Published date: May 27, 2025
OMO Trip - 5th Location
Room Type Stayed
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Experience of the stay
This was my first visit to Hokkaido!
Since there are several OMOs in Hokkaido, I was unsure where to go, but I ultimately chose Otaru, which had good availability for my travel dates.
It takes just over 70 minutes from New Chitose Airport to Otaru Station via the rapid airport train.
My flight arrived later than scheduled, and I went straight to the sushi restaurant from Otaru Station, so I'm not exactly sure about the details, but I think it takes about 15 minutes on foot from Otaru Station to OMO5 Otaru.
OMO5 Otaru consists of two buildings: the newer North Building and the old South Building that was the Chamber of Commerce.
Currently, the North Building is the only one where you can stay through Hafh, but you can visit the South Building as well.
The hallways and stairs in the South Building are recommended photo spots.
Moreover, the third floor of the South Building, where breakfast, the café, and the night lounge are located, was the conference hall of the former Chamber of Commerce, and the chandeliers were retained from that time.
Amenities are self-service from next to the front desk; the drip coffee and skincare set are for purchase.
The room I stayed in was sufficiently spacious.
Do note, however, that the bathroom has only a shower booth and no bathtub.
At the night lounge, you can order alcohol, snacks, and limited edition parfaits or cakes (for a fee).
The limited edition parfaits sell out quickly, so if you want to try them, be cautious about the time (after having a snack, I found the parfait was already sold out).
I also added breakfast during check-in, and I tried the recommended parfait chirashi and churros.
Both were really delicious! Furthermore, there were several types of small-sized breads, so although I'm usually a rice person for breakfast, I ended up trying several pieces (laughs).
Experiences during the trip
■ Otaru Masazushi @ Main Store
For dinner, I went to the main store of Otaru Masazushi.
While the Zenan branch in Otaru is also popular for those looking to enjoy the night view, it turned out that I couldn't make a web reservation for a single person, so I chose the main store where counter seats could be reserved for solo diners.
In conclusion, the counter seats were absolutely fantastic.
I wanted to try the night lounge menu at OMO, and given my travel experiences, I knew I couldn't eat much, plus I wanted to taste the squid somen, which is a popular item here, so I reserved the Masazushi set.
*If you're not fond of wasabi, you can indicate that when making your web reservation.
Here’s what I had:
- Tofu Salad
⇒ They make their tofu in-house!
- Mini Squid Somen
⇒ The recommended way to eat it is by dipping the squid somen into a sauce made of quail egg yolk and sea urchin. It was my first time trying such a luxurious way to eat it.
- 8 pieces of nigiri sushi
⇒ At the time I visited, they had scallops, fatty tuna, herring, cherry salmon, botan shrimp, hokkaido sea urchin, and salmon roe.
- Seaweed miso soup.
For the main nigiri, each piece was prepared right in front of me by the chef at the counter.
The chef also explained the origin of the ingredients, making it an enjoyable and delicious experience.
Personally, I was amazed by the hokkaido sea urchin.
I'm not particularly fond of sea urchin and usually avoid it when I eat sushi, but the hokkaido sea urchin I tried this time had a perfect saltiness and was exceptionally delicious. I highly recommend visiting!
■ LeTAO @ Patos Store
There are multiple LeTAO stores in Otaru, but I visited the Patos store!
The reason was for the collaboration parfait with OMO5 Otaru that is available in the café only in the morning on the second floor!
You can order it by showing the invitation card found at the front of OMO5 Otaru at the Patos café.
I chose the tea set and opted for the store-exclusive Bouquet de Patos tea.
While I was at the Patos store, I remember that a local TV show from Hokkaido was filming there, and I saw some famous comedians from Tokyo right in front of me (laughs).
■ Sumiyoshi Shrine
The nearest station is Minami-Otaru Station, but after stopping by the Patos store, I walked to Sumiyoshi Shrine.
It takes about 15 minutes on foot from the LeTAO Patos store and around 30 minutes from OMO5 Otaru.
(The uphill climb after passing the LeTAO main store was quite tough... lol)
I visited to obtain a starry sky goshuin, and I was also able to see the flower water service that had started.
*There are several types of goshuin including a simple one, the starry sky goshuin, and one with a flower water illustration, but all are written at the shrine.
■ Otaru Canal
The famous Otaru Canal; I photographed both the night and morning views of it.
There were tickets available for a cruise that day, but I chose to take my time walking and capturing photos instead.
Personally, I found the night Otaru Canal to have more character, although the photography was challenging.