Sapporo Snow Festival (February) 2019 ❄️- an alluring winter fest

Event extras

• Sapporo Ice Festival Tips

  Sapporo Ice Festival Tips

  Here are our top tips for useful things to know about the The Sapporo Ice Festival event:

  1# Entry is free

  This a free event. Do not listen to anyone touting tickets or telling you that you have to pay for the event. However, although the entrance to the event is free, you may have to pay to participate in certain activities or go on rides.

  2# Ensure you have enough cash

  It is possible that your international credit or prepaid card potentially may not work, or the stalls may only accept cash.

  3# Prohibited Use

  Flying drones is prohibited at the Sapporo Ice Festival event so please refrain from using such equipment.

  4# Weather

  February is coldest month of year in Japan so be sure to dress up in warm appropriate clothes. Wear layers and take shoes with good grip as the surfaces may be slippery.

  5# Best View

  For a spectacular experience, go to the top of the Sapporo TV Tower to get a panoramic view of the festival.

• What to Do?

  What to Do?

  Sapporo Location

  What to do in Hokkaido

  The festival is spread over three sites: Odori Park, Tsudome and Susukino, all within the city of Sapporo, which is the capital of the Japanese island Hokkaido.

  The two most central and easily accessible sites are Odori and Susukino. Tsudome, which is considered the most family friendly out of the three sites, is a little further outside of the city centre, but not particularly difficult to reach (see our transportation section for further details).

  Hokkaido is the second largest island in Japan. The island is steeped in plenty of history and being Japan’s northernmost prefecture has the coolest climate.

  Skiing and Snowboarding

  As Hokkaido is Japan’s coldest region, and due to the amount of snowfall that it receives during winter months, it’s a hugely popular destination for winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding, which is why it is the perfect location for a festival such as this!

  Volcanoes and Hot Springs

  Hokkaido is also famous for its volcanoes and natural hot springs (“Onsen”) which draw in large amounts of tourism to the area every year.

   

  Take some time out from the festival lights and explore more of Hokkaido by booking an excursion.

• Where to Stay?

  Where to Stay?

  During this time of year, given the popularity of the festival, it is wise to book as far in advance as possible as the accommodation can get booked to full capacity very quickly.

  
  
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  For individuals traveling to the event there are several options to explore; the most cost effective when traveling alone is to consider staying in a hostel dormitory.

  A private room can be a budget friendly alternative for couples instead of a hotel room, although there are many good quality hotels in the area as well.

  Our tops picks for accommodation are as follows:

   

  Sappo Lodge Hostel

  
  
  Booking.com
  
  
  A hostel with options of dorm beds, twin rooms or private rooms with a double bed in a traditional Japanese style. Sappo Lodge is a beautifully decorated and cosy accommodation choice, just 0.9km from the city centre and a 2 minute walk from Hosui-Susukino subway station

  Mystays Premier Sapporo Park

  
  
  Booking.com
  
  
  A beautiful hotel complete with a sauna, pool, and in-house onsen. The hotel has an excellent restaurant serving traditional and international cuisine and comfortable rooms that can accommodate up to 4 people.

   

  Book your accommodation as soon as possible to get the best rates, before they’re all booked up!

• Where to Eat?

  Where to Eat?

  Foodies won’t be disappointed with what’s on offer at the Sapporo Ice Festival. There are various food and drinks stalls scattered across the three sites of the festival.

  Stalls selling craft beers, hot sake and mulled wines are the perfect winter warmers in the sub-zero temperatures! Head to the ice bar for something a little fancier, such as a White Russian from their cocktails menu.

  Try some of the traditional Japanese festival fare, regional food and snacks from takoyaki (octopus balls) and yakitori (chicken skewers) to okonomiyaki (a type of savoury pancake).

  If you’re a seafood lover, then you’re in luck, because the speciality around these parts is the famous crab hot-pot, known as Nabemono.

  Other popular seafood dishes that you can pluck from many of the food stalls with their grills lined up outside include sea urchins and fresh scallops.

  Perhaps grab a bowl of steaming ramen, a spiced sweet potato curry, or sample some of the all-you-can-eat barbecued mutton.

• How to Get There?

  How to Get There?

  How to get to Sapporo

  Getting to the Event

  By Air

  Get a flight to the nearest airport (New Chitose), from there you can take a train or even a bus into the city centre.

  Around the time of the festival, expect prices to be inflated in comparison to what they may usually be like.

  By Train

  Alternatively, it could be possible to get a bullet train ticket to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, disembark and then hop on the Hokuto express train to get to the station in Sapporo.

  Overnight Ferry

  Other options may include getting an overnight ferry from various ferry ports on the mainland, although this very much depends on the weather at this time of year, so it is best to check in advance whether the services are running.

  The two central sites Odori Park and Susukino, are very much in the city centre, so all you need to do is get transport to there, or ideally book somewhere within walking distance of the city centre.

  Shuttle to Tsudome

  A shuttle bus to the other (Tsudome) site will frequently run (approximately every 10 minutes or so); a one-way ticket will cost you around 100 yen.

  Subway to Tsudome

  Alternatively, you can make your way there by subway and walk from Sakaemachi Station which will take around 15 minutes.

• Sapporo Snow Festival History

  Sapporo Snow Festival History

  From Odori Park

  The Sapporo Snow Festival all began in Odori Park in 1950. The tradition was started by a group of local high school students; at first, there were only six crudely made snow statues, but over time the movement began to build momentum.

  In 1955 the Self Defense force got involved and joined in to make perhaps the first large-scale snow statue that the festival would later become most famous for. By 1959, the national media was reporting on and covering the event, and some 2,500 people were participating in the event to build snow sculptures.

  Susukino

  The second site of the festival was officially opened in 1965, and the festival gained international interest when the Winter Olympics Games were hosted in the area in 1972.

  The International Snow Sculpture Contest first kicked off in 1974, with the number of participating countries increasing over the years.

  The ice sculptures and illuminations are aspects that were later incorporated into the festival around 1983.

  The third site  of the festival Tsudome was added much later in 2009.

  The festival, on the whole, has really gone from strength to strength, growing in size and popularity since its early days.