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| Otaru's illuminated canal |
During a trip to Sapporo for the famous Snow Sculpture festival, we decided to take a day trip to Otary - known for their beautiful ice lanterns. I was excited to see the beautiful town. But walking down
Sakaimachi street of Odori made me miserable. What once used to be a prosperous
harbour town just became as overindulgent as its past opulence! It was a tourist
trap. All the shops around the famous old merchant street were filled with unoriginal
souvenirs and tacky discount signs. The streets were beautiful and the
buildings and old warehouses painted a romantic picture on the glistening snow.
Yet, the greedy tourists truly did spoil the atmosphere.
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| Old warehouses are turned into pastry and omiyage shops |
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| beautiful old warehouses are frosted with snow |
After wandering around
the town and waiting for some winter illuminations to be lit, we stumbled
across an attractive little restaurant on the outskirts of the touristy spots.
On the outside a brightly
lit sign “Otaru Take No Zushi” greets visitors and, like many Japanese
restaurants, plastic food replicas are neatly displayed outside to showcase
what the restaurant has to offer. What immediately
attracted my attention was the fresh bright yellow sea urchin, or uni. Hokkaido is known for their fresh uni which is harvested in the eastern
part of the island and some sea urchins feast on the kelp that grows in the
colder ocean. So I was immediately intrigued and determined to try the delicious uni while they are still (somewhat) in
season.
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| Sea Urchin and Salmon Roe rice bowl (uni to ikura don) |
The sushi chef warmly
greeted us as we entered and the waitress even tried some English on us. The atmosphere
inside was comfortable and homey – small tables create an intimate location for
the patrons to spend a meal together. The sushi chef happily chats with customers whilst skilfully prepares the freshest sushi.
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| Salmon rice bowl (sake don) |
I tried an uni-ikura don – a bowl of rice topped
with fresh, distinctly mustard yellow uni and some salmon roe, which is very
popular in Hokkaido. The texture of the uni
was soft, creamy and savoury, with a subtle, yet distinctive seafood taste.
The flavours infused perfectly well with the
saltiness of the salmon roe and the delicately soft rice.
Hokkaido is also known
for their milk products, so I also tried some scallops prepared in a gentle
butter sauce. The pairing was delicious and the scallops were perfectly
grilled.
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| Scallops prepared in butter |
And so, finally I experienced the authentic side of Otaru, through
culinary delights that keep honest to the traditional and unique flavours of
the prefecture.
After dinner we
enjoyed the beautiful Otaru snow illuminations (小樽雪あかりの路,
Otaru Yuki Akari no Michi). It was magical – the snow glistened with
small snow statues illuminated with candles. And I realized – it doesn’t matter
how touristy a city is, there is always something there that you can try or
experience that makes the trip worthwhile. Whether it is a unique view or a
delicious dinner – it is always important to find the beauty in even the most
over clichéd of places…
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| Crystals shimmering in the snow |
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| Friendship |
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| Walking around the town becomes magical when the lanterns are illuminated |
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| A cute owl |
(The
restaurant is bilingual, although most of the menu is still in Japanese. The staff speak some English. Some
meals are displayed next to pictures for clarification. Unfortunately I didn’t
take a business card, but the restaurant is at the beginning of Sakaimachi
street, closer to the station.)
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| Low quality photo of the outside of the restaurant: Otaru takeno zushi |
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