Otaru This & That

This building was newly erected in 1906 as the Otaru Branch of the Nihon Yusen Company incorporated in Otaru, Hokkaido.

Otaru in Hokkaido is a city of slopes, and the traffic on this city may not function for a single day without road heating system in winter.

There are many slopes, regardless of their inclination, that make a car climb up very difficult once you stop your car in the middle and try to start it again.

Heating element fixed underneath the slippery part of those roads melts snow, and keeps the asphalt surface exposed to ease the cars' climbing the slopes.

This efficient system enables our daily life in winter of Hokkaido as smooth as it is in summer.

Genghis Khan, pronounced "Jingisukan" in Japanese, is the name of a familiar dish among the people from Hokkaido.

Genghis Khan is a kind of barbecue which thinly sliced lamb or mutton is grilled on a round, humpbacked grill pan.

The amount of snow in Otaru Hokkaido has reached over 100cm by the 7th of January, which is much larger compared with the amount of an average year. Thick and tall walls created with snow have narrowed the roads half as much as they are in summer, and they sometimes bring about serious traffic jam.

The expressway between Otaru and Sapporo is often closed because of snowstorms at this time of year.

Houses in Hokkaido have remarkably improved for the past 30-40 years. Owing to the progress of insulating materials, indoor heat is kept efficiently, and as a result, icicles hardly grow on the eaves. Long and thick icicles can be seen only on the eaves of old wooden houses like the one in the photograph of Otaru scenery.

When you get off the train, you will go down the stairs toward the exit at JR Otaru station. Then, some of you may feel strange to find that you are still on the ground level remembering where the train arrived was the ground level.

This strange structure of the station came from Otaru's geographical environment. JR Otaru station was built on a sloping land.

Some people from Tokyo will find that the facade of the station building looks just like JR Ueno station.

This morning, here in Otaru Hokkado, we have heavy snow in sharp contrast with yesterday's sunlight. Most of vehicles on the road have the light on even in the daytime.

Even if the snow were so heavy, public transportation facilities such as route bus hardly go out of service in this city. They are very reliable, and we would not be able to get along without them especially in winter of Hokkaido.

It's very fine today in Otaru Hokkaido, but the air outside is rather cold. We have still so much snow all over the town.

Sunlight melts the frozen ground in a sunny place, and chill wind ices it again in the shade. In an alternating succession of the phenomenon, the snowy ground changes into the icy plane like a skating rink. We should mind our step when walking on the street.

The same is equally true of the roads in the city. We should be careful about the condition of the road surface when driving a car in winter.

"Free-Lance" is a Jazz cafe which has been a popular place among jazz lovers for over 20 years. A live jazz or sometimes other kind of music performance by the local musicians is given at odd intervals.

The owner, Yasuyuki Kanda, is also a local photographer. His monochrome images represent the strange charms of Otaru in Hokkaido very well. You can enjoy those interesting photographs in this cafe.

Free-Lance is housed in one of the old stone warehouses which make a part of Otaru's unique townscapes.

We have a lot of snow in winter here in Hokkaido. The snow falls in Hokkaido is powder snow which is said ideal for skiing and snowboarding.

In Otaru, there are three skiing grounds blessed with such quality snow. The point which makes Otaru's skiing grounds really unique is that all these skiing grounds overlook the sea, which means that you can have a panoramic view of Ishikari Bay while enjoying skiing. Otaru must be one of the rare places in the world where you can experience skiing with the view of the sea.

Please try skiing when you visit Otaru.