Traveling around Hokkaido by rental car or your own car is becoming a popular travel option, but the constant problem is parking.
Are you worried about things like where and what kind of parking is available, or whether you'll actually be able to park there?

Among the many cities in Hokkaido, Otaru and Hakodate, which are popular and have a rich history, have narrow roads and parking is difficult to find, which is a problem in Hokkaido.

Therefore, this time, we conducted an in-depth study of parking lots in Otaru, including on-site research.
Secure a parking spot and enjoy walking around Otaru to your heart's content. Let's enjoy our Hokkaido trip!

table of contents
1. Around Otaru Canal
2. Near Otaru Station
3. Around the port
Final thoughts

During peak tourist seasons in Otaru, such as Golden Week and the summer, finding parking near the canal can be quite difficult.

First of all, the Chikko Line, which runs adjacent to the Otaru Canal, not only has a series of red "full" signs, but the leftmost of the three lanes is also congested with cars waiting for parking spaces.

The parking lot of Kamaei , a kamaboko (fish cake) shop (5 spaces, open 24 hours), is sometimes full not only with Kamaei customers but also with other customers.

Even in such cases, there are sometimes coin-operated parking spaces available on the Otaru Port Main Line, which is one street closer to the sea.

Why not give up on searching along the canal from the start and try looking on this street instead?

This street is highly recommended, as it offers some truly unique parking options, such as ② Mitsui's RePark Otaru Canal Warehouse (14 spaces, 24 hours) , which is a converted warehouse along the canal , and ③ Canalside Parking (14 spaces, 8:00-20:00) , which is a parking lot in an old building.

If that's also full, try Irouchi-dori, which runs parallel to the Chikko Line two streets closer to Otaru Station.

This is a coin-operated parking lot with a relatively large capacity.④ ESSE Irouchi Parking 1-chome (24 spaces, 24 hours)There are a relatively large number of parking spaces available, such as Next Step Otaru Iroinai Parking (67 spaces, 24 hours), so you might have some room to spare.
With many historical buildings and other structures along the way, you can fully enjoy the atmosphere.

I wouldn't recommend going along Irouchi Avenue, or beyond Myokengawa, onto Sakaimachi Avenue. It's lined with many famous shops like Kitaichi Glass and LeTAO, attracting many tourists, and the coin parking lots are all small, only accommodating about 10 cars, so finding a spot is a matter of luck.

Additionally, it can be difficult for larger vehicles to maneuver in certain areas. At the same time, traffic can get jammed at the beginning of the Marchen Intersection, making it impossible to move.

If you can't find one here, turn right at the Marchen Intersection and you'll find a total of three parking lots, including Parking Momijien (16 spaces, 24 hours) and Otaru Irifune Parking (34 spaces, 24 hours).

Turning left, you'll see this ⑤ Repark Arihoro-cho (22 spaces, 24 hours), which is surprisingly a hidden gem.

Nearby is the Minato Sakaimachi Parking Lot (58 spaces, 8:30 AM - 20:00 PM), which is also a contracted parking lot for Kitaichi Glass. If you are planning to do some shopping, you might want to use that one.

If you still can't find a spot, you'll have to either give up and wait for one to become available, or use the tourist parking lot (300 spaces, 7:00 AM to 19:00 PM), which is a little further away, or the temporary parking lot in the port town.

There are few parking spaces near the famous sushi restaurant street, so you'll need to look for parking around the canal or near Otaru Station, as described below.

★Parking Information★

① Kamaei Parking Lot
Capacity: 56
Storage method: Flat type
Vehicle height restriction: None, SUVs and foreign cars are permitted.
Business hours: 24 hours

② Mitsui Repark Otaru Canal Warehouse
Capacity: 14
Storage method: Flat type
Vehicle height restriction: None
Business hours: 24 hours

③ Canal side parking
Capacity: 14
Storage method: Flat type
Vehicle height restriction: None
Opening hours: 8:00 AM to 20:00 PM (Vehicles can be removed after 20:00 PM)

④ ESSE Irouchi Parking
Capacity: 24
Storage method: Flat type
Vehicle height restriction: None
Business hours: 24 hours

⑤ Minato Sakaimachi Parking Lot
Capacity: 58
Storage method: Flat type
Vehicle height limit: 2.4m
Hours: 8: 30 ~ 20: 00

⑥ Mitsui Repark Arihoro-cho
Capacity: 22
Storage method: Flat type
Vehicle height restriction: None
Business hours: 24 hours

This area has a large number of small-scale parking lots, including vacant land converted into coin-operated parking lots and existing multi-story parking garages. If you are looking for parking between Otaru Station and Iroinai (the area around the Otaru Canal), you are highly likely to find an available parking space.

