Hokkaido Winter Festivals

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Trip start
February 7, 2026
Hokkaido Winter Festivals Traveler
Arrival
February 8 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F
Turbulent and tiring (10 hours) flight with a lot of turbulence as we made the final approach to Haneda. There was a rare snow storm in the morning but little snow was left when I arrived.

Ran into a Japanese celebrity on my way to the hotel.

After a nice soak I headed to a nearby Mos Burger. I haven't eaten there since April 2024 when I started my Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage in Tokushima. After a long ferry trip I was starving and had a long walk to my hotel, but there was a Mos Burger just outside the ferry. When I eat at McDonald's or Mos, I always get an ebi burger.

I wanted to check out the flight observation deck but it was closed. Not sure if it was too cold or there was an ice slip hazard.Read more
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Relaxing morning
February 9 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 28 °F
After a good night's sleep, I noticed that I had a breakfast voucher in the stack of paper slips the automated check-in spit out at me. The hotel's breakfast buffet was pretty good and will be my big meal for the day.

A bonus was the view of Mt Fujii from my seat. The snow storm yesterday cleared out the sky so it was easily visible.

After breakfast I'll just relax until my noon flight to Sapporo CTS. At this point the ANA app doesn't note any delays due to heavy snowfall so I'll keep my fingers crossed.Read more
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Sapporo Flight
February 9 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 37 °F
Moved to Terminal 2 and everything looks good. My noon flight is listed as on-time and operations are mellow, not crazy busy. I haven't seen any posts about transport problems between CTS and Sapporo. There is reduced service with the train but I'm going to take the Airport Bus and I won't know if there are any delays until I get there.

Noon update
1 hour delay due to late arrival. Hopefully that'll be the only glitch. There is a massive number of flight delays, though these are generally 1 hour or less and no cancellations.Read more
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Fun time getting to Sapporo
February 9 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 25 °F
Got to CTS about 1.5 hours late and checked out the Airport Bus. It seems they were backed up and were directing people to JR. I walked down to the JR station and lucked out getting a seat on a fully loaded train to Sapporo Station.

There were a lot of announcements on the platform, all in Japanese, so confusion reigned supreme. The platform was absolutely filled with people trying to get to Sapporo.

I was on the track for the second, later train, but apparently the first train was delayed, so I was luckily in the right spot. The ride was 40 minutes so I was very glad to get a seat.Read more
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Sapporo Winter Festival Odori Park
February 9 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °F
There were a lot of snow sculptures, many small and non-professional, usually anime themed or commercial products. Then there were the stunning professional creations which highlighted the sections of the park.

The Tsuruga Castle was clearly the most impressive snow sculpture, in size and detail. Adding to it was an amazing and emotional light mapping show, making it the clear best-in-show.

Not far behind was the Hokkaido Thoroughbred, which was a smaller, simpler snow sculpture, but had an absolutely draw dropping light mapping show.

While very cold, the air was still so it was bearable. The event volunteers did a good job sanding the icy walkways and directing traffic to minimize any problems.Read more
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Hokkaido Winter Festivals Traveler
Susukino Ice World
February 9 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 25 °F
Near my hotel was the Susukino venue which held the ice sculpture competition. By now the wind had picked up so I was glad to be close to my warm hotel room.

The ice sculptures were lined along a Susukino street fronting the subway station. I had walked to and from the Odori site using the underground passage rather than taking the subway. Pole City was hopping on my way to Odori, but hours later (I'm guessing around 8pm) when I returned, everything was closed and shuttered. Disappointing since I wanted to visit the Krispy Kreme I saw.

The best ice sculptures were the crystal clear ones which showed amazing detail. I wonder how much better they looked 5 days earlier when they were freshly carved.Read more
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Clear sky
February 10 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 30 °F
My second day in Sapporo started as a nice sunny morning. Unfortunately, I was up until late the previous night so I was late getting back to the Odori Park venue. Luckily it was still nice so I revisited the main sculptures and checked out the street food stands for a brunch meal.

The food stalls were plentiful and the food was tasty, but for the amount you got, it was definitely pricey.Read more
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Sapporo to Asahikawa and back
February 10 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F
Took the limited Kamui Express to get to Asahikawa for their festival. Out in the countryside there was a lot of snow.

It was a 20 minute walk from Asahikawa Station to the festival venue, but the route took you past the ice sculpture competition.Read more
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Asahikawa Winter Festival
February 10 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 32 °F
I was surprised at how small the venue was, but this festival was a small, local, family-fun event, not an international event like the Sapporo Snow Festival.
So I got some food (much more reasonably priced and still tasty) and waited for the nighttime light show.

And I was disappointed again, it was just the main snow sculpture with stage lighting and singing entertainment. And when they started to sing Let It Go from Frozen, it was time to go.Read more
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Snowfall
February 11 in Japan ⋅ 🌨 34 °F
My hotel room window is opaque but you could see movement outside. Cracking the window open, I could see a heavy snowfall.
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Hokkaido Jingu
February 11 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 34 °F
For variety, I planned to visit Hokkaido Jingu and get a visit stamp for my collection book. The light snowfall made it especially memorable.

What was embarrassing was that I forgot to bring coins to make an offering so I could only watch from a distance.Read more
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Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival
February 11 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 28 °F
It was a trek to get to this location. First I took a JR Airport train to CTS where I would catch a Blue Liner bus to Lake Shikotsu.

