Day 17 [11th June]: Otaru

Today is my last full day in Hokkaido, but I keep having thoughts of visiting Otaru again instead of hanging around in Sapporo. After struggling through the decision for some time, I went to the train station and hopped on to the train heading for Otaru. When I reached Otaru, I went to Ajidokoro Takeda in Sankaku Fish Market again for my meal. This time round, I ordered chirashi don, which comprises of crab, scallop and prawn. I also ordered grilled scallop amd clam. The clam comes with sauce in it that tastes really sweet. A pair of scissors were also provided for me to handle the big juicy scallop. Eating seafood in Otaru is just such a delight as they are just so fresh, juicy and sweet.

After my meal, I took bus 11 that goes to Otaru Aquarium. The scenary sure looks beautiful as the bus approaches the destination. You can have a view of the sea and also hilly areas at a distance. It sure is the most scenic places I've seen so far in Japan. Otaru sure is charming in many ways.

I spent some time in the aquarium and also watched the performances. It's a rather small aquarium and is not exactly as impressive as several top-notch aquariums in the world. However, it is always a delight to see aquatic life and the scenary around the aquarium is just fantastic. At a distance, the Herring Museum was also in view.

Next, I took a long walk to Former Aoyama Villa (旧青山別邸). I realised the last bus from the place leaves at around 4pm+, so I only took photos of the villa from outside since I couldn't afford to spend more time inside.

After taking the bus back to Otaru station, I waited for bus 13 to go to Asarigawa Onsen district again. This time round, I went to Yu No Hana (湯の花 朝里殿) which I got to find out from a brochure I collected in Otaru Station. Apparently, this seems to be a nicer bath house than the other two I visited in Hokkaido over the past few days. There are 2 rotenburos and several indoor pools in the bath house. The entrance fee costs ¥600 and rental of towels cost an additional ¥300. One little problem is that bugs and mosquitoes may be found in the outdoor area since the place is just next to nature. Otherwise, it's a pretty nice place to relax.

After the onsen session, I went back to city centre to grab my dinner before heading back to Sapporo.