Otaru Canal

The canal was beautiful! It had lovely copper railings that had aged to a gorgeous patina. I couldn’t help wondering if that material would have lasted in our area; not because of the weather, although Hokkaido does get a lot of snow, but because of the prevalence of copper thefts. (Did you know that the external a/c units at my school have been stolen TWICE for their copper wiring?)

It was almost 1:30 by the time we reached the canal and we were all getting a little warm and cranky. Next stop: lunch.