Otaru

Otaru Yuki Akari no Michi – Snow Light Path Festival

Japan, Otaru

Feb 172025

February 12 and 13, 2025

When I was in Otaru in 2017, I read about the Yuki Akari no Michi which means “snow light path” in Japanese. I knew I wanted to return someday.

The Otaru Snow Light Path Festival began in 1999 as a grassroots initiative by local residents and volunteers.

The event’s goal was to bring warmth and light to the harsh Hokkaido winters while preserving the city’s historic charm.

The festival was named after the work Yukiakari no Michi (“Snow Light Path”) by Otaru-related writer Sei Ito.

The festival emphasizes themes of connection and tranquility.

Despite its growing popularity, the festival remains committed to its original ethos of community participation and handmade artistry.

Each candle and lantern is carefully crafted.

The candles are maintained by over 2,000 volunteers.

The Otaru Canal

The event has two main venues, Otaru Canal (Unga Kaijo), the abandoned Temiya Railway Line (Temiyasen Kaijo). Although the locals often decorate their neighborhoods and homes as well.

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The locals can be found crafting hearts, ducks, trees, and other shapes to hand to visitors so they can place them and enjoy being a part of the festival.

Along the abandoned Temiya Railway Line (Temiyasen Kaijo) is a slide for tubing and fun

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Wandering around town during the day, I found a few fun sculptures in front of stores.

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Japan, Otaru

Feb 172025

February 13, 2025

I fell in love with Otaru on a trip in 2017. It has so much history and an incredible amount of charm, even in the snow. While I was here for the snow light path festival, I enjoyed the town during the day as well.

The Katsuni River runs into the Otaru Canal.

Kitaichi Hall

Kitaichi Glass is a long-established Otaru-based company that began producing kerosene lamps and glass floats used for fishing nets.

Glass lanterns in Kitaichi Hall

Kitaichi Glass was established in 1901 to manufacture kerosene lamps and trawler floats.

Building #3 was originally used as a warehouse built by a fishery processor in 1896 to store herring and other items and lit by kerosene lamps made by Kitaichi glass.

The only source of lighting in the hall are the 167 kerosene lamps lit every morning at 8:45 by human hands.

Notice the Glass fishing ball hanging on the left of the sweet potato stand.

The Otaru Steam clock is a replica of the famous Gastown clock in Vancouver, BC.

The Otaru Steam Clock is a British-style bronze clock that was a gift from Vancouver, Canada. It is partially powered by a steam engine and chimes with a steam whistle every 15 minutes. Installed in 1994, it was once the world’s second-largest steam clock.

I was on this trip with a cracked patella, I can truly relate to signs like this.

You will find these sandboxes throughout Hokkaido. They are bags filled with an anti-slip agent stone from a rock quarry in Sapporo. You are free to open a bag and spread as much as needed over slippery areas.

This sandbox I spotted in Sapporo

Otaru on the Sea of Japan

Otaru

Dec 262017

December 2017

Otaru is a lovely little town situated on Ishikari Bay of the Sea of Japan. It was an Ainu (native peoples of Hokkaido) settlement, and the name “Otaru” is recognized as being of Ainu origin, possibly meaning “River running through the sandy beach”. Otaru was recognized as a village by the bakufu (The shogun’s officials were collectively the bakufu) in 1865, and in 1880 the first railway line in Hokkaido was opened with daily service between Otaru and Sapporo.

A former Millet store, this delightful building dates to the Meiji period of Japan. 1909

An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Otaru as an open port for trading with the United States and the UK.

The city flourished with herring fishing and was once the center of the economy of Hokkaido.
Otaru once called “Northern Wall Street was also a central banking and financial center.

Natori Takasaburo a metals merchant and hardware trader from Yamanashi prefecture built this store with attached living quarters in 1906. The exterior walls are made of Sapporo soft stone. This is an excellent example of the commercial architecture of the later Meiji period

Otaru is a major station on the JR Hakodate Line, making it very easy to get to from Sapporo. There are at least five trains per hour, a one-way trip is ¥640 and the fastest train takes around 30 minutes.

The canal was completed in 1923 to aid in getting goods, via smaller boats, from the ships to the warehouses that line the canal. It is just a 10-minute walk from Otaru Station.

This building stands in the center of town and was a warehouse for Mukai Kimono Shops branch store. It is one of the few brick warehouses built in Otaru. Because of a large fire that swept through the town in 1904 the building used thick earthen fire doors on the interior of the windows.

The area is also known for its glass blowing so the biggest things to do is shop at the tourist stores along Sakaimachi road and eat fresh fish. You can find fresh fish stores and chose your own or dine in one of the hundreds of restaurants serving fresh sushi. It is crab season in Japan, so fresh crab abounds in all of the restaurants.

You can also find several fish stores throughout town that will grill the fish right there

You can also take boat rides on the canal, sadly the snow and winds were too heavy the day we were there and they were not running.

The shops of Sakaimachi Street

There are two quasi-covered malls, while not the greatest stores, it does offer a respite from the snow and wind if needed.

Small sushi restaurants can be found hidden off a side alley from one of the covered malls.

When the sun goes down, lights come out on the canal

If you have the chance to visit in February, don’t miss the snow light festival.