Otaru Museum

The Otaru Museum covers 5.8 hectares on the former Temiya Station grounds and displays railway vehicles and scientific exhibits both indoors and outdoors. The site includes historic locomotive sheds, restored steam engines, and interactive science displays spread across multiple buildings.

The museum grew from the 1956 Otaru City Museum and later absorbed collections from the Youth Science and Technology Museum. The facility opened at its current site in 2007, bringing together transport and science collections under one roof.

The museum preserves locomotives and railway equipment that once drove the region's industrial growth. Visitors can see steam engines and scientific experiments that show how technology changed daily life in this part of Hokkaido.

Admission costs 400 yen, with a combined ticket for 500 yen that includes access to the Canal Museum branch. The outdoor areas are freely accessible and allow visitors to walk among the exhibits.

The site houses Japan's oldest surviving locomotive depot from the Meiji era. Eight of Hokkaido's twelve officially recognized railway monuments stand here, a concentration found nowhere else.

Location: Temiya

Inception: 2007

Official opening: July 14, 2007

Address: 北海道小樽市手宮1-3-6

Website: https://city.otaru.lg.jp/docs/2020111300736

GPS coordinates: 43.21125,141.00130

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:28