Otaru Snow Light Path Festival

When and where is it held?

The Otaru Snow Light Path Festival (Otaru Yuki Akari no Michi) is a candlelight festival held for about a week every February in Otaru, Hokkaido. It began in 1999 and reached its 28th edition in 2026. It is organised by a committee chaired by the president of the Otaru Tourism Association, and the lights are lit from 5pm to 9pm.

The dates shift a little each year. In 2026 it ran for eight days, from Saturday 7 to Saturday 14 February. According to the organising committee, it starts on the Saturday after exams so that students of Otaru University of Commerce, who support it as volunteers, can focus on their end-of-term exams, and the dates were also set to overlap partly with the Sapporo Snow Festival. The next, 29th festival is set for eight days, from 6 to 13 February 2027.

The name comes from 'Yuki Akari no Michi' (Snow Light Path), a collection of poems by the writer Sei Ito.

The four main venues

At the Otaru Canal venue, about 200 glass floats with candles inside are set afloat on the canal, which is lined with old stone warehouses. The organisers describe the scene as 'a Milky Way floating on the water'. It has been decided that from 2027 the floating lights on the canal, and only those, will switch to electric light, because this greatly cuts the set-up cost and lets the brightness be adjusted; the other venues will keep using candles as before.

The Temiya Line venue is the disused track of the old JNR Temiya Line, once part of the first railway to open in Hokkaido. Snow sculptures and candlelight run along a long, narrow path with the rails still under the snow, and the organisers call it 'a Galaxy Railway down a back alley'.

The Otaru Art Base venue is a square surrounded by museums housed in historic buildings from the early 20th century, with a stage for a cappella and YOSAKOI (a lively, modern style of Japanese group dance) and a big snow slide. The Mount Tengu venue is at the summit, reached by ropeway, where you can enjoy heart-shaped snow sculptures together with the night view over Otaru.

Handmade, and open to everyone

The organisers explain that, in contrast to the Sapporo Snow Festival, they have always focused on being 'participatory' and 'handmade'. Around 120,000 candles in total are lit over the festival. Neighbourhood associations, local volunteers and various groups, joined by overseas volunteers from South Korea and Taiwan, make up a staff of more than 2,000 in total who build the venues.

In the cold they pack snow to make the sculptures, clear the snow by hand after a blizzard, set out and light the candles every day, and relight them one by one whenever the wind blows them out. Besides the main venues there are 'community lights' venues, where residents in shopping streets, schools, shrines and elsewhere around the city decorate with snow and candlelight on dates of their own choosing. The organisers sell official candles and encourage people to spread the light to their own front doors and shopfronts.

Enjoying it, and things to keep in mind

Because the Mount Tengu venue is on a mountain, it can be cancelled in bad weather; in 2025 there was a day when bad weather cancelled it.

The lights are delicate and easily knocked over or blown out by snow and wind. Volunteers tend to them every day, so don't touch the sculptures or candles, and take your time strolling and looking. It gets bitterly cold after sunset during the festival, so bring shoes that won't slip on snowy paths and warm clothing.

Tips

• The lights are lit from 5pm to 9pm. Some of the 'community lights' venues run on different dates, so check the official website.
• You reach the Mount Tengu venue by ropeway to the summit. It can be cancelled in bad weather, so pick a day with good weather.
• The dates are chosen to overlap partly with the Sapporo Snow Festival (as in 2026), so you can combine both on a winter trip to Hokkaido.
• You can also take part as a volunteer. Jobs range from simply lighting candles to heavy lifting, and some volunteers come from overseas.
• Please don't touch the snow sculptures or candles. Volunteers look after each light by hand.