A friend of Dave’s suggested we take a side trip to Otaru during our visit to Sapporo. He highly recommended Otaru for amazing sushi. We didn’t need to be told twice! Otaru is a coastal town about a 40 minute train ride from Sapporo Station.
We arrived in time for lunch. We walked down to the canal street known as sushi row.
We were told to sit at the sushi counter and ask for “omakase” or chef’s choice. As a result, this magnificent plate of sushi arrived.
I ate everything. Even the sea urchin. I cheated a little bit and picked off the sea urchin and swallowed them whole so I didn’t taste them. Then I ate the rice. The rest was delicious. The tuna was of course my favorite and maybe the best piece of tuna sashimi I’ve ever eaten. I would rank this sushi plate in my top three.
After lunch, we walked around the town and many shops. There was so much snow. I couldn’t get over all of the snow. There were piles everywhere.
Look at all the snow fences on the hills to prevent avalanches.
And icicles!
In true Japanese fashion, many shop owners and residents made kawaii snow sculptures. They were an adorable addition to the winter wonderland.
Plus, a few snowmen.
How great is Dave’s new face mask!?!
We headed back to Sapporo in the middle of the afternoon. I’m glad we took the suggestion to visit Otaru for the sushi. Plus, we had a chance to see a little bit more of the area.