Hakuba ice candles

They say people in Finland make ice candles in their gardens at this time of the year when it gets coldest.


I tried to make some in following way this morning from last night.

#1. Check weather report, it probably needs to get minus 10 celsis at night at least for 5-6 hours ( maybe more ) to make this ice cover.
#2. Prepare tinplate buckets then fill enough water there. Put and leave them somewhere windy outside.
#3. Waking up at 5:30 a.m.,Grrrrrr and brrrr LOL


#4.Give some hot water around the outside of the buckets, have one upside down to take the ice out of them.


It was not frozen yet around the bottom of the buckets, this no frozen space is for a candle to go!

#5. Make fire at candles then put the ice cover upside down.



Candles are in glasses, so if you put them on snow, the glasses melt the snow around them to get deep in the snow as they get warm while fires at the candles are going on. You have to put something e.g. a thin piece of wood under the glass to avoid it. Air path needed at the lower side of the ice covers to supply oxen for the fire at candles.

**Be careful**
When you touch snow, ice, water under this condition of minus 10 celsis, you need to wear a pair of gloves. If you don't, your hands get frozen to some metal things e.g. door knobs, shovels etc when you touch them. Then it's really hard to get your hands apart from them! Maybe those who have not experienced this yet might not believe it, but just wear a pair of gloves!!





Just candles, but they can penetrate the thick ice ceilings by their warm fire.

Finland is located at that high latitude area, they can see sun nights in summer but they are to have long cold night time in winter instead. I guess that's one of reason why they make ice candles to warm their hearts.

***Additional note at night
It was damn cold outside today, been under zero all day long. It seems that it had been minus 14-13 celsis from midnight to 6 a.m. this morning!! The ice covers did not melt at all, so I used them again to enjoy ice candles at night as well.


Hayaokidori website

Candles for welcome back

It has been under zero celsis here in Hakuba for a couple of days. Just put some candles in glasses outside of the front door.

We hope this is a heart warming thing for our customers back from the ski slopes being almost frozen.

Hayaokodori website

Still active #3 - 115 series 1000

A 115-1000 series EMU train ready for Matsumoto at Shinano-Oomachi station.

Most Ooito line local train services are now by E127 series, but a few of 115-1000 series are still in charge for some especially trains that get out of Ooito line. When they get in Shinonoi line from Matsumoto, the ATS (Auto Train Stop ) system there in Shinonoi line seems different from the ones in Ooito line, so E127 series can not get out of Ooito line due to their system.

Hayaokidori website

One cold day, -6C at 3 p.m.

A real winter day after a long interval. It has been warmer than usual at this time of the year, it feels a bit weird. We got enough much snow to hit the ski slopes so it's no problem for skiers/snowboard, but it's been as if it were not winter.
Snow today was very dry and "powder". Even my snowblower slipped which was a bit scary when I removed snow.
It seems that it will have been snowy this week.

Hayaokidori website

Local train going up Hakuba Sanosaka.

I needed to go to Oomachi city today to get one of my van. I got on a local train and took some clips. This above is at Sanosaka ( Located between Minami-kamishiro and Yanaba ski jo mae ). It's a continuous uphill of 2.5% after the snow shade throughout the Lake Aoki. Must have been tough in the old steam locomotive days.

This below is from Yanaba to Uminokuchi, a continuous downhill. Lake Aoki area is a summit of this valley.


Hayaokidori website

Hakuba Onbe 2008

Onbe is a traditional event here in HaKuba. But our area is only one which still holds this event even now. All the other areas have already quit it, maybe it must have been tough to keep holding it. Onbe is held at the first Sunday after the new year's day. The date is really flexible. If the first Sunday was Jan.2nd, maybe people in Hakuba are very busy because most of them have jobs related to ski industry. Perhaps the date would be postponed next Sunday ( 9th ) in that case.
At the Onbe day, children visit each and every door to ask some donation for them. Some adults in charge of the community hall activities have to lead them. I am the one for this year ( April 07 - March 08 ), so I did the work. People dontate some can ask them to receive old cards to burn. Those cards are a kind of religious stuff to pray something.

Collected cards, Daruma-s are hanged at the pole, then make fire at the bottom.
When the pole falls down, this fire event ends.

Hayaokidori website

A Happy New Year 2008

We got a big bunch of snow from Dec.30th 2007 throughout Jan.1st 2008 here in Hakuba. As you see, now we can let the candles go in the snow igloos :-)

Hayaokidori website