In the coldest part of the Hokkaido winter, the port town of Otaru fills its streets with candles set in snow. The Snow Light Path runs for about eight days in early February, and its two main stages are the old Otaru Canal and the disused Temiya rail line — places heavy with the town's history as a gateway to the northern frontier.

Along the canal, floats of light drift on the water: glass fishing buoys, repurposed as candle holders, some two hundred of them glowing on the dark surface. The candlelight catches on the stone warehouses lining the banks, buildings that once handled the trade of a busier age, now softened by snow and flame.

There are around a hundred and twenty thousand candles in all, and the essential fact about them is that most are placed and lit by hand, by local volunteers. The festival began in 1999, out of a simple wish held by a few residents — to brighten the quiet Otaru winter, the season after the tourists have gone. Visitors can light candles themselves; the warmth is meant to be shared, not just watched.

This is what gives the festival its particular tenderness. It is handmade, and it knows it. On the coldest nights of the Otaru year, the town lights itself by hand — the warmest light in the deepest cold.