Otaru is a one-hour train ride from Chitose and its canal was a central part of the busy port in the Twentieth Century but then became obsolete. A part of the canal was restored while warehouses were transformed into museums, shops and restaurants.
The Otaru Snow Light Path Festival is held for 10 days in February, and the city is decorated with 120,000 snow lanterns, lights and small snow statues. Otaru was our first snow/ice festival in Hokkaido with four (or five) more to follow….
AloJapan.com