When Is Otaru Snow Light Path 2027? Dates, Venues, Lighting Hours, and Campervan Parking

Otaru Snow Light Path 2027 runs for eight days, from Saturday, February 6 to Saturday, February 13. The Otaru Tourism Association announced, “The dates have been set for February 6–13. Details will follow as soon as they are decided,” and the venues and lighting hours have not been published yet (Otaru Tourism Association, checked 2026-10-07).

For lighting hours, the most recent event, the 28th (2026), ran from 17:00 to 21:00 (official website, checked 2026-10-07). Using that record as a base, this article goes through what you can see, where you will walk, the cold, how to get there, and parking if you drive. Please check the official sources for the 2027 details once they are announced.

A note first for drivers: the organizers do not provide parking. The official guidance asks visitors to use public transportation and paid parking lots around the city (HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07). How to find parking is covered in a later section.

When is Otaru Snow Light Path 2027? Eight days, Saturday, February 6 to Saturday, February 13

The 2027 dates were announced in the Otaru Tourism Association’s notice dated June 9, 2026. The HOKKAIDO LOVE! event listing also gives “Saturday, February 6 to Saturday, February 13, 2027” (Otaru Tourism Association, HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07).

Edition	Period	Lighting hours
28th (2026)	Saturday, February 7 to Saturday, February 14 (8 days)	17:00–21:00 (actual)
2027	Saturday, February 6 to Saturday, February 13 (8 days)	Not yet announced. Venues and program also to be announced

Admission is free (basic information on HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07). The official site has not yet given an edition number for 2027, so this article simply writes “2027.”

The 2027 Sapporo Snow Festival runs from Thursday, February 4 to Thursday, February 11 (a national holiday), overlapping the first half of the Otaru dates (Sapporo Snow Festival official website, checked 2026-10-07). Ways to combine the two are covered in a later section.

What kind of festival is it? A citizen-made event that lights the city with only snow and candles

Otaru Snow Light Path first took place in 1999. The official website says it aims to spread the “spirit” of the event rather than to grow in scale, and notes that neighborhood associations, citizen volunteers, and various organizations run it by hand (About Otaru Snow Light Path, checked 2026-10-07).

The name comes from the poetry collection Yukiakari no Michi by Ito Sei, a writer with ties to Otaru (same page). The official site says that, in contrast to the Sapporo Snow Festival, the event has stuck to being “participatory” and “handmade.”

The official site also gives figures for the scale. Over the course of the event, a total of 120,000 candles are lit, supported by a total of more than 2,000 volunteers (same page, checked 2026-10-07). The official English page says that more than 500,000 visitors come during the event (English, a statement as of the 26th edition, checked 2026-10-07).

These are not flashy electric lights but candles set in the snow. The ground is dark, the wind can blow flames out, and volunteers relight them one by one. That is part of what makes the event worth seeing.

Where are the venues? The canal, Temiya Line, Otaru Art Village, Mt. Tengu, and citizens’ “Akari” venues around town

The venues for the 28th edition were the Otaru Canal, the former Japanese National Railways Temiya Line, and the Otaru Art Village, plus various places around Otaru (official website, checked 2026-10-07). The official venue page divides them into five.

Venue	Official description (28th edition)
Canal venue	Historic stone buildings and the light of glass fishing floats set afloat on the canal
Temiya Line venue	Part of the first railway section opened in Hokkaido. The tracks still remain under the snow
Otaru Art Village venue	A square surrounded by museums housed in early 20th-century buildings. A cappella, YOSAKOI, and a large slide. The opening ceremony is also held here
Mt. Tengu (Tenguyama) venue	Take the ropeway to the summit. Snow heart objects and the night view of Otaru. Warm food and drinks at the summit
Citizens’ Akari venues	Small venues around the city, such as shopping streets, schools, and neighborhood associations. Dates differ by venue

The canal venue is about a 10-minute walk from JR Otaru Station (HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07). The 2027 venues have not been announced. The lineup may change from year to year, so check the official site before planning your itinerary.

For how to spend the daytime in Otaru, see the Otaru Campervan Drive Guide. Because the event starts in the evening, a plan that covers the canal area and the Yoichi direction during the day and returns to the venues before sunset is easy to put together.

What can you see? Floating candles on the canal, tracks buried in snow, and lights on street corners

On the water at the canal venue, about 200 glass “floating candles,” once used as fishing gear, drift along. At the former Temiya Line, candles in the snow and snow slides line the route (HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07).

In the official site’s words, the canal lights are a “Milky Way floating on the water” and the Temiya Line is a “Galaxy Railroad in the back alleys.” The English page describes the Temiya Line as the site of a line closed in 1985, so quiet that you can hear your own footsteps (official English page, checked 2026-10-07).

