Otaru (小樽)

For our final full day in Sapporo we travelled to the small fishing city of Otaru. Otaru is about 40 minutes north of Sapporo, right on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The train ride to Otaru was really neat because for a portion, the train rides right along the Sea of Japan and you can't see the train tracks. The waves, which were especially big today because of the snow and wind, come crashing up, almost touching the train car.

We didn't spend much time in Otaru due to the weather. There also wasn't much to take pictures of. Otaru is famous for the crafts of glass blowing and music boxes - we saw both. The music boxes were pretty neat, but I couldn't think of what we'd do with one if we bought it. There was also a covered mall that we stopped in for a minute.

The weather was crummy in Otaru today. It was cold enough to snow a lot and you had to walk a long way from the station to get to the tourist area.

Otaru also supposedly has the best and freshest sushi in the world. We ate sushi in Otaru of course. It was very delicious. I can't say that it was the best sushi I have ever tasted, but it was very good and fresh. The chef put a bit too much wasabi on some pieces and didn't put all the garnishes on my nigiri like in the picture, but it was still superb.

We returned early to Sapporo. The train was supper crowded with salary men and kids coming home from school. We had to stand for the entire 30 minute ride, crammed in with people. I started to feel really car sick or rather train sick.

We had dinner at Sapporo Ramen. Sapporo, and Hokkaido in general, is famous for having the best ramen in all of Japan. The ramen I had, prepared in a miso base, was really delicious. I haven't had a lot of ramen aside from the cheap instant stuff you buy in store, but this fresh ramen was SO good! If you're ever in Sapporo, I highly recommend Sapporo Ramen in Odori Park!

Tomorrow we fly back to Tokyo, more precisely Shingawa, for a one night stay. Thursday mom leaves for Seattle and I leave for Kyoto to start orientation for my homestay and classes. I hope to update soon and let you know about meeting my host family and starting life in Kyoto.

Till then...

B.E.W.