Festival Highlights
There are two main festival areas; the Otaru Canal Site and the Temiya Railway Line Site.
The Otaru Canal Site (Unga Kaijo) is the most famous of the two areas with its romantic setting and historic canal. The 300 meter long iconic Otaru Canal features handmade snow and ice art objects along its promenade along with candles in glass floats floating on the freezing surface of the canal.
The Temiya Railway Line Site (Temiyasen Kaijo) was home to one of Japan’s oldest railways, which helped in the rapid development of Hokkaido. The area between the canal and JR Otaru Station stretches for about 500 meters with the pathway along the discontinued rail line lined by lanterns and illuminated snow statues. It is a peaceful spot where you can admire the beautiful light and snow of the festival in silence and reflect.
There are many other parts of the city which are also illuminated in a myriad of snow candles. In fact, pretty much every nook and cranny of Otaru is illuminated in more than 100,000 private candles during the festival period changing the historic townscape of the city.
The Otaru Snow Light Path Festival is held around the same time as the nearby Sapporo Snow Festival (insert link), making it possible to see both festivals on the same trip to Hokkaido.