A place story by Momo
Place to visit
About this place
One canal, two very different widths—head for Kita Canal 🛶
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Japan’s only canal built by reclaiming land offshore from the coast!? That’s Otaru Canal, completed in 1923 (Taisho 12) and stretching 1,140 meters in a gentle curve. It was made so barges could carry the growing volume of goods handled at Otaru Port right up to the warehouses 😮
Walk beside it and compare the widths: the section along Rinko Line is 20 meters wide, while Kita Canal keeps its original 40-meter width. After wharves were built at the port after the war, the canal’s role in moving goods ended; today, the wooden-frame, stone warehouses preserve traces of that earlier era 👀
Part of the canal was filled in 1986 (Showa 61), with half of the width made into a road and a walking path added. The path’s 63 gas lamps join the illuminated canal and warehouses from dusk. Early morning brings quiet before the daytime crowds, so which view will you choose: a peaceful start or those evening lights? ✨
Compare canal widths
Along Rinko Line, the canal is 20 meters wide; Kita Canal remains at its original 40 meters. Twice the width on paper, and a different view when you walk it 📏 Follow the walking path along the gently curving canal and see how the change in width shapes the scene.
How the canal was saved
After the canal stopped serving as a freight route, a 1966 (Showa 41) city plan called for widening all of Rinko Line to six lanes, filling in the canal and demolishing the warehouse district. The Otaru Canal Protection Association formed in 1973 (Showa 48), and in 1983 (Showa 58), the Otaru Canal Hyakunin Committee gathered about 100,000 signatures. Otaru City enacted Hokkaido’s first landscape ordinance, and after more than 10 years of discussion, a section opened that preserved part of the canal. In 1986, part of the canal was filled in, with half made into a road and a walking path built alongside the remaining water 📝
Quiet mornings, evening lights
Early morning has a quieter feel before the daytime crowds arrive. From dusk, the warehouses and canal are illuminated, with 63 gas lamps lining the walking path 🌙 For a photo looking down the canal, head to a bridge and consider what time you’d like to see it. Nearby events include Otaru Yuki Akari no Michi and Otaru Asakusabashi Oldies Night.