culture & tradition · Japan
Sapporo Snow Festival
さっぽろ雪まつり
The short answer
The Sapporo Snow Festival shows large snow and ice sculptures at three sites in Sapporo: Odori Park, Susukino and Tsudome. It has been held every winter since 1950.
Where
Sapporo
Country
Japan
When
annual, early February (8 days, usually 4-11 February)
Last held
2026-02-04 to 2026-02-11
Next edition
2027-02-04 to 2027-02-11
Next dates are
official
Organiser
Sapporo Snow Festival Executive Committee (さっぽろ雪まつり実行委員会)
Visitors
about 2.33 million visitors at the Odori and Tsudome sites (2025, reported by Hokkaido Shimbun)
Good to know
The 76th edition ran 4-11 February 2026. The official site lists 4 February (Thu) to 11 February (Thu, public holiday) 2027; sources disagree on whether 2027 is called the 77th or 78th edition (77th follows from the 76th in 2026). Entry is free. The English page of the official site still showed 2025 information when checked. No official 2026 visitor total was found.
Kungfucius says: Snow sculptures the size of buildings, and ramen to thaw out afterwards.
Official website ↗