Hokkaido Winter Festivals: Exploring the cold north of Japan

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Hokkaido winter festivals should be on the bucket list of any visitors to Japan throughout the winter months. With huge towering ice walls, breathtaking ice sculptures and even some buildings worth exploring made of – you guessed it – snow and ice.

With plummeting temperatures and snow that lasts for months, it’s a total contrast to where I lived in Okinawa (I’ll still choose beaches over snow ANY DAY). The entire prefecture in Japan’s north is truly a winter wonderland just waiting to be explored. With a mixture of daytime events that allow you to see the festivities covered in a blanket of white, to the nighttime illuminations, which show the snow in a different light, literally.

I visited each festival to give you an idea of what you can expect, so you’re ready to plan your own trip in future!

Country:	Japan
Currency:	Japanese Yen / JPY
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Don’t forget to get travel insurance to cover you if something bad happens. One company I have personal experience with is Safety Wing. Not everyone needs the same coverage, so make sure you get a personalised quote that suits you and your trip plans.

Sapporo Snow Festival

Location: 〒060-0042 Hokkaido, Sapporo, Chuo Ward, Odorinishi, １〜１２丁目

The Sapporo Snow Festival is well known for showcasing large sculptures made of snow throughout a number of public spaces across the city. With some made by professionals and others made my citizens, there is a large range of sculptures and designs visitors can enjoy. Unlike the other festivals, you don’t need tickets to this event as they are simply found throughout Sapporo rather than one generalized area of admission.

You can see the snow artworks in Odori Park, slide down ice slides at the exciting Tsudome site and even marvel at the stunning ice statues in the Susukino venue. There really is a wide range of things to enjoy across the city, and it is one of the highest-rated festivals during the Hokkaido winter months!

Dates: 2025 – February 4th – February 11th 2025
2026 – February 4th – February 11th 2026

Admission fee: Free to enter – the festival is an open-air event

Opening Hours: 10 am – 4 pm

Where to stay nearby

The good news is that Sapporo has the highest number of accommodation options in all of Hokkaido, so when you come to visit the city for the winter festivals and each of their locations, the best option is to choose the accommodations closest to the venue. Since there are multiple venues, I recommend taking a look at the Sapporo accommodation options here and searching by the map and which venue you’d prefer to be closest to.

Sounkyo Icefall Festival

Location: Sounkyo, Kamikawa, Kamikawa District, Hokkaido 078-1701

The Sounkyo Ice Festival is not to be missed from our list of Hokkaido winter festivals! Running for over 40 years, this is a small event in the mountainous onsen town of Sounkyo. With a large sign made entirely of ice, there are plenty of photo opportunities throughout this tiny valley just waiting for you to explore. You’ll find a winter “pub”, a small cathedral, and for the kids you’ll see an ice slide with rubber tubes! It’s one of the most exciting activities to enjoy.

Overall, not my favourite of the ice festivals in the list, but if you’re in the area, it’s worth visiting.

Dates: 2025: January 25th – March 9th
2026: late January to early March – dates TBC

Admission fee: 1000 JPY (5.29 GBP/ 7 USD) with free parking for up to 150 cars.

Opening hours: 5 pm – 9:30 pm every day

Where to stay nearby?

If you need a place to stay during your visit, here are the closest few accommodations which all suit different budget types.

• Mount View Hotel – The closest of the 3 and a mid-range accommodation.
• 層雲閣 hotel – Located just behind Mount View, and is the most expensive of the 3 options.
• Sounkyo Hostel – Just a short walk from the festival and the lowest cost for budget travellers.

Shikaribetsuko Kotan Igloo Village

Location: 〒081-0344 Hokkaido, Kato District, Shikaoi, Kitaurimaku, 無番地 然別湖畔温泉

Known locally as the “phantom village”, this is one of the most famous winter festivals in all of Hokkaido. It’s located atop Lake Shikaribetsu, where the water freezes. Without ever leaving a trace, the igloos that double as Instagram-worthy photo spots disappear as though they never existed after the festival is over.

Visitors to the festival will get to enjoy the mountain landscape, race snowmobiles, and walk through the small village. Not forgetting the most popular attraction of them all, the ice bar. Inside the bar, you can enjoy more photo opportunities and local cocktails, wines and beers in small cylindrical ‘glasses’ made of ice.

Dates: 2025 – January – Sunday, March 16

Admission fee: 500 JPY (2.50 GBP)

Opening hours:

Dates	Festival Opening hours	Ice Bar hours
Jan 25th – Feb 28th 2025	9 am – 8 pm	10:30 am – 7:20 pm
Mar 1st – Mar 16th 2025	9 am – 6 pm	10:30 am – 5:20 pm

Where to stay nearby?

