OTARU (Hokkaido), Marc 18 — There is snow everywhere. Winter in Hokkaido promises this and with snowfall, a number of winter festivals all over this northern Japanese island. The most famous one is the Sapporo Snow Festival, of course, with its grand scale and international ice sculpture competitions.

Not far away and lesser known is the Otaru Snow Light Path Festival (Otaru Yuki Akari no Michi). A half an hour train ride away, Otaru feels more intimate than Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. Closer to the sea and known by some as the Venice of Hokkaido thanks to its iconic Otaru Canal (Otaru Unga).

Instead of giant snow monuments, smaller snow statues dot the landscape, as though they were icy garden gnomes appearing in the most surprising of places.

Otaru Canal (Otaru Unga) by day

Volunteers at Temiyasen Kaijo, the former Temiya Railway Line site

Expect lights after the sun has set, illuminating the town with a fairy glow. Otaru in winter offers us a path of light and snow to investigate.

The festival runs in early to mid-February, usually around the same time as the Sapporo Snow Festival, making this an easy day trip.

Once outside the JR Otaru Station, we can just make out the canal in the distance. It’s not quite dark yet, the clouds allow a grey afternoon light to pass through.

Halfway between the station and the canal, we pass by the former Temiya Railway Line site. Known as Temiyasen Kaijo, this is one of the two major festival areas.

An artist carving out the name of the town in snow

Otaru Denuki Koji with its watchtower (left). A seagull perched on a street lamp (right)

While it only comes to life at night, we spot several volunteers shovelling snow. Artists carve out snow lanterns to be lit up with candles in the evening.

The abandoned track at Temiyasen Kaijo is a remnant of what was the third oldest railway in Japan, built in 1880. Trains used to carry coal between Temiya and Horonai until the line was terminated in 1985.

Today the disused track is transformed into a half-a-kilometre-long snow tunnel. We can’t wait to see it illuminated by candlelight.

Restored warehouses with their frozen roofs

Relighting candles with a blow torch

As we approach the canal, where the second festival site of Unga Kaijo is located, we decide to get a bird’s eye view of the town.

Most folks head to Otaru Denuki Koji, right at the edge of town, to peruse the almost two dozen small shops inside the historical building. Not many know that the watchtower here is open to the public, completely free!

We climb the rickety wooden steps and get a 360-degree view of Otaru. Of course, the most scenic part is still the canal. It’s amusing to see the pedestrians below us, crossing the road and ambling towards both banks of the canal, scrambling like ants in the snow. Boats ferry tourists wrapped like dumplings.

Miniature castles with keeps of candle fire

Dusk falls... and snowfall, too

There are the famous restored warehouses spanning the length of the Otaru Canal. In the heart of winter, their roofs freeze — we can see the icicles dangling down like twinkling teeth.

Tiny glass buoys — which used to be employed in herring fishing — carry candles so there is a constellation of stars on the waters of the canal.

All shimmering, as though light could sing.

The Otaru Canal lit up at night

The hilly slopes of Tenguyama in the distance

Miniature castles along the banks of the canal have hearts of candle fire in their keeps. Seagulls, undeterred by the cold, perch on top of the street lamps. These used to be gas lamps but now run on electricity so no burnt gull feathers drift in the winter gales.

Couples huddle together on the Asakusabashi bridge for warmth. Children chase each other and laugh. Older folks trudge in the snow, carrying umbrellas to ward off the snow — yes, it’s snowing! In the distance, the hilly slopes of Tenguyama offer a dramatic backdrop.

Snow and light: romantic and poetic, bone-chilling and heart-warming, all at the same time.

A constellation of stars on the waters of the canal (left). Floating glass buoys carrying candles (right)

Pressed autumn leaves, like jewels in the night

On our way back to the station, we return to Temiyasen Kaijo. The snow-laden tunnel is now illuminated like a secret hideaway of winter elves. In contrast to the open space of the canal, we are supposed to wander, to explore, to get lost here.

Parts of it are so dark, all the better for little niches of candlelight to shine through: Pressed leaves from autumn make for orange-red silhouettes, a reminder it was another season only a month or two before; the sharp, shadowed profile of a couple almost kissing; the name of the town adorned with little stars. Jewels in the night.

If chainsaws and machines are used for the ice sculptures of Sapporo, here in Otaru, locals nurture a philosophy of making everything by hand. And not only Otaru residents either; every winter there are visitors from countries such as South Korea and Thailand coming to take part in crafting the magic of the snow festival from scratch.

Make no mistake about it: this is hard work, requiring volunteers to battle the chilling winter winds and bitter cold. Sudden blizzards mean each candle has to be relit by hand, with a blow torch and a pair of tongs.

A flame inside the snow

No one seems to be complaining though. It’s this spirit of togetherness, of camaraderie in spite of the babble of different languages, that brings everyone closer. It’s a bond born of a shared toil and a shared joy in the results.

While the canal and the former railway track are the main festival sites, there are tiny "snow light paths” all over Otaru. Residents light candles — thousands of them — everywhere to convey their sense of pride at how the festival has attracted visitors from around the world to their small town. Discovering these nooks of delight is part of the adventure in Otaru!

What a blessing it is, in the unrelenting rush of our daily lives, to have a few moments, even in this harsh season, to slow down and reflect.

It’s easy to believe there is an answer to everything in the soft glow of candlelight, in the glittering powder of snow.

Getting there

From JR Sapporo Station, take a train to JR Otaru Station. The fastest is the rapid train (30 minutes); local trains (45 minutes) are also available. It’s a 10-minute walk in a straight path from the JR Otaru Station to the Unga Kaijo festival area at the canal; Temiyasen Kaijo lies midway along this walk. Both areas are lit up from 5pm to 9pm during the festival.