2027.02.06 — 2027.02.13 · Coming soon

A hundred thousand candles in Otaru’s snow.

Otaru Snow Light Path 2027

Since 1999 Otaru’s citizens have made the Snow Light Path by hand, naming it after Snow Light Path, a poem by Otaru writer Ito Sei. On the canal, hundreds of glass floats once used for herring fishing hold candles on the water; along the old Temiya Line, part of Hokkaido’s first railway, the rails lie under the snow between rows of candles. There are also sites at Otaru Art Base, with a big slide, a cappella and YOSAKOI, and on Mount Tengu, reached by ropeway. Some 120,000 candles are lit over the festival, each by hand, by more than 2,000 volunteers who relight them when they go out. The 29th edition runs from 6 to 13 February 2027, with details to come.