Sapporo Snow Festival
Sapporo Snow Festival takes place Early Feb 2027 (the 2026 edition ran Feb 4 - 11; the festival traditionally runs eight days in the first half of February) in Sapporo, Japan. The dress code is Warm winter clothing and waterproof boots with real grip - the pavements ice over and that catches out more visitors than the cold does. Typical cost ranges from 500 to 1600 EUR per person.
An eight-day festival across three Sapporo sites where teams carve enormous, precisely detailed snow and ice sculptures, some the size of buildings, along a 1.5 km stretch of Odori Park. It draws over two million visitors and coincides with Hokkaido's legendary powder season around Niseko and Rusutsu. Walking the park at night with the sculptures lit and snow falling is one of the great free experiences in travel.
- When
- Early Feb 2027 (the 2026 edition ran Feb 4 - 11; the festival traditionally runs eight days in the first half of February)
- Where
- Sapporo, Japan
- Dress code
- Warm winter clothing and waterproof boots with real grip - the pavements ice over and that catches out more visitors than the cold does.
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 500 to 1600 EUR per person.
- Weather
- -7 to 0C, frequent light snow, which is exactly what the sculptures need
- When to book
- Free entry and no tickets, but Sapporo hotels for festival week sell out six or more months ahead and rates roughly double
- Getting there
- CTS (New Chitose), about 40 min by rapid train to Sapporo Station
- Where to stay
- JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo, Sapporo Grand Hotel, Cross Hotel Sapporo
- Official site
- https://www.snowfes.com/english/
How to attend
Completely free with no tickets - simply walk the Odori Park site, which is best after dark when the illuminations run into the evening, plus the Susukino ice sculptures and the family-focused Tsudome site. Fly into New Chitose and stay central near Odori or Sapporo Station. The constraint is accommodation, which should be booked six or more months ahead. Confirm exact 2027 dates on snowfes.com, which updates close to the event.
The festival is free with no ticket of any kind - you simply walk into the Odori Park, Susukino and Tsudome sites.
Insider tip
See Odori Park once after dark for the projection-mapped main sculptures and once in daylight for the carving detail; the Susukino ice sculptures are a ten-minute walk south and pair well with a late ramen.
Get inside Sapporo Snow Festival
Booking matters here: free entry and no tickets, but Sapporo hotels for festival week sell out six or more months ahead and rates roughly double. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.