Otaru Canal

Built between 1914 and 1923 by reclaiming a string of offshore islands to create a 40-meter waterway for transferring goods between ships and waterfront warehouses. By the mid-20th century the canal had fallen into disuse as modern shipping bypassed it. When the city proposed filling it in for a road in 1966, local residents launched a preservation campaign that attracted national attention, one of Japan's early grassroots heritage movements. The compromise reached in the 1980s preserved portions of the canal and converted the brick warehouses into restaurants, shops, and museums. Gas lamps line the paved walkway along the south bank. Evening is a particularly good time to visit when the lamps reflect on the water.