Otaru is a city about 30 km west of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido with about 142,868 inhabitants on an area of 243,13 km².
The name comes from the Ainu and means "river flowing through the sand".
The city acts as a "sleeping town" for Sapporo. It is known all over the country as a starting point for several ski areas and because of its picturesque old town with stone-built storage houses along the river.
The city has a seaport with a container terminal and regular ferry connections to Niigata, Tsuruga, Maizuru and Sakhalin Island in Russia.
In Sapporo, the Olympic Winter Games took place in 1972, the first Olympic winter games in Asia.
Cruise offers to the port Otaru (Sapporo) / Japan
Sights in Otaru are the Tanaka Sake Brewery and the Otaru Canal.
In the 1950s the much older Otaru Sapporo separated as the most populous city of Hokkaido. The city was planned in a chessboard pattern, similar to Kyōto or many American cities.
Which cruise lines and ships sail to Otaru (Sapporo)?
In which country / island is Otaru (Sapporo) located?
