This Week in Otaru

Nakagawa Takashi and Rikuo, live (うたのありか2026 小樽編)

A two-man show by Nakagawa Takashi of Soul Flower Union, marking his 60th birthday and 40 years since his band New Esto Model formed, with Rikuo, the "rollin' piano man." High school and university students pay ¥2,500 in advance (¥3,000 at the door) with a student ID, and junior high age and under get in free with a parent.

Otaru Culture Festival at the art museum (第77回小樽市文化祭)

The city's 77th culture festival fills the art museum this week: the Otaru Youth Exhibition of high school students' work (through Sun, Oct 25, until 15:00 that day), a bonsai show (Fri–Sun, Oct 23–25, until 16:00 on Sunday), and an Urasenke tea ceremony on Sat–Sun, Oct 24–25 (until 15:00 both days). Every festival venue is free.

Where can we find healing? An exhibition (癒しはどこにある？ 美術館で探す時間)

The museum asks whether an art museum can be a place to rest, with paintings that have ties to Otaru. High school students and Otaru residents 70 and over pay ¥350, and junior high age and under get in free. The ticket also covers the museum's two memorial halls.

Free guided walk through the old town (まちなみ散策ガイドツアー)

Volunteer guides who hold the city's "Otaru Annainin" certificate lead a walk of about an hour past the historic buildings of central Otaru, setting off as people arrive until 11:00. It's the first 10 people on the day, with no booking. The page doesn't say which language the tours are in.

Matsumae Kagura joint performance (松前神楽 合同公演 in 小樽)

Matsumae Kagura, a shrine dance tradition from southern Hokkaido, is a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Preservation groups from Otaru, Matsumae, Hakodate, and Fukushima perform together, a rare chance to see them all on one stage. The hall has no parking.

Halloween a cappella and kids' fest at the old NYK building (ハロウィン大作戦)

The last day of the building's October Halloween weekends. AIRS, the Otaru University of Commerce a cappella group, sings two sets of about 30 minutes, and students run old-fashioned games, Halloween activities, and a puzzle hunt through the building for kids. Junior high age and under get in free.

A weekend in kimono at the old NYK building (着物で過ごす明治の洋館 秋編)

Usuki Kimono dresses you in kimono inside the 120-year-old shipping office, and you have two hours to explore the building in it (¥4,000; booking first, walk-ins if there's space). A pop-up cafe serves rice-flour sweets with coffee and Japanese tea, and on Sunday a photographer takes 10 shots of you in kimono (¥4,000). At 14:00 on Sunday, a free concert plays old 78 rpm records on a hand-cranked gramophone.

Ukiyo-e exhibition: From Edo to Kyoto, a journey on the Nakasendo (江戸から京へ 中山道の旅)

All 70 prints of Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido, the mountain road between Edo and Kyoto, drawn by Keisai Eisen (24 prints) and Utagawa Hiroshige (46) in the 1830s, with more landscapes by both artists. University students pay ¥1,000, high school ¥800, junior high ¥600, and elementary ¥400.

Yoichi Winery Restaurant (余市ワイナリーレストラン)

Yoichi is a wine town, and this is harvest season. The 50-seat restaurant at Yoichi Winery bakes pizza in a stone oven and serves hamburg steak made from 100% Hokkaido beef, plus seasonal dishes from local produce, with Yoichi wines to match. If you're driving, skip the wine. From January to April it also closes on Wednesdays.

Wet midweek, a sunny Saturday

Monday, Oct 19 starts with rain, then clouds over (90%, high 19°C). Tuesday is sunny with some cloud (20%, 18°C, low 8°C). Wednesday is cloudy with rain at times (90%), and Thursday is the wettest day: rain, about 44 mm, and a high of only 10°C. Friday dries out (20%, 16°C), Saturday is sunny (10%, 19°C), and Sunday, Oct 25 starts sunny, with rain later (80%). Saturday is also the busiest day for events, so plan outdoor time for Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. The sun now sets at about 16:45, a little earlier each day.

JR's Hakodate Line around Otaru was running normally when we checked (Sun, Oct 18, 6:01), after a train fault at Otaru Station canceled some trains on Saturday evening. On Monday, the Literature Museum and the City Art Museum are closed.

⚓ That's a wrap on Otaru's 2026 cruise season: no more ships are due this year. Thanks for following the ships with us. We'll see them back in the harbor next spring, with the new schedule.

Thursday's the wet one: sake at Tanaka Shuzo's Kikkogura (田中酒造 亀甲蔵)

Otaru's sake brewer makes sake all year round at Kikkogura, from 100% Hokkaido rice, so you can walk through the brewery any day (9:05–17:30, about 10–15 minutes, free; groups of 10 or more book ahead). Afterward, the tasting corner pours its Takarakawa sakes and brewery-only bottles, with amazake and black-bean tea for non-drinkers. There's no tasting for anyone driving or cycling, or for anyone under 20. On some days there's no brewing work to watch.

Take your dog up Tenguyama (天狗山ロープウェイ)

Dogs ride the ropeway with you for a pet fare (people pay ¥1,800 round trip, children ¥900). At the top, pets aren't allowed inside Tenguu Cafe or the squirrel park, so plan on the lookouts and the paths. The ropeway's page doesn't say whether dogs must ride in a carrier, so ask at the counter.

Lakes and gorges

The colors are at the lakes now. JMC's spot forecasts put Lake Shikotsu at its best Oct 16–25 (peak around Tue, Oct 20), the Noboribetsu Jigokudani valley Oct 17–26 (around Oct 21), and Lake Toya through Oct 26. Sapporo's maples are still forecast for around Nov 4. In Otaru, the Tourism Association reported the first colors in town at the Temiya garden on Oct 15.

Asari Dam and Lake Otarunai (朝里ダム・オタルナイ湖)

Up past Asarigawa Onsen, the dam holds back Lake Otarunai, with walking paths along the water. The Tourism Association found the maples there turning bright red and yellow in late October (on Oct 25 in 2023). The far-side path is sometimes closed and has bear and pit viper warning signs, and the City of Otaru's latest bear report is from nearby, on Route 393 in Asarigawa Onsen on Sep 11. The small dam memorial hall has a model of the dam and costs nothing. It's an outdoor trip, so pick Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday.

Shirakanba (シラカンバ), the white birch

Otaru's city tree since May 28, 1968. It grows relatively fast even in a cold climate, and its thin outer bark peels off easily. The bark is white because about 30% of its dry weight is betulin, a natural compound, according to the Hokkaido Research Organization. Share your leaf watch: tag @nihonlocal.otaru with #NihonLocalLeafWatch.

Sapporo: kochia and maples at Takino Suzuran Hillside Park (国営滝野すずらん丘陵公園 たきの紅葉まつり)

The national park's autumn leaves festival runs through Nov 10. About 4,300 kochia, the round "summer cypress" bushes, fill the lower Country Garden and are at their red best from mid to late October, in three kinds: the classic Rouge, the park's own Takino Fire Egg, and a white one that doesn't turn. The maples across the park peak from mid-October to early November. On sunny October mornings, from opening to about 10:00, a rainbow can form over Ashiribetsu Falls, one of Japan's 100 best waterfalls, a 30-minute walk from the Keiryu gate (it isn't guaranteed), so Saturday is the day to go. On Sun, Oct 25, a free shuttle runs from the East gate to the forest zone's west area. Seniors 65 and over pay ¥210, and under 15 get in free; parking is extra, cash only.