Otaru

The name "Otaru" is of Ainu origin, possibly meaning "River running through the sandy beach". The very small remaining part of the Temiya Cave contains carvings from the Zoku-Jōmon period of Ainu history, around A.D. 400. Mount Akaiwa (Northwest part of Otaru) is memorialized in the Ainu tradition in the story of Sitonai, village chief's teenage daughter who had slain a white snake from the mountain's cave that demanded sacrifices of girls every year.{{cite web|last=metasato|title=小樽 大蛇を殺した娘|url=http://ryujin.metasato.com/|access-date=October 31, 2020|website=虫の知らせ ― 北海道の雨乞い、龍神信仰リサーチ ―|language=ja}}{{cite web|title=白龍権現|url=http://baseball4.info/hakuryu.html|access-date=October 31, 2020|language=ja}} The legend explains the name of a big cave on Mount Akaiwa, Hakuryu Gongen Cave (白竜権現洞窟, lit. "White Dragon Gongen Cave") and the reason why a shrine was built on the mountain (to protect the village from being haunted by the snake).

Otaru was recognised as a village by the bakufu in 1865, and in 1880 the first railway line in Hokkaido was opened with daily service between Otaru and Sapporo.

An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Otaru as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom.US Department of State. (1906). [https://archive.org/details/digestofinternat01mooriala/page/759 A digest of international law as embodied in diplomatic discussions, treaties, and other international agreements (John Bassett Moore, ed.), Vol. 5, p. 759].

The city flourished well as the financial and business center in Hokkaido as well as the trade port with Japanese ruled southern Sakhalin until the 1920s. Otaru was redesignated as a city on August 1, 1922.

On December 27, 1924, a freight train loaded with 600 cases of dynamite, unloaded from the freighter Shoho Maru,"SCORES KILLED IN POWDER BLAST— Hundreds of Homes Razed by Explosion", United Press report in Lincoln (NE) Sunday Star, December 28, 1924 p.1 exploded in Temiya Station, killing 94 people and injuring 200 more, in addition to damaging the warehouse, the harbour facilities, and the surrounding area."Powder Cargo Explodes and Fire Follows— Several Hundred Casualties Are Reported In Disaster To Japanese Ship", Ottawa Journal, December 27, 1924, p.1

During World War II, Otaru housed a prison camp for Aleuts taken there following the Japanese occupation of Attu.{{cite book|last=Breu|first=Mary|title=Last Letters from Attu: The True Story of Etta Jones, Alaska Pioneer and Japanese POW|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ubTCCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT296|year=2009|publisher=Graphic Arts Books|location=Portland|isbn=978-0-88240-852-1|page=296}} During the closing stages of the war, Otaru was bombed by American naval aircraft in July 1945.{{cite web|last=The Asahi Shimbun|title=朝日新聞デジタル：空襲の記憶 風化させぬ - 北海道 - 地域|url=http://www.asahi.com/area/hokkaido/articles/MTW20151209011470014.html|access-date=2022-04-13|website=www.asahi.com|language=ja|archive-date=14 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414064109/http://www.asahi.com/area/hokkaido/articles/MTW20151209011470014.html|url-status=live}}

Since the 1950s, as the coal industry around the city went into a decline, the status of the economic hub shifted from Otaru to Sapporo.

File:Otaruharbour-1876.png|Otaru in 1876

File:Otaru City in Hokkaido 1909 Meiji 42.png|Otaru in 1909

File:Otaru Port in Hokkaido 1909 Meiji 42.png|Otaru port in 1909

File:130823 Bank of Japan Otaru Museum02s4.jpg|Former Bank of Japan Otaru Branch, now home to the Otaru Museum

{{Wide image|1 otaru aerial panorama 2015.jpg|800px|An aerial panoramic view of the town from above the Sea of Japan}}

Otaru is a port town on the coast of the Sea of Japan in northern Shiribeshi Subprefecture. The southern portion of the city is characterized by the steep slopes of various mountains (notably Tenguyama), where the altitude of the land sharply drops from the mountains to the sea. The land available between the coast and mountains has been almost completely developed, and the developed part of the city on the mountain slopes is called Saka-no-machi, or "Hill town", including hills named Funamizaka (Boat-view Hill) and Jigokuzaka (Hell Hill).

File:Tengu mountain.jpg

• Ishikari
• Sapporo (Teine-ku, Minami-ku), Ishikari
• Shiribeshi
• Yoichi District: Yoichi, Akaigawa

Some of the rivers in Otaru are: Hoshioki, Kiraichi, Zenibako, Hariusu, Asari, Katsunai, Shioya, Myoken, Irifune.

