By Yuki Suzuki

What image do you have of Otaru? Most people imagine that Otaru is one of the sightseeing places in Hokkaido and has a fresh summer without a rainy season, and also is famous for its canal, sushi, glass, music boxes and so on.

However, people like me who grew up in Otaru donﾕt have those kinds of images. There is more than just the summer with blue skys and sightseeing spots around the Marchen Crossing.

What I really want visitors to see are the private wooden houses in the back alleys that people live in, and the traditional residential areas such as Shukutsu and Nagabashi. It is wonderful how these houses contrast with the shining fresh snow. Whatﾕs more, Otaru has many slopes. The sight that you can see after climbing up steep slopes is beautiful. The scenery changes according to the weather and the season. You wonﾕt be able to forget the sight of Otaru with snow that can be seen from the top of the Funami Slope on winter nights under the innumerable stars in the sky. There are many attractive places in Otaru which the guidebooks never mention.

Otaru has many beautiful spots. After the maintenance of the canal was completed, the number of sightseers doubled to approximately 5 million a year. In 2000, it was over 9 million people. However, it gradually decreased to about 8 million people by 2004. What is the cause of the decrease? There are two reasons: First, the number of visitors from April to September is about 70 percent of the total. The number of visitors in December falls to 25 percent compared with the busiest season of August. And Otaruﾕs winter gets extremely cold. Second, the rate of sightseers who stay overnight is about 10 percent. Most stay from only three to six hours. The problem is how to increase the number of guests who stay overnight.

As a solution to this problem, the event called "The Snow Light Path" was born from the imagination of Otaru citizens. That charm can be seen on winter nights because snow exists only in winter and the lights are fantastic in the darkness of the night. This idea took the negative aspects of winter and the night and made them attractive. This event is connected to the refreshing of the area.

The first time it was held in February, 1999 it was a sensation which succeeded far beyond the executive committee's expectations. Candles shine softly in the white snow. And there are also floating glass balls where candles are put in glass balls and floated on the surface of the canal. A Romantic atmosphere is created along the canal with the group of warehouses lit up, gas lamps glowing, and the glass balls floating in the water. The winter night of Otaru isnﾕt usually thought of as a tourist attraction. Who could have imagined such a beautiful sight?

The eighth "Snow Light Path"will be held from February 10 to 19, 2006. It has developed into a great event which represents winter in Hokkaido just like the Sapporo Snow Festival. Many of the candles and most of the snow figures are made by volunteers. Over a hundred volunteers from Hokkaido, Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Tochigi, Hyogo, and so on participated in "Snow Light Path", and there were also 30 volunteers from South Korea for this event in 2004. You can become a volunteer easily if you have just one hour to spare. You can join as a volunteer who help sightseers remember their time in Otaru by leaving a message on a paper cup with a candle in it.

How about walking along the road decorated with snow candles with your sweetheart, your family, or your friends? You will be able to feel the warmth of people only when you are under Otaruﾕs unique wintry sky.

If you go to this event you will discover a new charm of Otaru that is much different from summer.