Otaru
Otaru is a port city on Ishikari Bay in western Hokkaido, a short ride up the coast from Sapporo. It made its money as the island's herring and shipping port a century ago, and the stone warehouses and bank buildings of that boom now give the town its romantic period feel.
The canal is the centerpiece, its warehouses glowing under gas lamps at dusk, and Sakaimachi Street keeps glassblowing and music box workshops busy between souvenir stops. Sushi is the meal to plan around; Otaru's counters are famous across Japan, with uni the early-summer prize.
Come in February for the Snow Light Path festival, when candles float down the frozen waterway and snow lanterns line the lanes. Trains from Sapporo run along the coast, making Otaru an easy day trip, though an evening canal stroll argues for staying. Winter is the town at its most photogenic.