In the summer the weather, like all of western Hokkaido, is very warm and balmy, with a maximum temperature of around {{convert|25|C|F}} and high humidity – not as hot as southern Japan. In the winter, however, Otaru is very snowy, receiving as much as {{convert|6.6|m|in|-1}} of snow from November to March, when it snows almost constantly and sunshine levels are extremely low. The average maximum snow cover is {{convert|1.22|m|in|0}}. Extreme temperatures have ranged from {{convert|36.2|C|F|1}} on July 28, 2021,{{cite web|url=https://www.ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=47411&ano=2021&mes=7&day=28&hora=12&min=0&ndays=30|title=47411: Otaru (Japan)|date=28 July 2021|website=ogimet.com|publisher=OGIMET|access-date= 28 July 2021|quote=}} to {{convert|−18.0|C|F|1}} on January 24, 1954, in which month the highest snowfall of {{convert|3.1|m|in|0}} occurred.{{cite web|url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_a.php?prec_no=40&block_no=1530&year=&month=&day=&view=a2|title=観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値)|publisher=Data.jma.go.jp|access-date=2023-04-20}} Monthly precipitation totals in a record dating back to 1943 have ranged from {{convert|379.8|mm|in|1}} in August 1962 to {{convert|12.0|mm|in|1}} in June 2007.

• JR Hokkaido Station
• Hakodate Main Line: Ranshima - Shioya - Otaru - Minami-Otaru - Otaru-Chikkō - Asari - Zenibako
• Otaru Port Ferry Terminal(A Shin Nihonkai Ferry operates two ferries daily)

• Otaru University of Commerce

; Prefectural

• Hokkaido Otaru Choryo High School
• {{ill|Hokkaido Otaru Create Futures High School|ja|北海道小樽未来創造高等学校}}
• Hokkaido Otaru Fisheries High School
• {{ill|Hokkaido Otaru Ouyou High School|ja|北海道小樽桜陽高等学校}}

• {{ill|Hokusho High School|ja|北照高等学校}}
• {{ill|Otaru Futaba High School|ja|小樽双葉中学校・高等学校}}
• {{ill|Otaru Meihou High School|ja|小樽明峰高等学校}} (also spelled "Meiho")

• Hokkaido Otaru Commercial High School
• Hokkaido Otaru Technical High School
• Otaru Junior College

{{more citations needed|section|date=March 2021}}

File:Otaru Canal03bs3.jpg

A canal adorned with Victorian-style street lamps runs through Otaru. The city attracts a large number of Japanese as well as foreign tourists.

A popular attraction on the west side of the city is Nishin Goten (herring mansion). This large wooden building was built in 1897 and was once the house of Fukumatsu Tanaka, a fishing magnate. It was originally built in nearby Tomari village and moved in 1958. Visitors can clearly see the difference between the squalid conditions of the first-floor sleeping quarters of 120 workers and the ground-floor luxury of the magnate's rooms.

Another notable building is the Sakaushi residence, constructed by Yoshiya Tanoue, a pupil of Frank Lloyd Wright.{{cite web|url=http://www.otaru-works.com/|title=Npo 小樽ワークス|access-date=November 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104002724/http://www.otaru-works.com/|archive-date=November 4, 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=小樽市指定歴史的建造物 第７４号 坂牛邸 {{!}} 小樽市 |url=https://www.city.otaru.lg.jp/docs/2020101500986/|access-date=2023-04-20|website=www.city.otaru.lg.jp|language=ja}}

The city is home to Otaru Aquarium, which is recognized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as a facility equivalent to a museum under the Museum Law and is the oldest existing aquarium in Hokkaido, having opened in 1958.{{cite news |url=https://museum.bunka.go.jp/guide/ |title=法律上の位置付けがある登録博物館・指定施設 |date=2024-02-27 |publisher=文化庁}}『市営』として発足 祝津の水族館準備すすむ - 北海道新聞1959年1月22日朝刊

The city also hosts the Tomioka Catholic church, many of whose buildings have been designated as landmark architecture.{{cite web|title=小樽市指定歴史的建造物 第７０号 カトリック富岡教会 {{!}} 小樽市|url=https://www.city.otaru.lg.jp/docs/2020101500948/|access-date=2023-04-20|website=www.city.otaru.lg.jp|language=ja}}{{clarify|date=July 2018}}

Otaru is known for its beer, and Otaru Beer, next to the canal, is a restaurant with a medieval theme. The city is also known for its fresh sushi. Another food attraction unique to Otaru is rainbow tower ice cream. The town also has substantial shopping arcades and bazaars, but fewer than nearby Sapporo.

