Sapporo Snow Festival: A highlight of the snow season
The Sapporo Snow Festival, called Sapporo Yuki Matsuri in Japanese, is held across three main sites over 1 week in February. It is considered one of Japan’s most popular winter events, attracting over 2 million visitors from Japan and around the world every year. This year marks the 18th anniversary of the snow festival.
The first Sapporo Snow Festival was held in 1950 when some high school students built six snow and ice sculptures in Odori Park. It was an unexpected success, attracting approximately 50,000 visitors. By 1959, there were over 2,000 people participating in the snow sculpting process and the event attracted media attention for the first time. It was during the 1972 Winter Olympic Games hosted in Sapporo that the Snow Festival gained international attention.
GETTING THERE
These days, the festival is divided across three locations – Odori Park, Tsu Dome and Susukino. You can start at any of these locations and make your way from one to the other.
Odori Park
Odori Park is the main site and the historic site of the Snow Festival. This park is 1.5km long and houses approximately a dozen of the festival’s largest snow statues which can be up to 25m tall.
The park is also filled with hundreds of smaller statues, all of which are illuminated until 10pm every evening. Concerts and events are also held here during the festival week, with food and souvenir stalls along the side of the street, and an ice skating rink in front of Sapporo Tower.
TIP: You can get a great view from above of the Odori site from the Sapporo TV tower which is located on the eastern end of Odori Park. The tower is usually open from 8.30am to 10.30pm (extended hours during the festival). There is a fee to enter the observatory deck.
Easiest way to get here: 10 minute walk from the JR Sapporo station.
Tsu Dome Site
Easiest way to get here: Take the subway from Sapporo Station on the Namboku line. Susinko is 1 subway stop to the south of Sapporo station.
Susukino Site
Named after Sapporo’s largest entertainment district, the Susinko Site is the smallest site and exhibits approximately 100 ice sculptures. This is also where the Ice Sculpture Contest is held. The sculptures are exhibited and illuminate until 11pm daily.
Easiest way to get here: located outside the city centre, there are frequent shuttle buses departing from the Odori Site and Sapporo Station. Alternatively, take the Toho subway line from Sapporo Station to Sakaemachi Station. From there, it is a 15 minute walk.
MORE INFORMATION
Sapporo is about two hours away from Niseko by bus or train. To help with organising transfers to and from the Snow Festival, or for more information, speak to your instructor/guide or get in touch with the Hokkaido Ski Club bookings team at [email protected].
