22 December 2017 Friday
0900 hrs, we were on the train to Otaru. The train was quite full but riders were very quiet. Like Singapore youngsters, everyone is on their handset.
Just outside Otaru JR station, Sankaku Market.
A small market with a single alley….
They sell local catches and packed seafood products.
Crabs are the center of attraction and there are associated restaurants doing the cooking.
People picking their crabs.
We had a small crab that weighed about 2 Kg.
The Chef was preparing our crab.
It was prepared in two ways…. boiled and BBQ.
A very enjoyable Blunch.
After sumptuous lunch, we stepped out of Sankaku Market and were taken aback by the freezing wind. I guessed it has to be sub-zero as the snow on the pavement showed no sign of melting.
Looked back at Otaru JR, people were not bothered by the coldness…lifestyle in northern countries.
It was a long walk to Canal Plaza. Our picture outside Canal Plaza.
Me and a Santa Dog.
Inside Canal Plaza, we were greeted by wine glasses Tower.
We had some good time shopping at the souvenir section.
A little door besides the souvenir section.
It opened to a central courtyard full of thick snow and ice.
See ! The kids behind me – very enjoyable time for them.
From Canal Plaza, we crossed the main street and we were at a remote end of the famous Otaru Canal. Few tourists came to this part of the Otaru Canal.
A little walk along the canal and we realized snow had piled up as high as the canal railing.
Discovery : A rich man created a rich snow man.
Heading toward another section of Otaru Canal.
This second section of Otaru Canal is the zone most visited by tourists.
The most pictured Canal warehouse
This sliding iced roof attracted a lot of attention too.
Our pictures
The rocky side wall by the canal
4 Kimono Ladies brightened up the Canal.
We had a warm break in the Canal Food Hall.
Eateries and souvenir kiosk… relatively quiet.
Bears standing at the center of the Food Hall.
Two Mothers and two kids.
From Canal, we walked across the road to this landmark building – surprisingly people were queuing up for ice-cream.
On our way to Sakamachi Street….this is a building that was filmed in a number of movie / TV series.
Few units down the road, we saw sparkling light glittered under the sun…. very nice.
The first shop – Ro Man Kan – meaning Romance House.
They sold glassware – fine craft art pieces…. glittered under spot lights.
Modern Luminescence too.
Classic Otaru Glass Floats
and Seasonal art pieces.
Strolling along Sakamachi Street… there are several wall of snow. Locals build wooden frame to prevent snow from sliding down.
Warming up before running on snow
Running on soft snow….that was not easy !
A little rest beside favorite cartoon characters…
1600 hrs and it was evening time…. some street lights were turned on.
Our pictures…
A stop at Le Tao, trying out cookies.
They sold strawberry chocolate similar to those from Rokutei…
We bought resin biscuits at Rokutei and had coffee, custard bun and ice-cream at their second floor cafeteria.
A short distance down the road is Le Tao Main building.
Le Tao Tower is the tallest building along Sakamachi street
We scaled the tower and found a bell at the top of the tower. Naughty girl gong and the sound echo along the entire Sakamachi street.
Looking down from Le Tao Tower… the night view is exceptional
Down from the tower, we headed for Otaru Music Box
The decorative artwork outside music box.
Our pictures inside the music box
We headed back to Otaru Canal. The theme is Otaru Snow Story….
Working on the wonderful sight.
We love the perfect reflection.
Our pictures
At Canal Plaza… cold stone wall, cold icy feeling and very quiet
Glass float tower …. looked so lonely.
At Otaru train station…. the designed oil lamp lighting, woody structure and icy track gave me a very cold classic feeling…. it was as if walking into history.
The arrival of our train….
30 mins and we were at Sapporo. Off the train and we came across another Pokemon Store
My wife’s favorite….
It happened that today is 冬至 . We were supposed to have 汤圆 . An interesting substitute.
We decided to have the best sushi at Sapporo. It was full house and the queue time was 90 mins
It was almost 2230 hrs that we were finally seated and started our enjoyable sushi dinner …very fresh sushi !
End of Day 2 : We enjoyed our trip to Otaru. We love the crab lunch and lovely Sakamachi shopping street, Ro Man Kan, Rokutei and very classic JR station. We had our 冬至 汤圆 substitute…. and long waited fresh and tasty sushi dinner.
Continue to : Hokkaido Winter Fantasy Day 3
Return to : Hokkaido Winter Fantasy Day 1
enjoyandcreate.com 