Yuki Matsuri
1. Yokote Kamakura Festival, Akita
It is a famous place for seeing large and small sizes of Kamakura or so called igloo-like snow houses. The city transforms into a winter wonderland once they are all built at different locations across the city. You can have delicious rice cakes (mocha) and drink sweet sake (amazake) inside a big size snow hut.
Schedule: Feb. 15 (Wed) & Feb. 16 (Thur)
Time: 18: 00 ~ 21: 00
Location: Yokote City Hall Road Park, Futaba-Cho Kamakura St., Haguro Machi
2. Sapporo Yuki Matsuri, Hokkaido
Sapporo Yuki Matsuri is believed to be the biggest snow festival all over Japan. Hokkaido has many attractions to offer throughout the year and this festival, that starts in early February, is one among them that attracts more visitors as it offers once in a lifetime experience and uniqueness in presentation.
The festival is held at three different locations. The gigantic snow sculptures are at the Odori Park. The Susukino Site is where they exhibit hundreds of ice sculptures and are illuminated at night. The third location is Tsu Dome Site wherein kids can have fun snow sliding and rafting.
Schedule: Odori site/ Susukino Site: Feb.6 (Mon) – Feb.12 (Sun) 2017
Tsudome Site : Feb.1 (Wed) – Feb.12 (Sun) 2017
3. Juhyo Light Up, Yamagata
Snow monster “Juhyo” is a fir tree covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice. These frost covered trees are named “snow monsters,” that appears from late December through March, and this view is well-known all over Japan.They are lit up with colorful lights. Glowing in the dark, quiet night, they have a completely different charm from the silvery white figures that shine in the daylight, taking you to a mystic world.
Schedule: Held on specific dates between late December and early March
Time:17:00 to 21:00 Reception hours/ ~ 19:50
Location: Around Jizo Sancho Station of Zao Ropeway
4. Iiyama Yuuki Matsuri, Nagano
Iiyama Snow Festival is a spectacular snow festival in the region of Nagano that attracts more than 50,000 visitors. This is one of the largest snow festivals not only in Nagano but also in the whole of Japan.
Iiyama is a city located in northern Nagano Prefecture and takes approximately 20 minutes by car from Nozawa Onsen. Iiyama City being dubbed as “Japan’s Hometown” also happens to be the city that hosted the 1998 winter Olympics. It has the highest number of snowmen built in an hour and was recorded in the Guinness World Record.
Schedule: Held on the second Saturday and Sunday in February.
Location/Access: (The main festival site is in Municipal Johoku Field , with additional locations spread throughout the city), Iiyama City
By Train: 5 min via shuttle bus from Iiyama Station (Hokuriku Shinkansen)
By Car: 15 min from Toyota-Iiyama IC
5. Tokamachi Snow Festival, Niigata
The art-oriented citizens of Tokamachi, Niigata, holds their annual snow every February, bringing into a unique and one-of-a-kind, town-wide festival, celebrating winter’s beauty, combining traditional Japanese culture with contemporary culture, and providing unforgettable sensuous experiences for locals and tourists that visits the place.
Tokamachi, Niigata offers over 70 intricately carved, jaw-dropping snow sculptures of giant prone Buddhas, castles, famous Japanese anime and Disney characters, strange musicians, and other surreal, fantastic figures that residents create across their town.
Schedule: Feb.17 (Fri) ~ Feb. 19 (Sun) 2017
Time: Festival begins at 6 p.m. on Friday and ends around 4 p.m. on Sunday
Locations: Special site at Jogaoka Pureland in Tokamachi City
6. Takasu-gun Snow Festival, Gifu
Takasu Snow Park started in 1999 and since then, visitors flock to this park every year to experience the excitement as to what the park offers. Located in the northern area of Gujo City in the central region of Gifu Prefecture, Takasu Snow Park is lift and course-connected with the Dynaland resort.
Most of the ski and snowboard resorts in Gujo city are located on the mountains either side of the Tokai Hokuriku Expressway, which connects Aichi Prefecture with Toyama Prefecture.
Planned season: Mid December 2016 until mid April 2017
7. Chuzenji Onsen Kamakura Festival, Tochigi
Yunishigawa Onsen is a small hot spring town in a remote valley in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture. The place receives a fair amount of snow in the winter, that attracts visitors with river lined outdoor baths surrounded by snow. Even more popular with tourists is the winter attraction, Yunishigawa Kamakura Festival or “Yunishigawa Snow House Festival.” They find hundreds of snow houses (kamakura) of different sizes built and illuminated in the evenings around town and along the river.
Schedule: From January 28 to March 5, 2017 except Thursdays
Time: 09:00 ~ 21:00
* The dates and the time may change due to temperature and weather.
Location: 1042 Yunishigawa, Nikko-city, Tochigi