On the third day of my business trip in Hokkaido, I visited Otaru with a colleague from Hiroshima as our flight was at 5:00 PM. We arrived in Otaru in about 45 minutes by express train. Otaru is a city known for its canals, as mentioned in songs. We walked about 1 kilometer to the Otaru Canal and found it to be much smaller than expected (about 300 meters long). It was another hot day in Hokkaido. We found a soft-serve ice cream shop and took a break in a cool shaded area. I thought I ordered the Farm Milk Soft Serve for 480 yen, but I ended up with a Mini Soft Serve for 380 yen instead. My colleague from Hiroshima ordered the Farm Milk Soft Serve and we enjoyed it inside the shop. The rich soft serve was delicious and helped us cool down a bit from the heat outside. They also served soup curry and Otaru beer, but we stuck with the ice cream.

When I visited Otaru as a tourist, it was so hot that it felt hotter than Tokyo. I was exploring various interesting buildings and by evening, all the cafes seemed to be closed in a tourist area. I was almost about to collapse due to heatstroke while looking for a place to eat, when I happened to stumble upon this place. Later I found out that it was a BM (Business Model) failure. There was a soft serve ice cream sculpture at the entrance, so I went in. They had three flavors of soft serve - milk, red haruka, and salt. I tried red haruka and salt, while my partner had a coffee float. We also tried the milk soft serve, so we ended up trying all three flavors. We had consumed a lot of energy and water, so the salt flavor felt refreshing straight to the body. Red haruka was delicious but might be a bit heavy on a hot day. The milk flavor paired well with the coffee and was also tasty. The restaurant also serves soup curry, as I saw an old man enjoying it. There was a terrace seating on the second floor, but we chose to sit on the cooler ground floor due to the intense heat. They also offer rental bicycles, but I doubt many people use them in such hot weather. Overall, it was a nice break and a delicious treat. Thank you for the meal!

Otaru was also hot. The planned restaurant was closed, so I had to find somewhere to rest before I got heatstroke. I found this place, bookmarked by my friend. My friend had a comparison of two soft serves: one was made with Beni Haruka sweet potatoes, and the other was salt ice cream. I had a coffee float with milk soft serve, I think. Walking around in the heat, it's like heaven to sit down and quench my thirst. There was a terrace on the second floor, but I preferred the cooler first-floor interior. I think the salt ice cream was the most delicious.

I had a late lunch at "COTARU" in Otaru. I ordered the Tomato Chicken Curry with regular rice and a medium portion. For dessert, I had Affogato. The Tomato Chicken Curry was flavorful with plenty of tomatoes, onions, and spices. The chicken was tender and the curry had a nice balance of sweetness, acidity, and richness. The Affogato was a refreshing treat with a scoop of soft serve ice cream topped with espresso. Overall, the food was delicious and I also saw other interesting items on the menu like spice blends for sale, sweet potato parfait, and chilled roasted sweet potato variety set. It was a satisfying meal.

I ordered Natsu-shio and Beni Haruka. Natsu-shio was light blue in color, but is it the color of salt? It's refreshing, so it's perfect for those who don't like sweet things but want something cold. Beni Haruka had a sticky texture and tasted like roasted sweet potatoes. I preferred this one. There are also nearby places like Yamanaka Farm, Shiroi Koibito, and a soft serve ice cream shop in front of the station, so you can compare and enjoy different flavors.

On a holiday morning, I went for a walk in Otaru, a popular tourist spot that opens early. I stopped by a cafe called "COTARU" for a break, which is only a 5-minute walk from the station. The cafe offers soft serve ice cream, sundaes, parfaits, curry, soup curry, baked sweet potatoes, affogato, soft drinks, and more on their menu. I ordered a hot coffee for 450 yen. The coffee was served in a takeaway cup with a plastic lid. The cafe had a few seats at the counter and a few tables. The coffee had a mild taste with no special flavor from the beans. Overall, it's a convenient spot for a break while exploring Otaru.

■COTARU's light soup curry for ¥1,280 I upgraded to a medium serving of 12 kinds of mixed grain rice. The spiciness level was 5. The soup curry with tender chicken, boiled egg, carrots, okra, broccoli, and other soft vegetables was delicious! The mixed grain rice was also great. ■Ai-gake (Western-style chicken + coconut chicken) for ¥1,280 I upgraded to a medium serving of basmati rice. The spiciness level was high. Both dishes were delicious. I enjoyed tasting each separately and then mixing them all together at the end, creating a different kind of deliciousness. I got to enjoy the meal three times in one! *No waiting or lining up around 6 pm on Sunday. Payment method: PayPay. Thank you for the meal!

