ery year in February the streets of the romantic port town of Otaru are illuminated with the glow of candlelight for 10 days to coincide with the famous Sapporo Snow Festival. The Otaru Snow Light Path Festival, called the Otaru Yuki Akari no Michi (小樽雪あかりの路) in Japanese is a spectacular annual winter festival that first began in 1999 and attracts around 500,000 visitors every year.
Otaru is a port city steeped in a rich history located near Niseko on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. The picturesque Otaru Canal with its nostalgic old stone and brick warehouses and Victorian-style gas lamps is the main attraction of the festival, and is illuminated by soft flickering candle lit lanterns and small snow statues, creating an amazing winter atmosphere.