Snow, Lanterns, and Light: Winter Festivals Across Japan
Japan’s winter festivals are as vibrant and festive as its famed summers, offering a host of unique events that celebrate snow, ice, and light. From the snow-covered towns of Hokkaidō to the lantern illuminated streets of Nagasaki, these festivals transform the coldest months into magical winter experiences.
Visitors can admire elaborate snow sculptures, stroll through villages aglow with lanterns, and participate in centuries old traditions, all while savoring seasonal delights like hot amazake and festival snacks.
❗️Remember to always check official sources before attending, as events and schedules may change or be canceled due to weather conditions or crowd management.
1. Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival (Hokkaidō)
📍 Lake Shikotsu Hot Springs, Chitose City (Map)
📅 Wednesday, January 21 — Monday, February 23, 2026
🕣 10AM – 8PM (Illuminations from 4:30PM)
The Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival is a winter event centered on large ice formations built along the shore of Lake Shikotsu, a caldera lake known for its clear water. Water from the lake is sprayed onto metal frames, where it freezes layer by layer, creating towering sculptures made entirely of natural ice. After dark, the sculptures come alive with multicolored lights reflecting off the ice.
The festival began in the late 1970s as a small local initiative to attract winter visitors to the Shikotsu area, which remains free of ice longer than many northern lakes due to its depth. Over time, it grew into one of Hokkaidō’s best known winter events.
During the day, visitors can walk among and play around the huge ice structures, then enjoy them lit up at night. Nearby, the Shikotsuko Onsen area offers hot springs, cafés, and local food stalls, making it easy to warm up while exploring the festival.
2. Sapporo Snow Festival (Hokkaidō)
📍 Odori Park (Map), Susukino (Map), Tsudome (Map)
📅 Wednesday, February 4 — Wednesday, February 11, 2026
🕣 Odori Site: 10AM – 9PM (last entry 8:30PM) | Tsudome Site: 10AM – 4PM; evening illuminations until 10PM
The Sapporo Snow Festival is Japan’s largest and most famous winter festival, drawing millions of visitors each year with its large-scale snow and ice sculptures spread across central Sapporo. What began in 1950 as a small event created by local high school students has grown into an international festival with contributions from artists, the Self-Defense Forces, and overseas teams.
Today, the festival spans three main sites: Odori Park, running through the city center, hosts the largest snow sculptures, some several stories high and often depicting landmarks, historical scenes, or pop culture themes. Snow slides, performances, and other snow activities can also be enjoyed here.
Susukino, Sapporo’s entertainment district, focuses on ice sculptures, with intricately carved figures lining the streets. Visitors can wander among sculptures depicting anime characters, famous landmarks, and mythical creatures, which also compete in an ice sculpture contest, while enjoying Hokkaidō specialties from the many food stalls.
Tsudome, located slightly outside the city center, offers snow slides, tubing areas, and other winter activities, in addition to snow sculptures.
3. Asahikawa Winter Festival (Hokkaidō)
📍 Asahibashi Riverside Venue (Map), Heiwa Street Shopping Venue (Map)
📅 Friday, February 6 — Wednesday, February 11, 2026
🕣 10AM – 8PM (night illuminations on sculptures)
Held in Hokkaidō’s second largest city, the Asahikawa Winter Festival is known for hosting some of the largest snow sculptures in Japan, often exceeding those seen in Sapporo and occasionally earning Guinness World Records for their size. The festival began in 1960 as a local effort to turn heavy snowfall into an attraction and has since grown into a major winter event.
The main venue is located along the Ishikari Riverside, where massive snow sculptures created by volunteers line the site. The central sculpture is among the largest in the world, measuring roughly 140 meters wide and 20 meters high.
Many of the sculptures are designed as walkable structures, with staircases, slides, and viewing platforms built into them. A second venue along Heiwa Dori shopping street hosts the World Ice Sculpture Competition, featuring works by artists from Japan and abroad. In the evenings, both the ice sculptures and large snow works are illuminated with colorful projection mapping.
In addition to the large installations, the festival includes smaller snow statues, food stalls, and winter activities such as tubing and sledding.