The parking lot at Nagasakiya (32 ground-level spaces, 24 hours; 132 multi-story mechanical spaces, 8:30 AM to 21:00 PM) is always crowded.

There's always a line of cars waiting for parking spaces here on holidays. However, due to its characteristics as an old port town, the roads are narrow despite being in Hokkaido, and there are many one-way streets, so caution is necessary.

Some of the roads are so narrow that they don't even seem like one-way streets by Osaka or Tokyo standards, so those unfamiliar with driving there may make mistakes.

If you keep that in mind, you should be able to find parking relatively easily, even on holidays. However, there is no parking available on the main avenue connecting the Iroinai/Canal area and Otaru Station.

You will definitely need to pull over somewhere. The first street is relatively wide and easy to run on.

This road also becomes one-way partway through, so you'll probably want to secure a spot at a larger parking lot like Tact Parking (128 spaces, 7:00 AM to 23:00 PM).

Nagasakiya Multi-story Parking Garage
Capacity: 132
Storage method: Three-dimensional
Vehicle height restriction: Yes (RVs allowed)
Opening hours: 8: 30 to 21: 00

Tact Parking
Capacity: 128
Storage method: Mechanical / Surface type
Vehicle height restriction: Yes
Opening hours: 7: 00 to 23: 00

In Otaru, the Chikko district, where the large shopping mall "Wing Bay Otaru" is located, has a large parking lot, so you may not feel a shortage of parking.

However, on holidays, the 5,000-car parking lot at Wing Bay Otaru often becomes crowded, causing traffic congestion. Drive with caution.

However, in this area, the only option is the parking lot at Wing Bay Otaru.

The parking lot at the neighboring Hiraiso Park is small, and the parking lots at Otaru Marina and the Yujiro Ishihara Memorial Museum are for users only.

Parking is free for the first hour. After that, you can get up to 4 hours free with a purchase of 1,000 yen, for a total of 5 hours of free parking.

It's directly connected to JR Otaru Chikko Station, which is great news for JR users.

Furthermore, during peak tourist seasons such as Golden Week and summer vacation, securing parking around the Otaru Canal becomes difficult.

In that case, park-and-ride, timed to coincide with train schedules, would be a perfectly viable option, wouldn't it?

If you get off at Minami-Otaru Station, you'll find historical buildings and charming shops within walking distance. You can enjoy the city of Otaru.

Wing Bay Otaru Parking
Capacity: 5,000
Storage method: Ground level / Self-propelled
Vehicle height limit: 2.1m
Opening hours: 9:30 AM - 24:30 AM (some locations close at 22:30 PM)
Address: 11-5 Tsukko, Otaru City, Hokkaido 047-0008
http://www.wingbay-otaru.co.jp/access/

Final thoughts

One thing you notice when driving around Otaru is the abundance of one-way streets.

I often experience the frustration of seeing an empty parking space, but being unable to enter because this road is one-way and I'd be going the wrong way.

You might find driving challenging due to the many hills. More importantly, if you're preoccupied with driving in an unfamiliar city, you won't be able to fully enjoy the beautiful cityscapes, the romantic canals, and the warehouses.

We hope you'll use this page as a reference to secure your order early and minimize unnecessary waiting time, allowing you to fully enjoy the fresh Otaru sake.

For further details, please refer to the Otaru City Parking Guide Map .

・[First Time in Otaru] A digest of Otaru's sightseeing and highlights!
Experience the blue ocean in Hokkaido! Enjoy a breathtaking experience at the "Blue Grotto" in Otaru and Shakotan.
・Top 5 recommended markets to visit in Otaru! Full of Hokkaido's seafood!
・Perfect guide to the Otaru Canal for first-timers!
Things you should know when renting a car at New Chitose Airport!

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