The top 10 winter snow festivals to see in Japan
- Published on : 09/01/2026
- by : Joshua
- Youtube
Nine snow festivals in Japan
gadaventures.com
Let it snow!
There's something magical about Japan in winter... Especially when it snows, under illuminations, and even fireworks, the first snowflakes are often synonymous with festivities around the country. A tradition that can be found in particular throughout the northern part of the country, as shown by these nine snow festivals.
1. Sapporo Snow Festival (Hokkaido)
Created in the 1950s, the Sapporo Snow Festival is probably the most popular Japanese festival of the season. Each year, more than 2 million visitors come to admire its immense snow sculptures and open-air works of art, each more beautiful than the next.
Sapporo Snow Festival
intojapan.co.uk
It must also be said that the festival thinks big! Spread over three different locations (Odori, Tsudome, and Susukino), it showcases the finest snow has to offer. And whether through its sculpture competitions that bring together participants from all over the world, its toboggan runs set up for the occasion, or its immaculate labyrinth, the Sapporo Snow Festival continues to amaze generations and generations of festival-goers each winter.
Event information
Address:
- Odori: Nishi 1-chome-Nishi 12-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo
- Tsudome Park: 885-1, Sakaemachi, Higashi-ku, Sapporo
- Susukino Park: Sapporoshichuokuminami 4 jōnishi 4-1, 064-0804 Hokkaido
Dates: February 4th to February 11th, 2026
Admission: Free
2. Kamihinokinai Paper Balloon Festival - (Akita Prefecture)
Located in the small town of Semboku in Akita Prefecture, the Kamihinokinai winter festival is based on an ancestral art, that of Ukiyo-e prints.
Every February 10th, a hundred huge paper lanterns are then released into the air to the delight of the participants. Lanterns were previously decorated with prints of samurai and geisha, which fly away against the backdrop of a snowy landscape.
Paper balloon festival
jnto.co.jp
Event information
Address: Nishikicho, Kamihinokinai, Semboku, 014-0601
Dates: February 10th, 2026, from 6 pm to 7 pm (Venue opens at 3 pm)
Admission: Free
3. Hirosaki Castle Snow Lantern Festival (Aomori Prefecture)
A figurehead of the region, Hirosaki Castle has fascinated the curious who have ventured to Aomori for centuries. Especially when the days get shorter, since the latter hosts around a hundred kamakura each year, small traditional snow lanterns.
With its illuminations, its exhibitions of works of art, and its toboggan runs, the Hirosaki Snow Lantern Festival has everything to seduce young and old.
Hirosaki Lantern Festival
gajinpot
Event information
Address: Hirosaki Park, Hirosaki-shi, Shimoshiroganecho, 036-8356
Dates: February 6th to 11th, 2026
Admission: Free
4. Aizu Lantern Festival (Fukushima Prefecture)
At the foot of Aizuwakamatsu Castle, the Aizu Winter Festival hosts around a hundred candles each year decorated in the image of the castle and Japanese culture. An event that is not devoid of meaning, since the festival is based on an old regional tradition: placing a candle near the tomb of one's ancestors every winter to soothe their souls.
If today the tradition seems to be lost in the region, Aizu festival candles would retain this mystical meaning. Their beauty would enchant the eyes, and their light would soothe the souls of the living who admire them in the middle of winter, with their feet in the snow.
Event information
Address :1-1,Otemachi, Aizuwakamatsu-shi, Fukushima 965-0873
Dates: February 13th to 14th, 2026 (5 pm to 8:30 pm)
5. Ouchijuku Snow Festival (Fukushima Prefecture)
Organized every year on the second weekend of February in the small traditional village of Ouchijuku, this snow festival will delight lovers of the picturesque.
With its lanterns that illuminate the streets of the Edo Period (1603-1868), the small traditional businesses that make up the latter, and the performances of Yokasoi that punctuate the festivities, the Ouchijuku snow festival is probably one of the most exotic winter matsuris in Japan.
Ouchijuku Snow Festival
tohokuandtokyo.org
Event information
Address: Yamamoto Ouchi, Shimogo, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima Prefecture 969-5207
Dates: February 14th to 15th, 2026
Admission: Free
6. Urabandai Snow Festival (Fukushima Prefecture)
Every year during the third weekend of February, the small village of Kitashiobara lights up. Indeed, 3,000 candles surrounded by ice are lit in the middle of nature as soon as the sun goes down. A nice way to revisit walks in the snow, which is also intended to be participatory since festival-goers are invited to leave a candle in their path.
Event information
Address: Kitashiobara, Yama District, Fukushima Prefecture 966-0400
Dates: from February 21st, 2026
Admission: Free
Uranbandai Snow Festival
tif.net.jp
7. Yunishigawa Onsen Kamakura Festival (Tochigi Prefecture)
Located in Nikko, 2h30 from Tokyo, Yunishigawa Onsen is an onsen village over 400 years old.
Although the establishment is full all year round, it is particularly popular from January to March, when it hosts the Kamakura Festival, 1,000 small snow igloos inside which a candle is lit when the sun goes down.
The Kamakura Festival at Yunishigawa Onsen
cdn-images.com
For the occasion, visitors are invited to walk between the rows of igloos that are strewn outside and to go up along the river, which borders the village. All this before diving into the hot springs, onsen.
Event information
Address: Yunshigawa, Nikko City, Tochigi
Dates: from January 30th to March 1st, 2026
Admission information: https://www.visit-tochigi.com/plan-your-trip/things-to-do/798/
8. Zao Snow Monster Illuminations (Yamagata Prefecture)
Far from referring to the spirits that could populate the Japanese mountains, the "Snow Monsters of Zao" actually refer to the snow-capped trees of Mount Zao, located in Yamagata Prefecture. The latter then take on funny shapes when the snow covers them and delight the skiers of the Zao Onsen Ski Resort, who had the idea of lighting up their ski slopes to see them better.
Zao's snow monsters
kantoadventures.com
Event information
Address: Tokamachi, Niigata 948-0048
Dates: from February 20th to 22nd, 2026
Admission: Free
9. Tokamachi Snow Festival (Niigata Prefecture)
Every year in mid-February, the city of Tokamachi organizes its snow festival, an event that hosts snow sculptures, kimono parades, and fireworks for the delight of festival-goers.
Event information
Address: Tokamachi, Niigata 948-0048
Dates: from February 20th to 22nd, 2026
Admission: Free
Tokamachi Snow Festival
tokyonarita.jp
10. Yokote Kamakura Festival (Akita Prefecture)
In mid-February, this festival illuminates the cold nights of Yokote with its soft lights. Every year, thanks to the snow, hundreds of igloo-shaped buildings are constructed by the young people of the city and then lit from within by lanterns. This tradition goes back 450 years!
Event information
Address: Tokamachi, Niigata 948-0048
Dates: from February 13th to 14th, 2026
Admission: 100 yen
Yokote Kamakura Matsuri
@掬茶 on Wikimedia/ CC BY-SA 4.0
For more information on Japan and Japan travel, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram!
