From beautiful snow sculptures to live performances and tasty food stalls, Sapporo Snow Festival is one of Japan’s most beloved festivities.
The Sapporo Snow Festival or Yuki Matsuri is a yearly event held in Sapporo, Hokkaido’s capital city. It’s typically held in February when the prefecture is at its coldest, making it possible to line the streets up with amazing snow and ice sculptures!
In addition to amazing exhibits, the Sapporo Snow Festival features live events such as concerts and performances as well as delicious food and drink stalls. It’s completely free and open to the public and runs all day from the morning to the night for about a week.
Amazing Pop Culture Sculptures
If you’re a fan of Japanese media such as anime, video games, and music, chances are you’re going to see something you like at the Sapporo Snow Festival. Enormous snow sculptures featuring Monster Hunter, Pokémon, and Gundam are just a few of the countless exhibits you’ll see all along Odori Park.
All Your Favorite Anime!
While you’ll mostly see popular anime like Studio Ghibli and Pokemon, I prefer the more edgy shows like Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan).
This exhibit is truly frightening and one that every fan of the series is familiar with. The terrifying moment when titans are revealed to exist in the walls that supposedly protect the people.
Every year, the snow sculpture exhibits change, but many also stay the same, and you best believe this one makes a yearly return every time!
Western Films Too!
It’s not all Japanese pop culture, you’ll also find a few iconic Western films being represented too, after all, the Japanese love their Star Wars!
This magnificently detailed R2D2 snow sculpture is something of a hidden gem of the festival as the crowds mostly gather around the bigger, more flashy exhibits.
While Star Wars wasn’t a big part of this year’s Sapporo Snow Festival, previous years have seen amazing Stormtrooper and Darth Vader exhibits that completely stole the show!
Studio Ghibli
I’m not the biggest Ghibli fan, but even I have to admit the sculptures were eye-catching and hilarious!
Particularly this one of the legendary Porco Rosso character which was made only more epic with the glowing Sapporo TV Tower in the background.
Nothing like a pig flying a plane in the form of a snow sculpture to spread joy and happiness to the people, right?
Dazzling Christmas Lights
Speaking of bright lights, the Sapporo Snow Festival also features huge fully decorated Christmas trees on display!
It might be a couple of months after Christmas, but the festive season is still very much felt here in Hokkaido, even in February!
Indeed, the festival promises a great time for romantic couples, families, friends, and even solo travelers.
Food!
Iconic food stalls like Shin Ramyun noodles showcase big food trucks that have people lining up in the dozens for them.
Personally, I’m not sure what the fuss was about here given it’s just a cheap brand of cup noodles, but perhaps they were doing something special with it here.
In any case, the smells and scents coming out of these food stalls added to the exciting vibe of the festival, offering classic Japanese street foods such as takoyaki and yakisoba, as well as Western staples like pizza and burgers!
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