• Canal venue: floating candles, and a message candle booth at the foot of Asakusabashi Bridge
• Temiya Line venue: a path of candles running along the tracks that remain under the snow
• Otaru Art Village venue: a snow slide, a cappella, YOSAKOI, and other performances
• Mt. Tengu venue: snow heart objects and the night view. Take the ropeway to go up
• Citizens’ Akari venues: small lights in the urban area, including Yanagawa Shopping Street, Miyakodori Shopping Street, and Nichigin-dori

As examples of citizens’ venues, Yanagawa Shopping Street placed stained-glass candles and snow objects in front of each shop, and Miyakodori Shopping Street created photo spots with snow candles and wax bowls inside its arcade (Citizens’ Akari venues, checked 2026-10-07). The 2027 lineup has not been announced.

HOKKAIDO LOVE! also says that food-tour tickets for sushi, Otaru sweets, and warm noodles will be sold during the event (checked 2026-10-07). Please wait for the Otaru Tourism Association’s announcement for where they are sold and the prices.

What can you take part in? Message candles, wax bowl workshop, and backyard tour

There are also programs you can take part in, not just watch. For the 28th edition, the official site announced the following three (Events During the Period, checked 2026-10-07).

Program	Details	Conditions for the 28th edition (2027 not yet announced)
Message candle	Write a wish on a paper cup, light the candle, and place it at the venue	Canal venue (Asakusabashi Gardens), 17:00–21:00, ¥100 each
Wax bowl workshop	Make a holder for a candle and take it home	In front of the Museum of Literature and the Museum of Art. February 7–11: 16:00–19:00. Adults ¥2,000, children ¥1,000
Backyard tour	Qualified volunteer guides lead you through the venues and the history of the city. Some guided tours come with English interpretation	Reception on February 7, 8, 11, and 14 from 15:00 to 16:00. About 1 hour

In 2026, the opening ceremony was held at the Otaru Art Village venue from 17:00 on February 7, followed by a 15-minute gospel live performance (same page, checked 2026-10-07). The first day in 2027 is February 6.

The official site also recruits volunteers. It explains that many tasks, such as making snow candles and lighting the candles, are taught on site by staff, even for first-timers (Volunteers, checked 2026-10-07). If your travel plans fit, check the official site for how to apply.

How cold is it, and what should you wear? Around 0°C at midday and about -7°C in the morning and at night in early-February Sapporo

We could not confirm normals for Otaru alone this time. Looking at the Japan Meteorological Agency normals (1991–2020) for Sapporo (as little as 32 minutes away by train), the average daily high in early February is -0.5°C and the average daily low is -7.0°C. In mid-February, the high is 0.2°C and the low is -6.1°C (Japan Meteorological Agency, Sapporo ten-day normals, checked 2026-10-07). These are typical-year guides, not a forecast for the day.

The lights come on at 17:00, and you walk after dark. Expect it to feel colder than the daytime figures. The official site explains that many visitors come from regions where it does not snow and some are not wearing winter shoes, so sand is spread on slippery slopes at the venues (Volunteers, checked 2026-10-07).

It is easier to move around in non-slip shoes, a hat, gloves, and disposable heat packs. How to read the temperatures and how to keep warm inside the vehicle are covered in our article on winter temperatures in Hokkaido.

With a campervan, you can change into warmer clothes before walking and return to the vehicle to rest with a hot drink when you get cold. However, you cannot park the vehicle near the venues, so allow for the fact that the place you return to will be farther away.

How do you get there? As little as 32 minutes by train from Sapporo, and about a 10-minute walk from Otaru Station to the canal venue

From Sapporo, the JR “Rapid Airport” is convenient. It stops at Otaru-Chikko, Minami-Otaru, and Otaru, and takes as little as 32 minutes from Sapporo to Otaru and as little as 75 minutes from New Chitose Airport to Otaru (Otaru Tourism Association, Access to Otaru, checked 2026-10-07).

It is about a 10-minute walk from Otaru Station to the canal venue (HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07). The Temiya Line venue is in a different place from the canal venue, so check the official venue map for how to walk between venues.

The official venue page also includes access information for Chuo Bus (Otaru Tourism Association, checked 2026-10-07). The 2027 guide has not been announced.

If you are coming by car, decide on your parking plan from the next section first. Our winter driving articles are also helpful for planning a route from Sapporo, where you rent the campervan, to Otaru.

Winter driving and equipment are covered in the Complete Winter Drive Guide, and common concerns are sorted out in Worries About Snowy Roads, Ice, and Heating.

Where do you park if you drive? There is no organizer parking, so walk in from a large flat lot

To start with, there is no parking on the event side. The HOKKAIDO LOVE! event listing shows parking as “none” and notes: “The organizers do not provide parking. Please use public transportation as much as possible, and use paid parking lots around the city” (checked 2026-10-07).

For campervans, two more issues come on top of that.

