Hokkaido Snow Festivals 2024 - Sapporo

I had first put the Snow Festival in Hokkaido on my Japan bucket list years ago. And then tbh kind of let it slip in priority after we started living here. I realized crowded matsuris can stress me out and it's not always worth the hassle of doing all the travel logistics during a peak time. But thankfully, my dad decided to take the lead for this one - he booked the hotel, picked the dates and itinerary, did the research for transportation and scoped out the restaurants. My husband and I ended up joining the travel group that included my parents, their friends and my husband's parents (my in-laws)!

All other members of the group were traveling from the US, so our itinerary was slightly different than theirs. My husband and I arrived in Hokkaido late Thursday night (thanks to a delayed flight) and then just had a quick take out dinner in the hotel my dad had arranged.

On Friday morning, we didn't have anything pressing in the morning, so we slept in and met up with everyone at 10:00. We were able to access the Sapporo Snow Festival street via the underground passage really easily and popped up right by block 4 to start exploring. 

Lots and lots of different snow sculptures. We did stop to take pictures of a lot of them, but I do think these are best experienced in person. This is just a small sample of what was on display!

We were here on the Friday before the second weekend of this Snow Festival so some things weren't quite as crisp as they might have been a week prior, but that just helped emphasize the sculpture medium being something temperature reliant!

There were also a few of these snow slides throughout. Some very small ones for children under 9, and then a couple steeper or longer ones with a tube that adults can enjoy as well. This Nissin one had a line that was about 10 minutes long that my mom and her friend waited for. Not too bad!

We stopped for lunch after getting to the end of the displays and turning back to see the other side (a bit quicker). This Shabuzo restaurant specializes in lamb (broth) soup curry and ramen and is near our hotel, so it was a good regrouping point. Our party was 8 people and we waited about an hour to be seated, but they were able to get us in the same space together! (We would have waited about an hour whether we had 3 or 4 people as well - it was just a long waitlist and a bit slow turnover.)

Went back out after lunch to check out blocks 1-3 with my husband and my in-laws (because my parents and their friends already saw it the day before). 

Interesting art installation included these large bouncy inflatable pieces which you were able to touch and somewhat interact with (similar to Team Labs but out in the open lol). 

A bit dull in the cloudy weather we had, but there's lights at night!

Block 1 had a Christmas tree and a display with wings! The effect is a bit meh with the traffic cones though lol. 

Got some typical festival food and then it started snowing! 

For dinner, my parents thought it would be interesting for the group to try Kuma-chan shabu shabu in the place it originated. We (my parents, my husband and I) had tried it for the first time in September 2022 for my birthday at the Shibuya location, but the original is in Hokkaido. Also, they take online reservations, so we were able to guarantee seating for all 8 of us without a wait. 

And we weren't done yet! Last item of the night was to check out the ice displays in Susukino. My dad planned this for night time so we could see the light up effects that some of the displays had!

Not unlike the snow sculptures from the morning, there's tons and tons of ice sculptures here with the details all best observed in person, so this is just a very small sample! It was a lot colder at night, but there's definitely different vibes for these displays with all the city lights. 

We returned to the Odori Park area and made a brief stop again to check out the horse racing sculpture at night with the light projection/movie! 

Out timing was just right and we barely had to wait at all before it started. Definitely worth the pit stop because it wasn't too far from our hotel and it was nice to see the tech integration. 

Thank you to my dad who insightfully booked the Sapporo Grand Hotel well in advance. Super convenient location and great during the winter because we could access it from the underground passage without being exposed to the weather!

This was a really chill first day. I think it helped being Friday and later in the festival schedule, but crowds weren't too bad (we were able to take pictures without other people's arms or cameras in view) and we didn't have to rush anywhere. No train catching at all this day - we just walked everywhere we needed to go, taking advantage of the underground walkways as much as possible. 

In the display areas with snow, the ground was mostly easy to walk on with some mild caution, but we did see a couple of people slip and fall in some angled portions, so traverse carefully. We didn't use our crampons this day though. 

I definitely recommend doing both the Odori Park area for the snow sculptures and also the Susukino ice sculptures. It's worth it to see how different things are in ice!

Hokkaido Snow Festivals 2024

- Sapporo

- Asahikawa

- Otaru