My birthday was a couple weeks ago, and one of my new friends here, who has a birthday close to mine, wanted to plan a party celebration of sorts on November 19, the weekend closest to my birthday, since mine was on a weekday. According to the weather, it was going to just be cloudy, so she decided to show my boyfriend and I around Otaru, her hometown, and about an hour away by car.
She picked us up in the morning a little after 10, and weirdly enough, even though it was sunny, it was realtively rainy on the way there. The weather apps lied to me again! Eventually, when we got to Otaru, it mostly cleared up, and she parked her car at her house and we walked the rest of the day around town. We made our way around the local neighborhoods, and then arrived at one end of the Otaru Canal to look at the view in the daytime.
It was sprinkling around then, but unfortunately, a little after, it started really raining, so we sought shelter in the nearby souvenir and tourist shop and waited it out until the rain cleared. There were quite a few intersting goods at the shop, and boyfriend wanted to go back sometime. It took about 20 minutes or so for the rain to stop, and once it did, we walked to Denukikoji, and climed the tower to see the view.
We hadn’t really eaten anything yet that morning, and although my friend asked me what we wanted to eat, we just said whatever is good and left it up to her recommendation. The first thing she suggested was a chain known for their fried chicken (karaage/zangi in Hokkaido), Naruto, and it was a place I had heard about before and was on my list of places to try, so I was down to go. We walked through some more streets, small and large, residential and shopping, and arrived at what I believe is their main shop (though they have quite a few around the city, and in Hokkaido). We waited for about 10 minutes for our number to be called, and then sat down at a table on the second floor. Surprisingly, for a place known for their fried chicken, even though that was on the front on the recommended menu, the menu as a whole was massive, and had every type of Japanese dish you could think of, including a whole sushi section. Everyone ended up getting a Zangi Teishoku though.
Overall, I felt it was pretty well worth it, from the cost, to the quality of the food. In general, it has the looks of a very standard Japanese teishoku, with a bowl of rice, a normal miso soup, pickles, a side, and the main zangi. The miso soup didn’t have anything out of the ordinary in it, but it did some piping hot, which was very comforting on a cold day. The pickles were a yellow daikon you’d see in a lot of places, but they didn’t taste like the standard mass-produced grocery store ones which was nice. Although the tofu did come with bonito flakes, I’m generally not a huge fan of just plain tofu; it does work as a nice palate cleanser from the salty chicken. Speaking of which, the chicken was really good. There was such a large, generous amount of big, fresh hot chunks of fried chicken, and the inside was juicy and tender.
After lunch, we were very full, and my friend took us to tour Sakaimichi street, which is a bustling area full of tourist attractions, from glass shops, seafood joints, to general souvenir shops. We even received some free samples from a matcha shop I want to try out, and a chocolate shop (that we went back to!). There is a significant lack of boba in Otaru (which is another reason I try to frequent Sapporo…), and other than the Mister Donut and a small sweets place we found later in the day, the only other place that offers boba is one of the Le Tao branches, Fromage Danish, which was on this street. We did stop by while we were there, but for some reason they were closed when we went, which was a little sad. Just have to go another day, I guess.
One of the things and places that Otaru is known for is music boxes and the stores that sell them. We visited a couple that day, but I think there are, 5 in total? The ones we went to were really pretty, and also had some historic pieces on display!
Afterward, we explored a bit more around the area, and earlier, a Tea Chocolate drink at Le Tao Chocolatier caught our eye, because it looked warm, was a seasonal special, and just sounded good, so we made our way back to the store. The first time, we got a piece of cake as a free sample, and the second time, the guy was giving out chocolate tea cookies. They were both very good! Each of us got something different as our afternoon snack after a bit of deliberation.
I got their mixed ice cream, and it was very good. Overall creamy, and I was able to taste both flavors. The “white” side, wasn’t your typical vanilla, but had a depth of flavor to it, and the chocolate, was, well a light chocolate flavor. Also the cone was good, ha! My friend got the same, but in a cup. We were attracted by the drink, but the only one who ended up getting the drink was my boyfriend. I had a few sips of it, and it was really good. At first, I was a little deterred because I saw how little the cup it came in was, but after I drank the piping hot drink, it was really chocolate-y, a rich flavor and not that sweet, while still having a tea flavor to it. A really good drink to have a cold day, and also, not the typical hot chocolate!
It was nearing 4pm by that point, which meant the sun would set soon (crazy early!), and we could see the lights. We headed back to the canal as our final spot for the day, and saw the illumination at the canal.
We chilled at Burger King for a bit, since my friend’s sister was getting off her shift, and we had to wait for our bus anyway. I parted ways with my friend there because she was staying the weekend at home, and rode the 5:30 bus home with my boyfriend.
Bonus! Neither of us wanted to cook by the time we got back to town, and he wanted ramen, so we visited a local ramen shop. I didn’t get ramen, but the gyoza I did get was pretty good. Again, oily though.
Japan Excursions 
Leave a comment