What is Sakaimachi Street known for?

Sakaimachi Street is known for Otaru glass, music boxes and sweets. Its shops fill historic merchant houses and warehouses, including Kitaichi Glass Building No. 3.

How long is Sakaimachi Street?

The street itself is about 900 meters long. Together with Ironai-odori, the shopping strip runs about 1.3 kilometers.

How do I get to Sakaimachi Street?

Walk about 10 minutes from JR Minami-Otaru Station to the southern end. From JR Otaru Station, walk to the canal and enter the street from the north.

Is Sakaimachi Street near Otaru Canal?

Yes. The street runs a few minutes inland from the canal, and most visitors walk both in one outing.

What is the oil lamp hall at Kitaichi Glass?

Kitaichi Hall, inside Kitaichi Glass Building No. 3, is lit only by 167 oil lamps that staff light by hand every morning.

Why is Sakaimachi Street historic?

It was built on land reclaimed in 1889 and became the wholesale center of Otaru during the herring and port boom. Many of its buildings from the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa eras survive as shops.

A tall, brick clock tower stands among snow-covered trees and buildings on a winter day, with thick snow blanketing the ground and rooftops. The sky is overcast, creating a quiet, serene atmosphere.

A quiet street in a Japanese town on a cloudy winter day, with snow on the ground, traditional buildings lining the road, a clock tower, and power lines stretching overhead.

A group of people walk past a large, two-story building with a rounded clock tower and red-brick accents, on a cloudy day. The building has many windows and arched architectural details.

A traditional Japanese stone building with a snow-covered roof and white shutters, flanked by six orange traffic cones on a snowy street. Small icicles hang from the roof. Signs and windows are visible.

A snowy street in a Japanese town with historic stone buildings, people walking on the sidewalk, and signs outside shops. Snow is piled along the roadside and rooftops.

Hokkaido

Sakaimachi Street

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Last updated Nov 4, 2026

Sakaimachi Street (Sakaimachi Hondori) is the main shopping street of old Otaru, Hokkaido, running about 900 meters through a row of merchant houses and warehouses from the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is known for glass shops, music boxes and sweets. With Ironai-odori at its northern end, the shopping strip is about 1.3 kilometers long and holds around 120 shops. The street is free to walk.

History of Sakaimachi Street

Otaru's early wealth came from herring, which was processed into fertilizer and shipped to Honshu. With little flat land in the city, Sakaimachi was built on land reclaimed from the sea in 1889 and became part of the new commercial center.

At that time the street faced the waterfront. Before work on the canal began in 1914, wholesalers dealing in sugar, cotton and rice built stores and warehouses here so barges could unload right outside. After the port declined in the mid-1900s, many of these buildings stood empty.

The revival began in 1983, when Kitaichi Glass turned a timber-framed stone warehouse into its Building No. 3 shop. The rebuilt Otaru Canal opened in 1986, and within a few years the street was full of visitors again.

What to see on Sakaimachi Street

Kitaichi Glass Building No. 3: a stone warehouse from 1891 with floors of Japanese and Western glassware. Inside, Kitaichi Hall is lit only by 167 oil lamps, which staff light by hand each morning.
Glass and music boxes: smaller glass shops and music box stores line the street, alongside candle and souvenir shops.
Sweets and food: cake shops and soft-serve stands sit beside cafes and sushi restaurants in converted warehouses.

At the southern end, the Märchen Crossroads holds the steam clock and the Otaru Music Box Museum in a 1915 brick building. The north end leads toward Ironai and the old bank buildings of Nichigin-dori.

The street has free outdoor Wi-Fi, and the shopping street association's site has a shop map.

How to get to Sakaimachi Street

The southern end of the street is about a 10-minute walk from JR Minami-Otaru Station. From JR Otaru Station, walk down to the canal and enter the street from its northern end. The Otaru Canal walkway is a few minutes away, so the two make an easy half-day loop.

From Sapporo, rapid trains reach Otaru in about 35 to 40 minutes. A Sapporo day tour to Otaru walks the street with a guide and includes Kitaichi Glass and the music box museum.

The winter rail trip around Hokkaido also includes Sakaimachi on its Otaru day.