Otaru and T38

Day 18 – Otaru and T38

Sunday, 22 April 2012

Slept well on a real queen sized bed, even if I was against the wall!

Buffet breakfast on the ground floor was Japanese but enough variety – breads, salads, noodles, congee, rice, miso soup, fish, sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit both tinned and fresh, yoghurt, brown tea(hojicha – Japanese ordinary tea), coffee, juices, vinegar, milk, yoghurt drink.

It’s a very busy hotel – reception is on Level 7 of the building and floors 8-17 are the hotel and restaurant on ground level. A pity there is no wifi – only computers on reception level.

We went out for the day to Otaru, a 30 minute train rode away on the coast. It’s famous as an old seaport from the 1890’s and was originally the entry point into Hokkaido. Its history is recalled in the canal lined with old warehouses and the many preserved buildings from the Meiji period that now house arts and crafts. Otaru is now famous for its glass making! It is very much a tourist and family destination with its many craft shops, cafes and restaurants, sweet and chocolate shops. It is called the Venice if the North – canals and glass – it even has a Venetian art museum.

It was quite cool and windy. We needed a couple of stops for sweet refreshments including Hokkaido latte and Tao hot chocolate! Suffice to say that we did purchase some Otaru wearable glass!

Back in Sapporro about 5.00pm we decided to go up the JR Observation Tower – T38. It cost 700 yen each but was well worth it. Sitting on comfy chairs, facing picture windows, with a glass of beer and, we watched the sun go down over Sapporro. It was quite a sophisticated experience in fact with its subdued lighting and soft music.

Back through the food halls afterwards, we had lots of free samples and bought reduced sushi as a dinner snack which we had with free coffee in the hotel lobby.

	My breakfast at the Gracery Hotel [Map]		Inside the Hotel Gracery Restaurant [Map]
	Anthony’s breakfast at the Gracery [Map]		The Super Azora [Map]
	Sea view on the way to Otaru [Map]		The Otaru canal [Map]
	In Oataru [Map]		Example of Meji period buildings in Otaru [Map]
	The clock tower at Otaru [Map]		Hot chocolate at Tao confectionary [Map]
	We found a friendly Otaru cat which lived in a dri [Map]		View from the train on way back to Sapporro [Map]
	View from T38 [Map]		Gracery Hotel from T38 [Map]
	Nightime Sapporro from T38 [Map]