Otaru in half a day

I made a day trip to Otaru!
I arrived at Minami-Otaru Station around 10-11 AM, as the shops open at 10 AM. Personally, I think getting off at Minami-Otaru is easier than at Otaru Station. It's only a 12-minute walk between the stations, so it's not a big deal.

>Orgel Shop
The first thing you see is the clock tower in front of the music box shop! Every 15 minutes, a bell chimes and a song plays. There wasn't as much of a photo line as I expected, so I took a picture in front without any hesitation.
I thought there wouldn't be much to see at the music box shop, but over an hour passed by in a flash. The selection of boxes ranged from classic to cute and funny, and I loved the songs that played. I especially liked the Disney opening theme song (the one that plays when Disney Castle draws a rainbow circle at the beginning of a Disney movie) so I bought one.

>LeTAO Main Store
And the LeTAO Main Store is just across the street from the music box shop! LeTAO is Otaru spelled backwards. The famous Double Fromage cheesecake was 1,700 yen, tax-free, and a small box of cheese cookies was 900 yen. Since the cheesecake needed to be frozen, I bought it later at the duty-free shop (it was 2,100 yen there, ㅜㅜ). I bought the cookies in advance as a gift (they were the same price as the duty-free shop). They gave me samples of both cookies and cakes, so I ate a lot.
There's a cafe on the second floor, so after a short wait, I ordered two cakes. The strawberry cake was just okay, not impressive, and the second cake, which was listed as a new menu item, tasted like tiramisu. I enjoyed relaxing with tea.

There was an observation deck on the third floor. It was easy to see the few people there, and the view of Otaru from the deck was beautiful.

>Otaru Canal
This is a must-see spot for photos when you visit Otaru. The expansive canal was beautiful. After taking some photos, I strolled along the canal and then headed to the Triangle Market.

>Triangle Market
The Triangle Market next to Otaru Station sold a variety of seafood. It was smaller than I expected, with seafood on the right and kaisendon (spicy rice bowls) on the left. There seemed to be two or three kaisendon restaurants. One was selling 3,000-3,500 yen (up to 5,000 yen), while the other was selling 2,400-2,800 yen.
The former had fixed toppings and was more expensive, but the wait was about 20-30 minutes. The latter was cheaper and offered a choice of toppings, but the wait was incredibly long. I ate at the former, which was less crowded.

After visiting Otaru's famous spots, it was about 3-4 pm. It was enough time to see most of the area in about half a day. There were plenty of things to see, lots of photos, souvenirs, and even a meal, so I recommend a half-day itinerary.

#OtaruOrgelDoor #OtaruCanal #OtaruRestaurants