Otaru: Canal Town with Northern Lights

Otaru City in Hokkaido Prefecture is a land with beautiful canals. In the past, the commercial town enjoyed prosperity as an anchorage site of cargo ships called "Kitamae Bune." It also played an important role as a base for the national scheme of Hokkaido development. Today, the city still preserves a group of old stone warehouses and a number of historical buildings, which creates an aura of romance and makes the area one of the most sought-after locations in filming. The truly unique atmosphere was a result of local people's long consistent efforts to conserve the old townscape. The traveler for this edition of Journeys in Japan joins a sightseeing tour around the city that is operated by the Otaru residents. She also experiences how to make a piece of glasswork, enjoys fresh food from the sea, and learns about the history and culture of Otaru. The traveler visits a local port to take a look at herring fishing that is in season between January and March. The population of herrings was once down drastically due to overfishing – so much so that local fishermen were unable to catch the fish at all for decades. The size of its population has been on a gradual but steady increase, thanks to a variety of efforts including artificial breeding and releasing of herring fries. She also enjoys the taste of fresh herring in the top season, and listens to the stories of local fishermen who live very close to the sea and who engage in recovering the sea that is abundant with marine life. The program is full of information on the depth and charm of Otaru City. As it is located fairly close to Sapporo, the prefectural capital of Hokkaido, Otaru has been ranked among the most popular destinations among overseas tourists who are in Sapporo for tourism.