot of cool  atmosphere and stuff. Oh, look, they cut across the road and continue. So, I *have* been walking  on them, it’s just that they’re covered in snow.  

Well, that’s cool. That dinner was 5,650 yen, and  I do have a budget for this trip. And that’s not in the budget. So, I think I’m going to go back  to the convenience store food for a little bit,  

But it was good, it was totally worth it. Go  out of budget to get some good food. And so far,   both my hotels have been cheaper than I planned,  than I budgeted for. So, we’ll use that money for  

The food tonight. I just booked my hotel here last  night, very last minute because I wasn’t sure how   the trains were going to go. I have to wait every  day, check the trains and the weather. Does it  

Seem like they’re going to be running? And if so,  go ahead and book the hotel. Because if you book   that close to the day, like just the day before  you’re going to stay there, then you aren’t going  

To get reimbursed if you have to cancel. So,  have to book a place and hopefully the trains will   take me there. Yikes, this is just smooth ice  in parts and in parts you really don’t want to   walk in at all. These buildings are really cool  though, they’re interesting. Otaru is the ninth

Biggest city in Hokkaido, and it’s not now, but  it used to be the financial and the business   center of all of Hokkaido. Otaru was founded as a  village in I think 1854 or so. It became a city in 1922.

It was bombed a lot in World War II, but in the  1950s, the coal industry, which was around Otaru,   declined and the city declined just like that  train line. Became no longer the financial   and business center of Hokkaido; that moved  to Sapporo as with everything else. And so,  

That’s where it is today, it’s number nine. It’s  got about 115,000 residents. And to be honest,   I like it a lot better than Hakodate. And  I loved Hakodate. [laughing] Maybe this   is the seafood talking, I’m just in a good  mood, but uh, it’s quite nice here. Crossing  

The roads can be dangerous, but the good  thing is – no traffic. It’s cold tonight,   but somehow it’s kind of acceptable. Got my gloves  on, I got one of my hats on and it seems fine to   me. And I’ve been wandering around, talking and  trying to follow those train lines. And now I’m  

Not quite sure where I am. I think I know, but  how do I get back to my room? I’ve had enough   tonight. Go back to my room and just take it easy  for a couple of hours. ‘Cause tomorrow there’s  

More stuff coming. Just realized I’m walking  in the road, not the sidewalk. Hold on. Okay,   well tonight, I’m going to go home and just  relax for a couple of hours and take some   time off. Maybe copy some files over from this  SD card. So, I will see you tomorrow morning.

Hey, good morning from Otaru, and I’m walking  around on these very, very slippery streets.   Whoa! Anyway, so I’m going to the Otaru Canal  today. I am leaving here by train in a few hours,   so I don’t have all day here, unfortunately. It’s  a really, really cool town. I really like this  

Place, but for now, the famous, famous Otaru Canal  area and all its old buildings. So, I’m starting   to learn, ’cause I don’t live – I don’t come from  a snowy place. I’m from Georgia, and Osaka doesn’t   snow. So, I’m kind of learning how to walk  around here. This sidewalk is actually fine  

Because they’ve cleared it ’cause it’s right in  the heart of town, right in front of the station.   But most of the sidewalks in town do not have any  clear spot, and so all the foot traffic has packed 

It down into just solid flat sheets of ice, and  people just sort of slip around on them. So, the   best thing to do is try to walk on the edge where  you can kind of get some of the powder stuff.

I’ve noticed that a lot of the locals here, apparently  locals, do not have shoes any better than mine.   Mine are very unsuited to this, they’re just tennis shoes.  But a lot of locals have something like that,  

Dress shoes for work or just sneakers and stuff.  So, everybody kind of walks in this weird stance   when you’re on the ice. Then again, maybe shoes  are especially important here. I’ve got my two   hats on, two pairs of gloves, like a real thin  layer fingerless gloves, and then my big outside  

Gloves. So, I actually feel quite warm. Got this  little scarf on, got three layers under this shirt   plus my overcoat. Had a nice little breakfast in  The Plum Garden House, whatever it was called. Very simple, just toast and yogurt and sausage and  stuff, but it was in a very dramatic dining room,  

Big huge icicles hanging. All right, here  is the canal. It goes along for some length,   some distance here, and I think you can just walk  across it or walk along it. So, let’s do that.   Haven’t really learned exactly what the history  of this place is, hopefully a sign will tell me.  

And just like in Hakodate, I’ve not figured out  what side of the road you’re supposed to walk on,   and there’s so many tourists here just like me  that don’t know, that I’ve seen both. I’ve seen  

What looks like locals, packs of locals on both  sides of the road, so maybe there is no real rule.   What do I know? Try to stay out of people’s way  and don’t fall on people. If you’re going to fall,  

Just do it by yourself and don’t take other people  down with you. Somehow, I’ve picked the place   where tourists aren’t really meant to go, but  it’s awesome. Nobody else is here, but I mean,   this is fantastic. Look at this snow hanging over. Snow angel evidence. I haven’t made a snow angel

In years. One of the first videos I ever uploaded  to my channel, before I’d even call it a channel,   I just uploaded it to YouTube just so I  could embed it on my blog. It was a real,  

Short, like 15-second video of me making a snow  angel in Norway. I think it’s still up. Oh no, my   scarf has fallen off.   [clock ticking] [sigh] [clock ticking] That’s fantastic. That’s an  amazing looking building. I criticize big blocky concrete-colored buildings, but not this one.  Those old rusted iron stairways, all those doors,  

Those rusted iron doors, the big windows behind  some of them. Looks like some of the fish have   given up, they’re waving the white flag. I wish  I knew what this was. There’s no informational   signs that I’ve seen. “Information”! Directions in  Japanese, English, two types of Chinese, Korean,   and Russian.