Kotaro-san runs a bike rental shop, and he started offering fruit cream, then spice curry, and now he has also added soup curry to the menu. The chicken soup curry I tried was light and flavorful, made with homemade ingredients without any artificial seasoning. The curry menu currently offers only one type, but I wonder if more varieties will be added in the future. The portion size is just right for those who want to enjoy soup curry without feeling too full. I tried the hazelnut soft-serve ice cream as well, which is a rare flavor for soft serve nationwide. It was delicious and refreshing, made with 100% hazelnut paste without any artificial flavorings. The portion was generous, but I would prefer a slightly smaller size with a slightly lower price. Overall, it was a satisfying experience, and I look forward to visiting again. Thank you for the meal!

Around 3 pm, I visited to get some soft serve ice cream for takeout and there were many customers. I tried hojicha, matcha, and milk soft serve with toppings like chilled sweet potato and roasted soybean. There were many topping options like red bean paste, making it enjoyable. The Moko Moko soft serve was very delicious and not too sweet. It was smooth and satisfying. Nearby, there is the former Temiya Line railway track which you can visit after sightseeing. I recommend it as a nice stop. The only downside was that the sensor light in the restroom turns off quickly, which can be a bit inconvenient.笑

Strawberry Sundae ¥680, Pineapple Sundae ¥650. The sweet potato parfait made with baked sweet potatoes seems to be popular, but I wanted something refreshing with fruits, so I tried two different sundaes. Craft soft serve made with milk from Kikuchi Farm in Tokachi Hiroo Town has a clean milk flavor. I tried the strawberry one, but couldn't resist the delicious sweetness of the pineapple and ended up eating the whole thing. They offer a discount if you rent a bicycle, as they also have a bike rental service. The parfaits have a variety of toppings and combinations, so you can enjoy different patterns.

It was a holiday, so we took the highway and arrived in Otaru. We did some shopping at the supermarket and then got soft serve ice cream to go from COTARU, which my wife had been checking out. The weather was nice, so we went to the beach and shared the slightly melted soft serve. From that day on, we started getting the mini soft serve with 3 flavors - red sweet potato, roasted green tea, and farm milk. They were all delicious with rich flavors from the ingredients, so we decided to visit again. After eating the soft serve at the beach, we headed to our hotel for the night.

I visited at night and the sweet potato ice cream was famous, but the chilled sweet potato was incredibly delicious. It's cheap and highly recommended. I'm sorry for the half-eaten photo, but the sweetness of the sweet potato was fully expressed and delicious. It was the best. The interior was also very stylish and cute.

This is Kotaru. I went to the Spice Curry restaurant as the Monitor Curry event ended and the official Spice Curry started. They have added a new chicken curry called Chicken Balti, with four options: Western-style chicken, Japanese-style chicken, Chicken Coconut, and Chicken Balti. They also offer three types of rice: regular rice, mixed grain rice, and basmati rice. The curries are not very spicy, but you can choose a free spicy paste if you want more heat. They also offer sets with drinks and mini soft-serve ice cream. I ordered the Western-style chicken and Chicken Balti combo (1080 yen) with regular rice and a mini soft-serve ice cream set (+200 yen) in Beni Haruka flavor. The Chicken Balti curry had plenty of shredded chicken, which I enjoyed as a fan of Pakistani curry. The Western-style chicken had a good depth and spiciness to it. The spicy paste, made with chili peppers, bonito flakes, and onions, added a nice kick. The mini soft-serve ice cream had a strong sweet potato flavor and was surprisingly filling. This restaurant in Otaru offers rare and delicious spice curry. I will definitely go back. Thank you for the meal!

