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Nishin Goten


One of Otaru's must-see spots, this old herring house, once at the sea's edge, has been moved to a gorgeous bluff and has a number of artefacts and photos depicting the herring industry in its heyday. Most of it is in Japanese, but there's enough there to impress English-speaking visitors.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Otaru General Museum

2.68 MILES

This annexe of the Otaru Museum, known as the Ungakan (ß\ºÓð^), is housed in a restored warehouse dating from 1893 near the canal. It does a good job of¡­

2. Otaru Canal

2.74 MILES

Historic Otaru canal is lined with warehouses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries when this port city served as the financial centre of Hokkaid¨­¡­

3. Bank of Japan Otaru Museum

2.92 MILES

The former Otaru branch of the venerable Bank of Japan (ÈÕ±¾ãyÐÐ), completed in 1912 and designed by the same architect who did Tokyo Station, has been so¡­

5. Otaru Music Box Museum

3.29 MILES

This museum has clearly, uh, struck a chord: there are now five of them in town, with over 25,000 music boxes on display. Actually everything is for sale¡­

6. ?kura-yama Ski Jump Stadium

18.94 MILES

This ski-jump slope was built on the side of ?kura-yama for the Sapporo 1972 Winter Games. At 133.6m it's just slightly shorter than Sapporo TV Tower,¡­

8. Hokkaid¨­ Museum of Modern Art

20.08 MILES

Hokkaid¨­'s top collection of modern art includes many works from artists who were born here, lived here or were inspired by the northern island¡­