I see that we’re very close to the  coast. I mean, the actual water. So, gonna see if I can negotiate this super tiny little snow  ditch. We’ll go see… I see big waves for some   reason. This looks cool up here.

Don’t know if  that’s a public place. Hm, let’s try over here. As a guy wandering around, this is excellent.  As a guy trying to film wandering around, it’s   quite difficult. Everything’s kind of disorienting  with the snow and the ice and the noise and the  

Dirt and the strange paths. But also, I can’t  see my camera screen at all. It’s too bright,   so I don’t know what I’m capturing. Okay, well  here is a view. Wow, look at those distant snow   covered mountains. Excellent, excellent.  Look at these tracks, look pretty fresh  

And not human. Wonder what it was, just birds  maybe? Could birds do that? See that bird out   there on the corner? Alright, I don’t think I’m  going to get closer to the water right here.

Alright, I found a way to get us a little bit  closer to the water. Other side of the street   – whoa, an icy slope. Anyway, I’ll cross the road  here and I think we can get right up to the wahh! — water. [noisy construction]

So, “you are here”. And I just have  to go out… somewhere. Oh my, oh my! Wanna know how dumb I am? I  thought I saw somebody flying a drone,   I was like “look at that!” … and it was a  seagull. Whew! The brain is affecting my cold – ha no,  

The cold is affecting my brain! Anyway, here  we go, here we are. Look at that, look at that, look where we have ended up. I mean, I have no  words. I also have no guard rail over there,  

So if I go over there I have to be sure that a  car does not come driving on the ice and knock   me off. Or worse than a car perhaps,  a large truck. Here we go, be careful,  

Be careful on the icy edge. Wow, that is really  the edge. So what we’re looking at over there   is more of Hokkaido. It’s not an island, it’s just  further towards sort of to the northeast, I guess. Wow, okay. Back to the canal. You’ve got  to have confidence in your construction

Abilities if you’re going to put a flat roof  on your house or your building in this area. When you’re walking around here, when you  get to an intersection or you’re crossing   the street for any reason, you look both ways  before crossing. And I’ve always done that;  

My mama didn’t raise no dummy. I dug her  rap. But even more so here. This is the   line for canal boat cruises which of – whoa! – of course  I’m not going to do today, walking by myself. Oh, we do have some grit they threw down here for walking, that’s nice.

[People laughing and playing] No drinking water. Just eat some snow. I’ve never seen personally icicles in my  life this big. I’m not sure you can get   the scale of this. The longest ones  there are about as tall as I am. And  

I saw the movie A Christmas Story,  so I’m not going to get that close. So, anyway, I went into the tourist office and she  gave me an English explanation of the canal. The   canal started in 1914, it was finished by 1923 and  it was just here because of the warehouses. So,  

A lot of goods would come here from around  Hokkaido, rice and crops, vegetables and   fruits I think, and clothes and stuff like that.  And the canal was just built for the ships that   would carry it back and forth, all the stuff. And  the canal is curved, so that’s one of its kind of  

Unusual claims to fame. It’s kind of a graceful,  lovely curved canal. And it was going to be filled   in and turned into something else like land and  stuff, but there was an outcry, a public outcry,   people wanted to save it. So it is indeed  mostly saved and quite a popular place for,  

Well, *the* place to come in Otaru if  you’re a tourist, which I suppose I am. When I was sitting on the bench out in front of  the tourist office reading the English explanation  

She gave me, it was quite sunny and it was hitting  me and the air was still, a lot of people around   being convivial and I felt quite warm. So, I  removed the scarf, I removed my inner gloves,  

I took off my inner hat. And now I’m cold  here in the shade. Should have left it all on. Alright, I’m going to leave the Canal area  and venture further south up into town. The   town kind of slopes up from the sea pretty  immediately here, but I’ve got to go back  

To the station and catch my train all the  way across Hokkaido today. But we’ll go   see what else we can find in Otaru before  we do that. Got a little time left. OK I’m going to call this video here. It’s been  a great visit here, a perfect time to come.  

The weather is dramatic and exciting  and interesting and very, very unique,   at least to my life. So, I hope to come back here  and see it more in detail someday. But for now,   I’m going to get on a train for several hours,  all the way across over to the Pacific Ocean.  

That’ll be the next video. I will see you then if  you want to watch that. Should be a very exciting   trip on one of Hokkaido’s most rural lines. So,  thanks for watching this and I will see you later. Many thanks to my Patreon supporters who  help make these videos possible and who,  

For as little as $1 a month, can  watch new videos at least a week   before they’re published. Special thanks  to David Rychly, Jacob Fatz, Lever Wang,   Michael Fedor, Nathaniel Holland, Omayr, Ray  Nichols, Samantha and Will Phillips. Also,   thanks to subscribers to my free weekly  email newsletter, which features links to  

New videos a day before they’re published, as  well as behind the scenes info from my travels.   Links to both are in the video description.  And thanks for wandering around with me.