4. Hirosaki Castle Snow Lantern Festival (Aomori)
📍 Hirosaki Castle Park, Hirosaki, Aomori (Map)
📅 Friday, February 6 — Wednesday, February 11
🕣 10AM – 9PM (last day 8PM); illuminations 4:30PM – 9PM
Held inside Hirosaki Castle Park, this winter festival transforms one of northern Japan’s most important historic sites into a lit snow landscape. Unlike larger snow festivals, the Hirosaki Castle Snow Lantern Festival offers a different atmosphere: approximately 150 hand built snow lanterns, around 300 miniature kamakura (snow huts), and small snow sculptures are arranged around the castle grounds, moats, and former samurai areas.
The festival has its origins in 1977, when local community efforts aimed to brighten the long winter months and make use of Aomori’s heavy snowfall. Over time, it became a seasonal tradition.
Visitors can stroll freely through the park, enjoy snow slides, view illuminated snow sculptures created by local groups, and watch projection mapping on the sculptures, held eight times a day throughout the festival. Food stalls typically line parts of the park, selling hot drinks, regional snacks, and winter comfort foods.
5. Nagasaki Lantern Festival (Nagasaki Prefecture)
📍 Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown (Map)
📅 Friday, February 6 — Monday, February 23, 2026
🕣 Lanterns lit nightly from 5PM to 10PM (last day until 9PM)
The Nagasaki Lantern Festival originated as a simple Lunar New Year celebration held by the local Chinese merchant community and has since grown into the largest lantern festival in all of Japan.
The festival began in the 1990s as a small celebration within Shinchi Chinatown, one of the oldest Chinatowns in the country, but has since expanded across central Nagasaki. Today, more than 15,000 colorful lanterns decorate streets, bridges, parks, and waterways, transforming the city into a network of illuminated corridors.
Visitors can explore multiple festival areas, each featuring lantern displays shaped like animals from the Chinese zodiac, mythological figures, and traditional symbols of good fortune. Activities, such as making lanterns, are also available in some zones.
Cultural performances are a major part of the event: Chinese dragon dances, acrobatics, traditional music, and festive parades take place throughout the event, including large scale processions featuring characters such as the Emperor and Empress of the Qing Dynasty, often involving around 150 participants.
Food is another central part of the experience; street stalls and restaurants in Chinatown serve Chinese dishes such as champon, sara udon, steamed buns, and sweets associated with Lunar New Year celebrations.
6. Otaru Snow Light Path Festival (Hokkaidō)
📍 Otaru Canal (Map), Former Temiya Railway Line (Map)
📅 Saturday, February 7 — Saturday, February 14, 2026
🕣 5PM – 9PM (lanterns lit nightly)
For one week each February, the Otaru Snow Light Path Festival bathes the historic port town of Otaru (about 30 minutes from Sapporo) in a glow created by thousands of candles placed inside snow lanterns, glass holders, and carved snow sculptures.
The festival began in 1999 as a local initiative by residents who wanted to create a quieter winter event. That community spirit remains central today, with handmade lanterns and natural materials playing a key role in the displays.
The main venue is the Otaru Canal, where the area is lined with hundreds of snow lanterns and around 200 floating glass candle bowls drift on the canal’s surface. Visitors can write wishes on paper cup candles and see them lit as part of the display. Another major venue is the Former Temiya Railway Line, where disused tracks are decorated with lanterns and snow sculptures.
Beyond the main sites, smaller installations appear across the city, including residential streets, temples, and shopfronts. Many are created by local volunteers and residents, contributing to tens of thousands of candle lights illuminating Otaru during the festival.
7. Aizu Painted Candle Festival (Fukushima)
📍 Tsuruga Castle (Map), Oyaku Garden (Map), Aizuwakamatsu
📅 Friday, February 13 — Saturday, February 14, 2026
🕣 5:30PM – 8:30PM (lighting ceremony at 5PM)
The Aizu Painted Candle Festival lights up Aizu-Wakamatsu with around 10,000 hand painted candles placed across temples, streets, and historic sites. These candles, known as Aizu e-rōsoku, are decorated with traditional floral and plant motifs and have been produced in the region for roughly 500 years.
