Road Sign misspelled Otaru Port as ‘Otaru Poot’ in English for over 30 Years

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, December 9, 2023

SAPPORO — The municipality of Otaru, Hokkaido, on Thursday corrected a road sign that misspelled Otaru Port as “Otaru Poot” in English.

According to the city government, the erroneous sign had been on display for 30 years since its installation in fiscal 1992.

On Thursday morning, a contractor commissioned by the city covered the misspelling with the right lettering, fixing it to “Otaru Port”.

“I never noticed it,” said an 80-year-old who lives nearby. “But it’s a funny mistake. I’m glad it’s been fixed.”

The city government’s construction project office said it used this opportunity to check all other road signs on the streets and found no other errors.

“We will conduct checks more carefully in the future to avoid mistakes and prevent a recurrence,” an official said.