The lake was very scenic, and I'll return later this year in late spring. The short walk to the venue showed off the views and offered a preview of the event. It was very crowded which I already knew from the packed parking lot and the numerous tour buses.

I had about 2 hours to walk around the venue, a lot of which was standing in long lines for the elevated view and for various tunnel walks inside the ice structures. The site was created by pouring water which freezed to create the huge perimeter wall and the structures. Very impressive and beautiful.

I was done in about an hour as the illumination started. Oddly, I found the natural blue ice color preferable to the garish lighting. I took a rest break in a small cafe waiting for my return bus to CTS.

When I finally got back to Susukino, I was exhausted and starving. I went to a curry restaurant near my hotel. I was surprised this meal only cost $7 even though I had rice, Miso soup, tonkatsu, potato salad and a can beer. The food was more than decent. I may return for the curry.Read more
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Sapporo Beer Museum tour
February 12 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 28 °F
The hardest thing to visiting the Sapporo Beer Museum was the location, not near a major transportation system. The easiest way seemed to be to go to Sapporo Station and catch a direct bus.

The paid tour was in Japanese but an English version using a pre-recorded device was available. The history of the Sapporo Beer was interesting as it was part of a directed government modernization of Japan and of the new Hokkaido territory. And at the end we were provided a version of the original Kaitakushi brew to compare with the current draft black label. The black label was lighter and more refreshing but the original was more interesting.Read more
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Killing Time
February 12 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 27 °F
Before the Otaru Snow Light Path, I had to kill some time. First in Sapporo Station, after I finished the Sapporo Beer Museum tour. I enjoyed Beard Papa cream puff, so much better than the stuff they sold in Hawaii. It was fresh and cold, and they even added a blue ice to keep it that way even though I only bought one.

Then I took the train to Otaru, getting off at Minami Otaru Station with the intent of visiting the Tanaka Sake factory first. That got scrapped when blizzard-like wind gusts hit me. Instead, I headed to the safety of the main tourist area. The arctic blasts continued and tourists were slipping regularly in the icy sidewalks. But there were now shops and cafes to take refuge until the nighttime event would start.Read more
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Otaru Snow Light Path
February 12 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 23 °F
It finally was dark so I headed for the Canal venue. The poor weather conditions continued so I scaled back my plans and only viewed the canal and railroad venues before walking to Otaru Station.

The wind was wreaking havoc on the candles and the volunteer crew couldn't keep up with the relighting. In addition, a lot of the small lanterns showed damage. I was underwhelmed due to this, the poor weather, and the large crowd.Read more
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Back in Tokyo
February 13 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
It was a relief to return to Tokyo, no snow, no ice, no freezing cold. I had enough of that for a while.
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Ginza Shopping
February 13 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
I decided to toss my old, worn general use t-shirts so it was off to Ginza. First stop was the 8-floor flagship Uniqlo, where I purchased 5 Suprima cotton t-shirts. Then it was off to Muji, which included the Muji Hotel, and another 3 t-shirts in mixed fabric.

I congratulated myself with a Krispy Kreme coffee break. Back at the Edo Market in Haneda Terminal 3,I celebrated surviving the Hokkaido winter with zero falls on the icy areas, with a steak and Garlic rice dinner.Read more
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Senso-ji
February 14 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F
Though it's been a while since I last visited, Senso-ji is one of my favorite stops in Tokyo. But I don't care for crowds so I did my visit when most of the Nakamise stores would just be opening. At a black bean pastry shop I picked up a couple for snack.

The last time I visited, the main hall was completely covered for renovations so I was glad there was none this time, and the weather was sunny and warm.

After finishing the temple visit, I stopped at Kamejuu for a dorayaki snack, then headed to the subway for my next stop.Read more
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Plum blossom festival
February 14 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F
At the Yushima Tenjin Ume Matsuri, I got to enjoy a local celebration of spring. I enjoy plum blossoms more than Sakura due to the strong colors, sweet scent, and smaller crowds.

There was a period costume event and a Taiko procession in addition to the usual festival food stalls.

From here I walked to Akihabara to check out several scale model stores and big electronics stores. Though I didn't buy any model stuff, I did pick up some paper arts stuff. Lunch was at a tonkatsu place in Yodobashi Akiba.Read more
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Kawagoe
February 15 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
On my last trip I enjoyed a relaxed walking tour of a small city, Uji, as my final day sightseeing. I'm repeating this with a day trip to Kawagoe. I took a Tobu train from Ikebukuro to get to Kawagoe, about a 30 minute ride.

From the Kawagoeshi Station I walked towards the first stop, Kita-in Temple. On the way I stopped for lunch at a small restaurant in Crea Shopping Street. Kita-in was your typical temple with 2 major attractions, the 500 statues of rakan (disciples of Buddha), and the historic buildings transported from Edo Castle in the 1600s to support recovery following a fire that destroyed much of the temple.

Next stop was Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, a "love-related" shrine. As soon as I entered the Torii, there was a long line of people waiting for blessings. Then it occurred to me this was the day after Valentine's Day and it was related to this.

I continued to the historic Kura (warehouse) district but this held little interest for me as it was your typical crowded tourist area with souvenir shops and restaurants with long lines.

The last stop was the Kawagoe Kumano Shrine which was filled with games, like a fortune ring toss game, money washing stream, and a foot massage walking path.Read more
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Trip end
February 15, 2026