A shop in Otaru City that offers rental bicycles and soft serve ice cream! How about enjoying sweets like baked sweet potatoes and fluffy soft serve while sightseeing? ✄ ------------------------------ ☑︎︎︎︎︎Rich Milk/350 yen ☑︎Black Sesame/450 yen ------------------------------ A shop that opened on Ekimae Street in Otaru City! It used to be a bakery called "Inomata". Originally, they were running a rental bicycle shop and it seems they relocated (´˘`＊). It's close to Otaru Station, and it's nice to sightsee by bike in the summer! Just like the rental bicycles in Sapporo, it has electric assist function, so it's easy to ride ( ˙ᵕ˙ )✍ Rental fees: 1 day - 1000 yen, 2 hours - 600 yen, 3 hours - 800 yen It started with offering baked sweet potatoes, and they started offering craft soft serve ice cream around summer. The menu changes depending on the season, with flavors like strawberry, peach, pineapple, muscat grape, pumpkin, black sesame, and more. They also have sundaes, soft serve ice cream, drinks, making it hard to decide what to order ( ¯•ω•¯ ). Recently, they have started serving curry as well, making it an exciting place to visit. I'm not sure if they are open in winter, but I often visit Otaru, so I feel like stopping by this shop. There is also a soft serve ice cream shop across the street, so it might be fun to compare them! They offer a student discount of 20 yen off and an Instagram follow discount of 50 yen off. You can use them together, so it seems popular among students ‪⸜(*ˊᵕˋ*)⸝‬ I was torn between pumpkin and black sesame, but this time I chose black sesame. It was really rich, with a strong milk flavor - just the way I like it!! The fluffy shape is also cute (꒪˙꒳˙꒪ ). I definitely want to visit this shop again. Thank you for the meal ♡

I arrived a little early for the event ticket distribution at the shop I wanted to visit, so I wandered around and found that COTARU was open! I decided to go in and try their soft serve ice cream. They had roasted sweet potatoes and sundaes as well, but I chose the black sugar Beniharuka soft serve (400 yen). I walked and ate it outside. The texture had some bits in it, maybe sweet potato skin? It didn't affect the texture though. I could taste the black sugar and the flavor of the sweet potato was delicious. It was refreshing and had a good aftertaste. A very tasty soft serve ice cream. I will definitely visit again, thank you for the meal!

Wandering around and discovered a place with a sophisticated atmosphere, and the outside sign said "Sweet Potato Parfait." Intrigued, I decided to stop by. Inside, there were menus for Peach Sundae, Melon Sundae, and various fruit sundaes, making it hard for me to choose. Eventually, I settled for the sweet potato parfait! The interior of the shop did not disappoint with its stylish ambiance. This is Otaru, right? It was cool and wonderful, but I was also curious about the second-floor terrace. When I went up, it was great! It had a cozy, hidden feeling, like a friend's balcony. The soft serve ice cream uses milk from Kitachi Farm in Tokachi and Hiroo, giving it a slightly sticky texture that was too sweet for my liking. The bottom had sweet cornflakes. The chilled roasted sweet potato was not as special as my favorite shop's, but it was delicious. At 480 yen, the cost performance is good. It was the best terrace with a feeling of having the whole Otaru town to myself. Thank you for the meal!

It was in the morning, so I stopped by this shop craving for some coffee and sweets. The soft serve ice cream from Hokkaido was truly amazing! It was rich and very delicious. The staff were also very friendly. I would love to visit again when I come to Otaru. Next time, I want to try the red haruka flavored soft serve ice cream.

In August 2021, I visited a rental bike shop that used to be a bakery called "Inomata" on my way straight to the canal from Otaru Station. I knew they had started serving soft-serve ice cream, and my eldest daughter mentioned that on weekdays, high school girls flock there possibly due to a student discount, so I purposely avoided weekdays and visited on a Sunday. I tried the Strawberry Sundae (500 yen) and the Sweet Potato Parfait (480 yen). The soft-serve here uses milk from Brown Swiss cows raised at Kikuchi Farm in Hiroo-cho, Tokachi, giving it a rich and smooth taste with a nice finish. The machine here is not as fine as Nissei machines, with a slightly rough texture, but considering their main business is rental bikes, it's still impressive. The strawberries used are the small and slightly tart Suzuakane variety from Hokkaido, which pairs decently with the soft-serve. My wife chose the Sweet Potato Parfait, made with Red Haruka sweet potatoes from Ibaraki, and although I didn't try it myself, she said it had a simple taste. Across the road diagonally from here is a soft-serve shop called "Yamanaka Farm," so it might be interesting to compare the two!

A cafe near Otaru Station. The chilled sweet potato was delicious! Highly recommended!

Sri Lankan chicken curry for 1080 yen. The restaurant has a counter with 4 seats and a table for 22 people.