Day trip to Otaru 小樽市 (How to go, what to expect) - NCT 127, NCT Dream Jisung, NCT Wish went here!

My parents never really had the time or chance to explore Otaru during their past visits, so I told them we should take this chance to finally explore the city.

How to go to Otaru :

Book a ticket or get down at Otaru station, there is only one exit.

Here are the places we visited and how our day went.

I’ll write about each one below in case you’re interested in checking them out too!

Sankaku market (小樽三角市場)
Otaru Canal
Sakaimachi Hondori Street
Kitaichi Glass Otaru
Otaru Steam Clock
Music Box Museum
Otaru Cafe x Hello Kitty (we weren’t able to go to the cafe since it was already closed but this is just across the Otaru steam clock and music box museum)
LeTao Main Store (小樽洋菓子舗ルタオ本店)
Otaru Beer (小樽ビール醸造所小樽倉庫No.1)

We started our day in Otaru with a late lunch at Sankaku Market. It took us a while to decide where to eat, and there was a long queue to get into the restaurant. After that, we had to wait for a while for the food to come out.

Sankaku Market

it’s just across Otaru Station! climb up these stairs

We walked around for a bit before finally deciding to eat at this place with the huge yellow sign above the entrance.

We spent some time deciding before finally agreeing to pay the additional 500 yen so they could accommodate us. By then, it was already close to 1:30 pm, and we were getting really hungry.

Once we paid the extra fee, we were seated fairly quickly.

get cups, plates, scissors, gloves here!

After quite some time, our orders arrived one by one. I think you can tell how hungry we were from how much we ordered!

After we had our fill, we headed over to the Otaru Canal to take some photos.

Otaru Canal

This spot is one of the must-visit places in Otaru. People will definitely know you’re in the city when you post a photo from here!

Sakaimachi Hondori Street and Kitaichi Glass Otaru

We passed through Sakaimachi Hondori Street on our way to Kitaichi Glass Otaru. There were so many shops to check out, and we took our time exploring and appreciating all the different stores!

Otaru Cafe x Hello Kitty, Music Box Museum, and Otaru Steam Clock

We originally planned to visit Otaru Cafe x Hello Kitty, but by the time we got there, it was already closed 💀.

These three places are literally beside each other.

If you want to visit Otaru Cafe x Hello Kitty, make sure to be here by 4 PM to be safe.

After looking at some merchandise and taking photos, my dad wanted to show us the Music Box Museum.

By the time we came out, it was almost time for the steam clock to do its thing.

we were like huh it looks like the steam clock in Vancouver

then we saw this, laughed, and said no wonder 🤣

LeTao Main Store

Just a litttle trivia, LeTao originated in Otaru!

I was getting really sleepy at this point and needed a coffee fix, so we rushed over to the LeTAO main store since they have a cafe inside.

We just arrived in time since they were also about to close!

We were the second to the last ones allowed to enter 😭

It took a while for us to finally get seated since the place was completely packed. I got the amazing cheesecake set and everyone else just ordered tea.

When we realized we were the only ones left, we paid the bill and got ready to leave. That was the moment we noticed the store was already closed, and the staff had to open the door for us!

Otaru Beer

This beer pub was near the Otaru Canal and we already spotted it early.