The first is height and width. Around Otaru Station and the canal, there is a mix of multi-level and mechanical parking lots, and tall vehicles are stopped at the entrance. Judge by the actual vehicle height, including roof carriers or a pop-up roof, and consider only flat parking lots.

The second is snow. In February, snow piles from plowing reduce the usable spaces, and the white lines are hidden under the snow. Walking in from a large flat lot is calmer than squeezing a large vehicle into a small coin parking lot near the canal.

If you choose by size, Wing Bay Otaru in Otaru-Chikko states on its official website “parking for about 5,000 vehicles.” It is about a 5-minute walk from JR Otaru-Chikko Station, and about a 5-minute walk from the Otaru-Chikko Station bus stop for Chuo Bus (Wing Bay Otaru, Access, checked 2026-10-07).

Because it is some distance from the canal venue, you would combine it with a train or bus. Please check the fees, height limits, and how it operates during the event with the facility before use.

Availability at individual lots near the venues changes with snowfall and time of day. This article does not claim that you can park at any specific place. It helps to decide the order of actions in advance: finish parking by 16:00, before the lights come on, and if a lot is full, switch to another flat lot rather than waiting.

When is it less crowded? There are no official crowd figures. Avoid the crush by choosing time and venue

The official pages we checked this time did not give daily or hourly visitor figures. The event lasts eight days and includes two Saturdays. In 2027, the first day, February 6, and the last day, February 13, are Saturdays.

It is natural to assume that crowds concentrate at the canal venue, because it is the main scenery and within walking distance of the station. The three ideas below are ways to move based on the official venue layout, not measured crowd data.

• Go on a weekday evening: in 2027, the weekdays during the festival are Monday, February 8 to Wednesday, February 10, and Friday, February 12. Thursday, February 11 is a national holiday
• Take your canal photos early: around 17:00, when the lights come on, is when the candles are being lit. Take photos before the crowds grow, then walk the Temiya Line and the citizens’ Akari venues
• Aim for just before closing: shortly before the 21:00 end, it is likely easier to move than at other times. However, it is the coldest time, so park where you can get back to the vehicle quickly

On the first day, an opening ceremony is held at the Otaru Art Village venue from 17:00 (the 2026 record; official site, checked 2026-10-07). The date and time of the 2027 ceremony have not been announced.

Can you do it with the Sapporo Snow Festival? Both are open from February 6 to 11

In 2027, the Sapporo Snow Festival runs from February 4 to 11 and Otaru Snow Light Path from February 6 to 13. The overlap is the six days from February 6 to 11 (Sapporo Snow Festival official website, Otaru Tourism Association, checked 2026-10-07).

Sapporo to Otaru is as little as 32 minutes by train (Otaru Tourism Association, checked 2026-10-07). With a campervan, you can plan a day that sees the Sapporo venues at midday, moves to Otaru in the afternoon, and starts walking at the 17:00 lighting. Parking and overnight bases on the Sapporo side are covered in Sapporo Snow Festival parking and overnight bases.

You will want to avoid traveling between cities at night. After sunset the road surface freezes easily, and some days snowstorms reduce visibility. Snow Light Path ends at 21:00, and setting out after that means driving in the dark. A plan that settles your overnight stop near Otaru or on the Sapporo side and moves in daylight is the safer choice.

For a trip around winter Hokkaido starting from Sapporo, the 10-day winter Hokkaido model itinerary includes examples that connect February festivals. If you want to compare the dates of winter festivals side by side, Hokkaido winter events list (2027) lists them.

Where do you sleep in Otaru? There is no certified RV park in the city, and in winter, secure a facility that is open first

Where to sleep after walking at night is the biggest planning point of the trip. There is no JRVA-certified RV park in Otaru, and the nearest one, AKAIGAWA TOMO PLAYPARK in Akaigawa Village, is open from May 1 to early November (varies with snowfall) (Akaigawa Village DMO, checked 2026-10-07). February is outside its operating period. Details are in RV parks in Otaru.

Facilities confirmed to be open in winter are in 13 RV parks and Michi-no-Eki where you can stay overnight in winter. A realistic plan is to book a facility on the Sapporo side or nearby that clearly accepts overnight stays, then go to Otaru to see the event and return.

Staying overnight in parking lots or Michi-no-Eki that do not clearly accept overnight stays gets in the way of nighttime snow removal and hauling. Please avoid it.

For the cold, three preparations matter: bring the fuel for the FF heater close to full by evening, insulate the windows, and do not sleep with the engine running. If snowfall buries the muffler, exhaust gas may flow into the cabin.

Pages to read next

• Sapporo Snow Festival by Campervan | Parking and Overnight Bases Near the Venues
• Otaru Campervan Drive Guide
• Hokkaido Winter Events List (2027)
• 10-Day Winter Hokkaido Model Itinerary
• Winter Temperatures in Hokkaido