Otaru's prominent industries are arts and crafts, such as studio glass and musical boxes. Of the latter, it maintains the Otaru Music Box Museum. Otaru Art Base is another cluster of museums that showcases local art.{{Cite web |title=Where Art Meets Historical Architecture: Otaru Art Base |url=https://en.visit-hokkaido.jp/destinations/where-art-meets-historical-architecture-otaru-art-base |access-date=2024-06-06 |website=HOKKAIDO LOVE!}}

File:Otaru Tengu-yama ski resort View.JPG

Otaru is an important port for Sapporo, and part of this hilly city is on the lower slopes of Tenguyama, a good place for skiing and other winter sports and one that is accessible via Otaru Tenguyama Ropeway.

Otaru Ankake Yakisoba is a regional variety of the popular Ankake Yakisoba dish that is an important part of the local cuisine and is a draw for tourists.{{Cite book |last=Yonebayashi |first=Chiharu |title=Rurubu Sapporo Otaru Furano Asahiyama Zoo '14 |date=29 January 2011 |publisher=JTB Publishing |isbn=978-4-533-08994-7 |editor-last=Yamamoto |editor-first=Yusuke}}

• {{flagicon|Russia}} Nakhodka, Russia{{cite web|url=http://www.city.otaru.lg.jp/sisei_tokei/simai_tosi/kokusai/shimai.html|title=Sister Cities of Otaru}}
• {{flagicon|New Zealand}} Dunedin, New Zealand
• {{flagicon|South Korea}} Gangseo District, Seoul, South Korea

• Seiji Aochi, ski jumper and Olympic medalist (1972 Winter Olympics)
• Yōko Asagami, Japanese voice actress (Space Battleship Yamato and City Hunter)
• Gennosuke Fuse, anatomist of the Meiji period
• Sei Itō, Japanese poet, novelist, and translator
• Chiaki Kawamata, Japanese science fiction writer and critic (Emblem of Roto)
• Yukie Kawamura, Japanese gravure idol, tarento, and actress
• Hinako Kitano, actress and model (ex-Nogizaka46)
• Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese film director (The Human Condition, Harakiri, Samurai Rebellion and Kwaidan)
• Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese author of proletarian literature
• Masaru Konuma, Japanese film director (Roman Porno)
• Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese mystery writer, member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan
• Motosaburo Masuyama, Japanese statistician
• Hideharu Miyahira, ski jumper
• Nobuko Miyamoto, Japanese actress
• Tetsuya Mizuguchi, video game designer and co-founder of Q Entertainment
• Takiko Mizunoe, Japanese actress, film producer, radio personality and TV presenter
• Maki Murakami, Japanese manga artist (Gravitation)
• Hideo Murota, Japanese actor (Shinde mo ii)
• Nobuo Nakamura, Japanese actor (Ikiru and Tokyo Story)
• Tetsuya Okabe, Alpine ski racer
• Hibiki Ōtsuki, Japanese AV actress and idol singer
• Sarah Midori Perry, musician (Kero Kero Bonito)
• Yoshimasa Sugawara, rally driver
• Yoko Takahashi, Japanese female mixed martial arts fighter, kickboxer and former boxer and professional wrestler
• Kōtetsuyama Toyoya, sumo wrestler (Real Name: Kōnoshin Suga, Nihongo: 菅 孝之進, Suga Kōnoshin)
• Miyoshi Umeki, Academy Award-winning Japanese actress and standards singer
• Hirokazu Yagi, ski jumper
• Akiko Yamanaka, Japanese politician
• Ichiro Yamaguchi, musician (Sakanaction)
• Sawao Yamanaka, musician (The Pillows)
• Kazumi Yamashita, manga artist (The Life of Genius Professor Yanagizawa)
• Hideki Naganuma, musician and DJ

• Otaru Station
• Otaru University of Commerce
• Rising Sun Rock Festival

{{Reflist}}

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{{Wikivoyage}}

• [https://www.city.otaru.lg.jp/ Official Website] {{in lang|ja}}

{{Hokkaido}}

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Category:Cities in Hokkaido

Category:Port settlements in Japan

Category:Populated coastal places in Japan