Historically, they were used mainly by the upper classes for offerings at shrines and temples and as luxury gifts. In Aizu, where flowers are scarce during winter, picture candles were also said to be used in place of flowers on Buddhist altars.
The festival began in the late 1990s to revive and celebrate Aizu’s traditional candle making craft, which is made from wax extracted from lacquer trees and uses thick wicks that burn steadily even in cold or windy conditions.
The main venues are Tsuruga Castle and Oyaku Garden, along with several locations throughout the city. At Oyaku Garden, a pond shaped like the kanji for “heart” is surrounded by candlelight beneath bamboo tubes. Tsuruga Castle is illuminated with Aizu-hongō ware tile lights and painted candlesticks lit simultaneously.
8. Yokote Kamakura Festival (Akita)
📍 Kamakura Museum, Yokote City (Map)
📅 Friday, February 13 — Saturday, February 14
🕣 Kamakura lit from 6 PM until around 9 PM
The Yokote Kamakura Festival dates back at least to 450 years ago and is believed to have originated as a ritual to pray for safe water use and good harvests. Traditionally, farmers built kamakura to honor the god of water, and over time, the custom evolved into a community winter celebration.
Kamakura are dome shaped snow houses, similar to igloos, which Yokote’s residents build every February to celebrate this event. Scattered around the city, about a hundred life-sized kamakura can be found, each with an altar inside dedicated to the water deity, where people pray for clean water.
During the festival, kamakura appear in multiple locations across Yokote, including Yokote Castle Park and along the Yokote River. As evening falls, candles illuminate the interiors of the snow huts, and local children invite passersby inside, offering them rice cakes (mochi) and hot amazake (sweet rice wine) as part of the tradition.
In addition to the larger huts, Yokote also creates hundreds of mini kamakura, small snow domes just large enough for a candle, which are lined up in rows across certain areas such as Yokote Castle Park or along the riverbank.
9. Tokamachi Snow Festival (Niigata)
📍 Main Site (Map)
📅 Friday, February 20 — Sunday, February 22, 2026
🕣 Fri 6PM – 9PM; Sat 10AM – 9PM; Sun 09AM – 3PM
In the deep snow country of Niigata lies Tokamachi, host of the Tokamachi Snow Festival, one of Japan’s oldest winter festivals. Unlike festivals concentrated in a single area, events and sites are spread across Tokamachi City.
The festival dates back to 1950, when local residents organized it as a way to enjoy the heavy snow the city receives each year. Dozens of snow sculptures, both large and small, appear throughout town in schoolyards, parks, and street corners, many built by local schools, community groups, and families. These friendly competitions give rise to designs ranging from anime characters and animals to traditional scenes.
Several hiroba (festival plazas) are designated across the city, allowing visitors to tour multiple snow artworks in one place. At the main event site, a stage hosts live performances, music concerts, and the “Kimono Queen” snow beauty contest, alongside food stalls offering regional specialties.
As night falls, illuminations and projection mapping light up the snow sculptures, and a fireworks display takes place on the 21st. Visitors can also enjoy winter activities such as snow sliding and snow play zones.
Community, Craft, and Winter Traditions
Japan’s winter festivals show how different regions embrace the season through local traditions, craftsmanship, and community events, making them a great way to learn more about the culture, creativity, and community spirit.
By marveling at massive snow sculptures or sipping hot sake inside a snow dome in the countryside, visitors can experience how each festival offers its own unique charm and history, and planning a winter trip to coincide with some of these celebrations can reward them with memories of sparkling lights on snow, seasonal treats, and the shared joy of people coming together to celebrate Japan’s winter beauty.
️ ☃️ After the Festival Lights
Winter festivals highlight how Japanese teams plan, adapt, and work together under challenging conditions. If you want to build those skills yourself, an internship in Japan is the perfect place to start. Learn directly inside Japanese workplaces, apply what you observe, and grow through practice. Ready to join the program or curious about how to intern in Japan? Reach out to us and we’ll guide you through the process!