There is only one hotel in the local area, so you have two options: either pay to stay at the hotel below, or you can stay in a larger town and just visit the festival for the day. Obihiro is a few hours away, and you can either drive (if you’re comfortable driving in snow) or take the bus, as many of the public transportation services are still running between the two.

• Shikaribetsu Kohan Onsen Hotel Fusui – the average price per night is over 180 GBP per night.

If you’d rather find a hotel with a lower nightly cost and don’t mind a longer travel time, Obihiro has many accommodation options available. Check out hotels in Obihiro here.

Tomamu Igloo Village by Hoshino Resorts

Location: Nakatomamu, Shimukappu, Yufutsu District, Hokkaido 079-2204

Probably one of my favourite winter festivals, I visited in Hokkaido and with good reason. Owned and operated by Hoshino Resorts, you’ll get the opportunity to stroll through this picture-perfect village of multiple igloos, each with something unique going on inside.

You can enjoy a drink at the ice bar, a visit to the desert parlour for some ice cream and cakes, an iced ramen restaurant, The ice general store, and the outdoor ice rink, With so many activities to enjoy at this luxurious winter wonderland and if you book early enough (I’m talking about 5 months in advance) you can even book a stay at the ice hotel (only one pair can stay per night during it’s time of 30 nights standing).

Dates:

• 10th December 2024 – 14th March 2025
• 2026 dates TBC

Admission fee: 600 JPY per person (3.20 GBP)

Opening hours: 5 pm – 10 pm each day, with the last entry at 9:30 pm

Where to stay nearby?

If you’re able to stay locally, you can stay at a number of the Hoshino Resorts in the area or one of the smaller properties used for the ski season.

• Hoshino Resorts Tomamu – The Tower – A pricey but luxurious accommodation.
• The White House – One of the lowest priced accommodations in the area, but also one of the smallest, so rooms fill up quickly.
• Glamping Stay Tomamu – A slightly different accommodation type, with an average of 150 GBP per night.

If these hotels are out of budget, you can visit the resorts for the day, including the igloo village, and then travel in and out by train from Tomamu station. Please note, Tomamu station does not have a place to buy tickets on site, you will likely need to purchase your tickets from inside your accommodation.

Lake Shikotsu Illuminations

Location: Shikotsukoonsen, Chitose, Hokkaido 066-0281

Lake Shikotsu Illuminations is another annual winter event in Hokkaido on the western side of the prefecture, and is one of the most famous festivals of its kind. Although small, it is a place that focuses on photo opportunities and enjoying the ice sculptures scattered throughout the park. You’ll find an ice tower with a viewpoint that overlooks the festival below, multiple ice caves that allow fantastic selfies and really show you the size of the ice walls surrounding the event.

Since the primary focus of this festival is the illuminations, you won’t find as many other features as the other festivals in our list, such as stores or many food options, although you will have the option to buy some soup!

Dates: February 1st – February 24th

Admission fee: 1,000 JPY (5.14 GBP)

Opening hours: 10 am – 8 pm every day, but the illuminations are switched on between 4 pm and 8 pm.

Where to stay nearby?

Lake Shikotsu is located under an hour away from Sapporo, so you can either join a day tour to visit the winter festivals here in western Hokkaido, or you can stay locally on the edge of the lake itself if you have more time available.

• In the Lake Shikotsu area, you can either stay at Shikotsuko Onsen Lake Side Villa or Kyukamura Shikotsuko
• If you’d rather stay in Sapporo and just visit for the day, you have many more choices for all budget types available. Check out accommodation in Sapporo here.

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Check out the rest of this Hokkaido content for your next trip:

• Unmissable Day trips from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
• Mt Usu: Taking the Usuzan Ropeway to the volcano Summit

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How to travel around Hokkaido during the winter

Hokkaido is the largest prefecture in Japan and it has some of the most extreme weather conditions compared to the rest of the country. Each winter, cars are expected to have snow tyres from autumn until late spring. This allows people the best chance to travel safely throughout the months when the snow settles.

If you are visiting Hokkaido for your upcoming winter trip and are comfortable driving through the snow, you will be pleased to know that there are options for you to rent a vehicle. All car rental companies offer snow tyres and/or chains as part of their winter sales, usually for no additional cost.

To rent a car in Hokkaido, you will need:

• A Japanese licence or a full licence from your home country
• International driving permit (depending on your home country and their agreement with Japan)
• A credit card in the driver’s name

You can rent a car from either of the companies I use the most throughout my travels: Rental Cars and Klook Cars.

Public transportation

If you are unable to rent a car but still wish to visit Hokkaido, fortunately, most of the public transportation routes are still up and running throughout winter. Just be aware that many of the routes may have winter-adjusted schedules to accommodate for how much earlier it gets dark each day.

To plan your journey, Google Maps is extremely easy to use throughout the prefecture, and most buses require cash, so please make sure to carry yen coins with you at all times!