is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

Shiribeshi Subprefecture is a Subprefectures of Hokkaido, subprefecture of Hokkaido, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. The subprefecture's capital is Kutchan, Hokkaido, Kutchan. As of July 31, 2004, the estimated population was 256,184 and the area was 4,305.65 km2. ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, Japan, northwest of

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tourist destination. Because it is a 25-minute drive from Sapporo, it has grown as a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

. As of July 31, 2023, the city had an estimated population of 107,432 and a population density of 441 persons per km² (1,100 persons per mi²). The total area is . Although it is the largest city in

, the subprefecture's capital is the more centrally located Kutchan.

History

The name "Otaru" is of Ainu origin, possibly meaning "River running through the sandy beach". The very small remaining part of the Temiya Cave contains carvings from the Zoku-Jōmon period of Ainu history, around A.D. 400. Mount Akaiwa (Northwest part of Otaru) is memorialized in the Ainu tradition in the story of Sitonai, village chief's teenage daughter who had slain a white snake from the mountain's cave that demanded sacrifices of girls every year. The legend explains the name of a big cave on Mount Akaiwa, Hakuryu Gongen Cave (白竜権現洞窟, lit. "White Dragon Gongen Cave") and the reason why a shrine was built on the mountain (to protect the village from being haunted by the snake). Otaru was recognised as a village by the ''

bakufu , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

'' in 1865, and in 1880 the first railway line in Hokkaido was opened with daily service between Otaru and Sapporo. An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Otaru as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom. The city flourished well as the financial and business center in Hokkaido as well as the trade port with Japanese ruled southern Sakhalin until the 1920s. Otaru was redesignated as a city on August 1, 1922. On December 27, 1924, a freight train loaded with 600 cases of dynamite, unloaded from the freighter ''Shoho Maru'', exploded in Temiya Station, killing 94 people and injuring 200 more, in addition to damaging the warehouse, the harbour facilities, and the surrounding area. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Otaru housed a prison camp for

Aleuts Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...

taken there following the Japanese occupation of Attu. During the closing stages of the war, Otaru was bombed by American naval aircraft in July 1945. Since the 1950s, as the coal industry around the city went into a decline, the status of the economic hub shifted from Otaru to Sapporo. File:Otaruharbour-1876.png, Otaru in 1876 File:Otaru City in Hokkaido 1909 Meiji 42.png, Otaru in 1909 File:Otaru Port in Hokkaido 1909 Meiji 42.png, Otaru port in 1909 File:130823 Bank of Japan Otaru Museum02s4.jpg, Former

Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The said bank is a corporate entity ...

Otaru Branch, now home to the Otaru Museum

Geography

Otaru is a

port town A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

on the coast of the

in northern

. The southern portion of the city is characterized by the steep slopes of various mountains (notably Tenguyama), where the altitude of the land sharply drops from the mountains to the sea. The land available between the coast and mountains has been almost completely developed, and the developed part of the city on the mountain slopes is called ''Saka-no-machi'', or "Hill town", including hills named ''Funamizaka'' (Boat-view Hill) and ''Jigokuzaka'' (Hell Hill). Tengu mountain

Neighboring cities and towns

* Ishikari **

( Teine-ku, Minami-ku), Ishikari * Shiribeshi ** Yoichi District: Yoichi, Akaigawa

Rivers

Some of the rivers in Otaru are: Hoshioki, Kiraichi, Zenibako, Hariusu, Asari, Katsunai, Shioya, Myoken, Irifune.

Climate

In the summer the weather, like all of western Hokkaido, is very warm and balmy, with a maximum temperature of around and high humidity – not as hot as southern Japan. In the winter, however, Otaru is very snowy, receiving as much as of snow from November to March, when it snows almost constantly and sunshine levels are extremely low. The average maximum snow cover is . Extreme temperatures have ranged from on July 28, 2021, to on January 24, 1954, in which month the highest snowfall of occurred. Monthly precipitation totals in a record dating back to 1943 have ranged from in August 1962 to in June 2007.

List of mayors (from 1923 to present)

Transportation

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

Station **

Hakodate Main Line The is a railway line connecting the cities of Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hakodate and Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines that is operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawa ...

: Ranshima - Shioya -

Otaru is a Cities of Japan, city and Seaports of Japan, port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical ...

- Minami-Otaru - Otaru-Chikkō - Asari - Zenibako * Otaru Port Ferry Terminal(A Shin Nihonkai Ferry operates two ferries daily)

Education

Universities

National

* Otaru University of Commerce

High schools

Public

; Prefectural * Hokkaido Otaru Choryo High School * * Hokkaido Otaru Fisheries High School *

Private

* * * (also spelled "Meiho")

Former

* Hokkaido Otaru Commercial High School * Hokkaido Otaru Technical High School * Otaru Junior College

Notable attractions

A canal adorned with Victorian-style street lamps runs through Otaru. The city attracts a large number of Japanese as well as foreign tourists. A popular attraction on the west side of the city is Nishin Goten (

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

mansion). This large wooden building was built in 1897 and was once the house of Fukumatsu Tanaka, a fishing magnate. It was originally built in nearby Tomari village and moved in 1958. Visitors can clearly see the difference between the squalid conditions of the first-floor sleeping quarters of 120 workers and the ground-floor luxury of the magnate's rooms. Another notable building is the Sakaushi residence, constructed by Yoshiya Tanoue, a pupil of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

