Otaru Music Box Museum

photo by Arjan Richter from Maarssen, The Netherlands · CC BY 2.0

photo by MiNe · CC BY 2.0

Its steam clock, from 1994, produces real steam, but the movement is electric.

In front of the 1915 brick building, you stop and wait for the hour: every quarter of an hour five whistles sound while the bronze steam clock produces real steam from a computer-controlled boiler, although the hands are moved by an electric motor. It is the second work in the world by its creator, the Canadian Raymond Saunders, after the one in Vancouver, with which it is twinned.

The museum occupies a 1915 brick building in Otaru's canal district. In front of the entrance, the bronze steam clock (5.5 metres tall, 1.5 tonnes), installed on 25 June 1994, is presented as the largest of its kind in the world.

ℹ️ The steam clock is outside, visible at any time; entry to the museum follows the shop's opening hours.

🚉 Minami-Otaru · 6 min walk

Sources: otaru-orgel.co.jp

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