Views from the summit of Mt Shioya-Maruyama

Otaru Mountain & Market by Train
1 Day Hiking Tour

Guided day tour from Sapporo

from

¥19,000

An active and engaging one day tour from Sapporo to explore Otaru from its mountain to the seafood market. Get a taste of local life and the bounty of the sea.

We are no longer taking bookings for this tour

Our team at Adventure Hokkaido is still small and, due to high demand for tours, our guides have little availability for the foreseeable future.

For this reason, we have decided to stop offering day tours for the time being and focus our energy on our Multi-day Guided Tours. As our team grows, we hope to offer day tours again in the future.

Tour Duration
1 Day
Minimum Travellers
4 People
Accommodation
Day trip
Tour Starts
Sapporo
Included Meals
1 Lunch
Tour Finishes
Sapporo

Tour Highlights

Climb Mt. Shioya-Maruyama (629m/2,064ft) for panoramic views of the Sea of Japan.
Visit the Sankaku Seafood Market, the Otaru people’s kitchen for over 70 years.
Take a picturesque journey on local rail and travel in an eco-friendly way.

About Otaru

Otaru is a pretty port town close to Hokkaido’s capital city Sapporo. Famous for its canal, sushi, glass ateliers and streets lined with classic stone warehouses and buildings, Otaru’s historic charms have been drawing visitors from the rest of Japan and beyond for many years. Facing the Sea of Japan, Otaru flourished as a gateway to Hokkaido, trading herrings, coal, and other goods necessary to develop the newest prefecture at that time.

On this nostalgic excursion we will explore Otaru from its mountain to the sea, using only JR (Japan Railway) as our mode of transportation from Sapporo. We will hike up Mt Shioya-Maruyama, a mountain popular with local Sapporo hikers due to its accessibility and stunning ocean views from the top. The afternoon sees us venture into a local seafood market “Sankaku Ichiba”, which sells the freshest seafood caught in the Sea of Japan right by Otaru Station.

Who is this tour for?

Active travellers who enjoy walking & hiking for more than 5 hours a day.
Curious travellers who enjoy a mixture of activities & sightseeing and learning about the regions they visit.

When is the best time to hike in Otaru?

We run this tour during the snow free months between May and October and anytime during this period is the perfect time to go! Spring arrives in Otaru in late April, when the cherry blossoms and the spring flowers start gracing the townscape at sea level. Around June is the season of fresh verdure, and a pleasant time to hike on lower mountains like Mt Shioya-Maruyama (629m/2,064ft). July is still relatively dry and enjoys warm weather, and in August the temperature reaches its peak (22°C/71°F on average), when we pull out our short sleeves to make the most of the summer days! September and October are our autumn months, when we start seeing the change of foliage colour, a sign of Mother Earth preparing itself for a long, snowy winter of Hokkaido.

Tour Inclusions
Items that are included in the cost of tour price.

Lunch
Guided hiking & seafood market tour
Return train tickets from/to Sapporo
English speaking local guide(s)

Meet your guide

Tobaji

Yuka

Yasu

Day 1 Guided hiking to Mt Shioya-Maruyama & Sankaku Seafood Market in Otaru

We will meet between 8:00 am and 8:30 am at a pre-arranged location in Central Sapporo, and then hop on a local train to Shioya Station. This is not a tourist train, but a train used daily by local residents mainly for commuting. As we travel through the suburbs of Sapporo we leave the cityscape behind and gradually approach the coast of the Sea of Japan. Over the other side of Otaru, we will get off the train at Shioya Station and start walking on the paved road towards the head of our hiking trail, which is just over 1km/1.5 miles from the train station.

Our hike starts with a relatively mild ascent, but becomes steeper as we climb to the summit, reaching an incline of 30% in the steepest section. But the climb is well worth the effort, as the summit rewards us with a spectacular view overlooking the expansive ocean and a little shrine perched on top of rocky cliffs. Here we will enjoy a picnic lunch, Japanese rice sandwiches, before heading down the same route back to Shioya Station.

We will board a train again for a short ride to Otaru, where we will visit the Sankaku Seafood Market close to Otaru Station. The market began at this location in 1948 with half a dozen stalls selling seafood and fresh produce, from which it grew into a larger collective market over time. We will call into one of our favourite local shops to have a taste of the freshest Hokkaido seafood, before taking a return train to Sapporo. Our tour concludes upon our return to Sapporo, we will say our goodbyes at the Sapporo Station before 6:00 pm.

Hiking Distance
– 7.7km / 4.8miles
Tour Duration
– 9 to 10 hours
Elevation
– 530m/1,739ft