. The city is home to Otaru Aquarium, which is recognized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as a facility equivalent to a museum under the Museum Law and is the oldest existing aquarium in Hokkaido, having opened in 1958. The city also hosts the Tomioka Catholic church, many of whose buildings have been designated as landmark architecture. Otaru is known for its beer, and Otaru Beer, next to the canal, is a restaurant with a medieval theme. The city is also known for its fresh

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

. Another food attraction unique to Otaru is rainbow tower ice cream. The town also has substantial shopping arcades and bazaars, but fewer than nearby

. Otaru's prominent industries are

arts and crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

, such as

studio glass Studio glass is the modern use of glass as an artistic medium to produce sculptures or three-dimensional work of art, artworks in the fine arts. The glass objects created are typically intended to make a sculptural or decorative statement, rathe ...

and

musical box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...

es. Of the latter, it maintains the Otaru Music Box Museum. Otaru Art Base is another cluster of museums that showcases local art. Otaru Tengu-yama ski resort View

Tenguyama

Otaru is an important port for Sapporo, and part of this hilly city is on the lower slopes of Tenguyama, a good place for skiing and other winter sports and one that is accessible via Otaru Tenguyama Ropeway.

Regional dishes

Otaru Ankake Yakisoba is a regional variety of the popular Ankake

Yakisoba (, , ) is a Japanese noodle Stir frying, stir-fried dish. Usually, soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour, but soba in are Chinese-style noodles () made from wheat flour, typically flavored with a condiment similar to Worcestershire sauce ...

dish that is an important part of the local cuisine and is a draw for tourists.

Sister cities

* Nakhodka, Russia *

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand *

Gangseo District, Seoul Gangseo District (; ) is one of the 25 districts (''gu'') of Seoul, South Korea. It is located on the south side of the Han River. South Korea's third busiest airport, Gimpo International Airport, is located in Gonghang-dong, where many fli ...

, South Korea

Notable people

Seiji Aochi (June 21, 1942 – August 14, 2008) was a Japanese ski jumping, ski jumper who competed in the early 1970s. His best finish was a bronze medal in the Individual normal hill event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. Aochi attended Meiji ...

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fin ...

and Olympic medalist (

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...

) * Yōko Asagami, Japanese voice actress (''

Space Battleship Yamato is a Japanese science fiction anime series written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri TV from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975, totaling u ...

'' and '' City Hunter'') * Gennosuke Fuse, anatomist of the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

* Sei Itō, Japanese poet, novelist, and translator *

Chiaki Kawamata is a Japanese science fiction writer and critic. He has won both the Seiun Award and the Nihon SF Taisho Award. Kawamata is also noted for writing the story of the manga ''Emblem of Roto''. Awards * 1981: Seiun Award Japanese Long Form Award fo ...

, Japanese science fiction writer and critic ('' Emblem of Roto'') * Yukie Kawamura, Japanese

gravure idol A model is a person with a Role (disambiguation), role either to display commercial product (business), products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an Model (art), artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in British and ...

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in the United States were descri ...

, and

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

* Hinako Kitano, actress and model (ex-

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the "official rival" of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshim ...

) * Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese film director ('' The Human Condition'', '' Harakiri'', '' Samurai Rebellion'' and '' Kwaidan'') * Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese author of proletarian literature * Masaru Konuma, Japanese film director ('' Roman Porno'') * Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese mystery writer, member of the

Mystery Writers of Japan is an organization for mystery writers in Japan. The organization was founded on 21 June 1947 by Edogawa Rampo. It is currently chaired by Natsuhiko Kyogoku and claims about 600 members. It presents the Mystery Writers of Japan Award to writers ...

and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan * Motosaburo Masuyama, Japanese statistician * Hideharu Miyahira,

* Nobuko Miyamoto, Japanese actress * Tetsuya Mizuguchi,

video game designer Video game design is the process of designing the rules and content of video games in the Video game development#Pre-production, pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, environment, storyline and characters in the Video game development ...

and co-founder of

Q Entertainment was a Japanese video game developer. The studio created, produced, and published digital entertainment content across multiple game consoles, PC broadband and mobile units. It was founded on October 10, 2003 by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, formerly of S ...

* Takiko Mizunoe, Japanese actress, film producer, radio personality and TV presenter * Maki Murakami, Japanese

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

(''

Gravitation In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

'') * Hideo Murota, Japanese actor ('' Shinde mo ii'') * Nobuo Nakamura, Japanese actor ('' Ikiru'' and ''

Tokyo Story is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama, about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Upon release, it did not immediately gain international reco ...

'') * Tetsuya Okabe, Alpine ski racer * Hibiki Ōtsuki, Japanese AV actress and idol singer * Sarah Midori Perry, musician (

Kero Kero Bonito Kero Kero Bonito (KKB) are a British indie pop band formed in London in 2013. The band consists of vocalist Sarah Midori Perry and producers and multi-instrumentalists Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled. Their musical style consists of indie pop, ele ...

) * Yoshimasa Sugawara, rally driver * Yoko Takahashi, Japanese female mixed martial arts fighter, kickboxer and former boxer and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

* Kōtetsuyama Toyoya, sumo wrestler (Real Name: Kōnoshin Suga,

Nihongo is the principal language of the Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora worldwide. ...

: 菅孝之進, ''Suga Kōnoshin'') * Miyoshi Umeki, Academy Award-winning Japanese actress and standards singer * Hirokazu Yagi,

* Akiko Yamanaka, Japanese politician * Ichiro Yamaguchi, musician ( Sakanaction) * Sawao Yamanaka, musician ( The Pillows) * Kazumi Yamashita,

('' The Life of Genius Professor Yanagizawa'') * Hideki Naganuma,

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

and DJ

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otaru, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan