3 Best Hotels in Otaru, Hokkaido

This former department store in the heart of the downtown shopping area was remade into an elegant hotel. The lobby's creamy upholstery and yellow walls are echoed in the rooms, which are nicely furnished and have larger than usual bathrooms. A shared Japanese bath lets you get to know your fellow guests. There's a small teppanyaki restaurant and an 11th-floor piano bar with city views. 

Overlooking Otaru Marina, this 18-story hotel sits atop the huge WingBay shopping complex, giving easy access to outlet stores, restaurants, and a movie theater; inside is a reliable, familiar chain hotel with English-speaking staff. Western-style rooms in gold, blue, and brown have large twin or double beds, and most overlook the waterfront. It is a five-minute walk from JR Otaru Chikko Station, two stops from JR Otaru Station. The on-site restaurants include a small sushi restaurant (you are still in Otaru), Marina Bar, which features steaks, wines, and whiskeys, and the Terrace Brasserie with its panoramic views of the water and breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets (and a dessert buffet on weekends). In winter, several of the ski bus companies offer pickup from the hotel, making it a convenient option for skiers and boarders.

Dark wooden beams, shadowy corridors, and well-chosen antiques transform a modern canal-side building into a comfortable, old-fashioned Japanese inn—a rarity in Otaru. The traditionally clad staff bow low on the raised straw matting in the reception area, and the first-floor restaurant has seating with a canal view. The charm of the public areas continues into the newly renovated lounge area, where reading materials are available, adjacent to the lobby. The eighth-floor Japanese bathroom has several indoor and open-air onsen baths as well as a sauna. The hotel's breakfast includes up to 40 different options made by their chefs with ingredients from Hokkaido.