Suit up and see Sapporo's Snow Festival

The city of Sapporo celebrates one of its most abundant natural resources, snow, at the annual Yuki Matsuri

By Selena Hoy 3 February, 2011

A reproduction in ice of Iolani Palace from the Kingdom of Hawai’i, 2010. Some of the larger snow and ice sculptures reach heights of nearly 20 meters (65 feet).

Sapporo snow festival, Hokkaido travel, sculptures

One of the smaller snow sculptures pays a tribute to the King of Pop, 2010.

Sapporo snow festival, Hokkaido travel, michael jackson

A snow sculpture of the Great Sphinx of Giza.

Meet Morris, the squirrel mascot of Mt. Moiwa, from which you can see a panoramic view of Sapporo.

Even in the cold, you’re never far away from a hot bowl of ramen in Sapporo.

Smaller ice sculptures with incredibly fine detail can be found in Susukino, Sapporo.

Scenes from Anarctica. The snow for the sculptures is hauled in by the Japanese Self Defense Force.

Musicians, comedians, and other entertainers treat the frozen-fingered masses.

Sapporo Station gets a temporary rebuild.

A reproduction of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, with working clocks inset.

Japanese women gather in front of the large snow statue of South Korean actor, Bae Yong-Joon, at The 56th Sapporo Snow Festival in 2005.

1 of 1

It’s that time of year again! Get ready to freeze your toes off in awe of enormous snow sculptures and shimmering ice creations, while clutching a hokkairo and stumbling through mighty snow drifts in Japan’s chilly northern outpost city of Sapporo.

The 62^nd annual Sapporo Snow Festival kicks off on Monday, February 7, and continues until February 13. This year’s festival, held at three sites around the city, boasts about 250 snow and ice sculptures viewable around the clock, and also offers food stalls, live music, attractions for kids, and souvenirs galore.

For tips on how to prepare, see our Sapporo Snow Festival survival guide.

Sapporo snow festival, Hokkaido travel, sculpture

A traditional Japanese-style castle reinvented by the art of snow.

Entry is free, though flights and hotels book up fast. In addition to domestic favorites JAL and ANA, low cost airlines like Airdo and Skymark offer bargain airfares, or if time permits, take a bullet train as far as Aomori and change to an express train up to Hokkaido.

Lovers of train travel can also take one of the country's last sleeper trains from Tokyo to Sapporo, a 16 hour marathon that brings back to romance to traveling north.

Seafarers can also reach Sapporo from Tokyo by ferry, but it's only recommended for the curious or those keen to get away from the crowded masses.

Hotels in Sapporo run the gamut, but at the time of writing, business hotels like Toyoko Inn and capsule spa hotel Safro still have rooms available.

If you just can’t make it this year, check out one of the live web cams positioned around the festival sites, and for further insight into life and activities in Sapporo, check out some local blogs.

Click "View Gallery" above for more images.

Odori Park, stretching from 1-chome to 12-chome, and Susukino’s Ekimae-dori, from South 4 to South 7, and Sapporo Tsudome: 885-1, Sakaemachi, Higashi-ku. Tel: +81 (0) 11 211 2376

An ice sculpture in Tokyo, prior to Sapporo Snow Festival 2004.

Selena Hoy lives in Tokyo. She likes thunderstorms.

Suit up and see Sapporo's Snow Festival

you may also like

MOST POPULAR

WEIRD WORLD