What time should I arrive at the Otaru Snow Light Path?

For the 17:00 lighting. The half hour afterwards, with the sky over the canal still deep blue, gives the most beautiful light for photographs and the smallest crowd; then walk the Temiya Line and the back streets as full dark comes. The candles burn until 21:00 over around eight evenings in early to mid-February.

Is the Otaru Snow Light Path free, and does snowfall spoil it?

Everything is free to walk, from the canal, where candles float in glass buoys beneath the stone warehouses, to the disused Temiya railway line, where volunteers carve the snow between the rails into lanterns. Snowfall during the evening is common and only improves it. There are no stages, sculptures or fireworks; the whole point is the flame.

Can I do Otaru as an evening from Sapporo?

Easily. Otaru is a short train ride from Sapporo, and both the canal and the Temiya Line are a short walk from the station, so it works as an evening excursion during the Snow Festival, which it overlaps. Expect deep cold and slippery streets, and wear boots with grip for the icy back lanes.

Otaru Snow Light Path

小樽雪あかりの路

Early February 2027 – Mid February 2027

Otaru, Hokkaido

Snow lanterns glowing along the towpath of the Otaru Canal at night, candles afloat on the still water and snow-laden stone warehouses hung with icicles reflected on the far bank, with onlookers standing along the path — Photo:The canal after the 17:00 lighting — snow lanterns along the path, candles afloat in glass buoys, and the warehouses under snow opposite. The half hour before full dark is the one worth being there for.t-konno via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped

The dates for this event have not been confirmed yet. They are an estimate from the event’s own pattern, and this page is updated as soon as the organiser announces the real ones — check the official site for the latest. Last held 7–14 February 2026.

Otaru's festival is one of candlelight rather than sculpture. For eight evenings in February the old port town lights thousands of candles in snow lanterns along the Otaru Canal, where they are set afloat in glass buoys on the water beneath the stone warehouses, and along the disused Temiya railway line, where the snow between the rails is carved into lanterns by volunteers. Smaller displays appear at the Otaru Art Base and in courtyards and side streets across the town, each one made by hand that afternoon.

The candles are lit at 17:00 and burn until 21:00. The half hour after lighting, when the sky over the canal is still deep blue, gives the most beautiful light for photographs and the smallest crowd; from there, walk the Temiya Line and the back streets as full dark comes. Snowfall during the evening, which is common, only improves it.

Otaru is a short train ride from Sapporo, and both the canal and the Temiya Line are a short walk from the station, so it is easily done as an evening from Sapporo during the Snow Festival, which it overlaps. Everything is free to walk. Expect deep cold, slippery streets and a quiet, romantic mood; there are no stages, no sculptures and no fireworks, and the whole point is the flame.

Otaru Snow Light Path

Discover what Japan celebrates through the year

Frequently Asked Questions