On February 15th, I went to Otaru to check out this year’s Snow Light Path! This year, it lasted from February 8th-15th, and since I was on vacation, Saturday the 15th was the last day I could experience it this year. My friend also wanted to hang out, so we spent the day in Otaru eating and shopping!
I got on my usual bus, and arrived early so I could finally check out a cafe! It’s a small shop, mostly catered tourists foriengers, with an English friendly menu, run by an Australian guy and a Japanese lady. I don’t drink coffee, but I hear they make a good flat white, which is uncommon here! My actual goal was the brownie, because it’s hard to come by good ones here.
I actually arrived at 10 when they were supposed to be open, and there were also a few other people waiting. The owners ended up arriving a bit late, but welcomed everyone in to the small shop and took orders right away. Emphasis on small shop, as there are seats, but became packed with people immediately. I got a matcha latte, and of course, my brownie. The brownie came with cream, so why not.
I was warned that the matcha is real powder, so it wouldn’t come out of my clothes if I spilled it. The latte was pretty good, but as with my experience with hot matcha lattes, the matcha flavor is a bit muted. The brownie was also good, more on the cakey than fudgey side, but the flavor was a rich dark chocolate. Cream was a fluffy whipped cream, and complimented the brownie nicely. I do wish the name mentioned cashews though.
I met up with my friend at 11 at the station, and we walked around chatting and killing time until lunchtime. We wanted to try out Otaru Bine, a restaurant in a redesigned historic building that specializes in wine. We shared some fried potatos, and I got a crab pasta.
The potatoes came hot and freshly fried, and well-seasoned! While I do prefer my fries thinner to maximize crispiness, these were pretty good. I feel like they weren’t a normal potato, as the inside was a deep yellow, and sweeter than a normal potato. I liked the pasta a lot! There was a decent amount of crab, and the sauce wasn’t too creamy either.
We spent the rest of our afternoon hanging out around the Sakaimachi area. We climbed up the Denukikoji tower at one point, and unfortunately, I had a newly-purchase earring slip off my ear and fall off onto the snowy roof. That one’s a goner. Much sad.
Around 4, we decided to pick up a treat and then part ways. We went with Mister Donut, since that’s close to the station. It’s February, which means it’s chocolate season. I bought the chocolate crunch from the limited series, though I may have actually gotten this one last year…
Nevertheless, it was good, and my first “fresh” Mister Donut experience! I’ve always eaten donuts the next day, and eating it the day of definitely changes things. Although I saved it for when I got home, the donut was chewy, the crunchies were a nice texture contrast, and not too chocolatey.
While I was there and had time before the official Snow Light Path start time, I picked up a cake from LeTao. Their selection had really cleared out since I checked in the morning, and I got a seasonal cake. It has layers of pistachio cream and chocolate sponge cake, and topped with strawberries and French cherries.
I ate this the next morning for breakfast! I liked it a lot, and the pistachio flavor was strong in the cream. The berries had some sort of syrup glaze, and the cake was soft and fluffy.
As I headed to see the Snow Light Path at the canal venue, I popped into the new LeTao store next to the canal. Otaru truly doesn’t need another LeTao store on top of the already existing five, but what makes this one is that it operates as a bar during the night and serves alcohol and parfaits. It did though, showcase the annual wine glass tower. That was pretty cool.
This year instead of food booths at the very end of the canal, there was a “Welcome Soup Stand” near the canal venue entrance. They served hot drinks, as well as soups from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Sri Lanka. For food, the booth also had sausages.
When 5 rolled around, the volunteer staff started lighting up the candles for the Snow Light Path. It was light enough that it could still be considered daylight, but dark enough to see the pretty lights! I started with the canal venue, and worked my way to the art museum venue and then ending at the Old Temiya line venue. There were also lights all throughout the central area.
The canal venue this year was definitely smaller, as I’m pretty sure the previous years spanned a few blocks of it at least. This year, it only spanned one block. One thing different though, was there was a voting system of sorts. I guess the volunteers got into groups and made bigger scuptures of their own. You could drop an electric candle into the voting box of the one you liked best.
The art museum venue was self-contained in a lot behind the museum, but that one was super cute with a snow stage. I arrived just in time to see a performance getting started. It was a pre-recorded narration about a mother and son fox, and two people dancing on stage acting it out.
I liked the Temiya venue the best! The sculptures there were the cutest, and also most impressive. There was even a giant slide that had a pretty long line.
It was kind of a weird time to go home and I didn’t get a drink today, so I bought a sandwich at the station bakery for dinner. I like me a good BLT, amd this bakery was the first time I’d seen one in Japan. The original price was 410, but I got a discount! I’m suspecting it’s because it’s later in the evening.
Like a standard BLT, it has lettuce, tomato, and bacon. There was also a tangy mayo sauce. The bread itself was a bit cold, but I had nowhere to reheat it, so that’s on me. Bacon was a standard Japanese bacon, but overall, a satisfying sandwich.
And then I took the bus at 6 to go home! I almost lost my other earring on the bus, but thankfully I retrieved it. RIP other earring.
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