Is the Sapporo Snow Festival Worth It? An Honest Review
Last Updated on March 2, 2026 by Kay
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Thinking about visiting the Sapporo Snow Festival?
I’ve been fortunate enough to go to the Sapporo Snow Festival (Yuki Matsuri) twice, so I thought I would share my honest thoughts on what it was like so you can decide whether it’s worth the time and money to go.
Table of Contents
What is the Sapporo Snow Festival?
You might already be aware of what it is, but just as a recap, the Sapporo Snow Festival (called Yuki Matsuri in Japanese) is an annual event held in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It runs for about a week in February, usually starting on February 4th and ending on the 11th.
Note that the final day of Yuki Matsuri, the 11th, is a national holiday in Japan called National Foundation Day.
During the Snow Festival, various snow and ice sculptures are displayed around the center of the city. There are three main sites: Odori, Susukino, and Tsudome.
Odori Park is the main site with a handful of massive snow sculptures and around 100 smaller ones. There are also food booths, snow slides, and other activities.
Susukino is a few minutes’ walk from Odori Park and has ice sculptures that are sponsored by local businesses.
Tsudome is a short train ride away from Odori Park and has a few snow sculptures, but it is mainly for enjoying activities in the snow, such as tube sliding.
Best of all, it is completely free to enjoy these events! That’s right, you don’t need to pay an entry fee, which is a huge draw for visitors.
My Family’s Experience at the Sapporo Snow Festival
If you’re wondering what it’s like to visit the Sapporo Snow Festival, here is my family’s honest experience. We took two days to see everything because we had a child and didn’t want to overwhelm her, but it’s absolutely doable to see everything in one day.
Firstly, we didn’t stay near the venues because it was insanely expensive. Maybe the hotel prices wouldn’t be considered so pricey for people from other countries, but since we live in Japan and are paid in Japanese yen, it was too much for us.
We stayed at an apartment hotel a few train stops away from Odori Station called Villa Koshido Kotoni, because it was considerably cheaper and the rooms are larger compared to the hotels around Odori and Susukino. It was absolutely worth it since it only took 16 minutes from the hotel to Odori Station.
Odori Site
On the first day, we headed to the Odori Site at around 8 AM. This was a huge mistake as the train was packed with people commuting for work, and we got rather crushed during the (thankfully) short ride. But on the upside, there was hardly anyone at Odori Park. This allowed us to take our time viewing the sculptures and taking photos.
There are 11 areas at the Odori Site, which start at the Sapporo TV Tower. Honestly, though, you can start wherever you like.
There was a set one-way path visitors should follow, which is meant to be a loop from the first area to the 11th and then back again. However, although most Japanese people were following this path, not many international tourists were, and honestly, I don’t blame them. The signs were way too small, I hardly noticed them!
The smaller snow sculptures featured various anime characters and mascots that are popular in Japan and Sapporo. I didn’t know many of the minor ones, but it was fun to see characters like Kirby and Boo from Mario.
There were medium-sized snow sculptures as well, featuring popular companies like Kewpie and anime such as Gundam.
There were five large sculptures, which were incredibly impressive for their size. However, I preferred the ones I saw when I first visited a few years ago, as I found them more detailed.
Below is a picture I took of a massive snow sculpture back in 2010. I mean, look at that!
The large sculptures also light up at night, and each had unique lighting and music. Some were very beautiful, like Aizu Tsurugajo Castle, but the lovelier it was, the more crowded. The speakers near the sculptures were super loud, so if you’re a vertically challenged person like me and want to be at the front to get a good view, this can be a problem. I kind of felt like I was at a rock concert and I should have brought earplugs.
I also didn’t appreciate that some people lifted their phones to take videos because it was unnecessary most of the time and blocked my view. I was able to take videos, but I didn’t need to hold my phone up above my head, and I am short, guys. I guess this is my “old woman screaming at the clouds” moment because when I first visited in 2010, this wasn’t an issue, and I could peacefully look at the sculptures.
But although that was annoying, I did really enjoy some of the other light-up sculptures, especially of Oshi no Ko and Hatsune Miku. Not because I am a fan — I really just liked the J-Pop music and atmosphere, as well as the group of Japanese salarymen dancing with penlights. (No photos of the Japanese salarymen, unfortunately, because I want to respect their privacy.)
I quite enjoyed the creativity of the snow sculptures made by artists from abroad. These were absolutely stunning!
During the day, you can also go on an ice slide for free, which was pretty fun. I believe this is available every year because I also did this the first time I went to the Sapporo Snow Festival. However, this year’s slide was much larger. Note that you need gloves to go on this slide.
There is also a skating rink, sponsored by Shin Ramen, which I didn’t have time to try out, unfortunately.
In terms of souvenirs, we visited at the tail-end of the festival, and by then, many of the Sapporo Snow Festival mascot goods (featuring Hokkaido’s famous snow fairy bird, Shima-enaga) were sold out.
When it comes to food, there’s a lot to choose from, and from my experience, the lines moved fairly fast.
Notably, there was a food stall for Donki that was super popular. I didn’t get anything from there, though. There was also a stall selling steamed crab buns, which were pricey at 900 yen each.
Instead, my husband grabbed a venison steamed bun that I was wary of at first, but after I took a bite, holy smokes! It was so tender, juicy, and flavorful. We paired it with hot sake from an Aizu vendor, and it was heaven. Absolutely a highlight.
Below is an image of the vendor that sold the venison steamed bun (もりもまん).
We also got four kinds of soup to warm up, but it was expensive for what it was, coming out at 1200 yen for four tiny cups of soup.
I also decided to try a milk, potato, and cheese croquette from Yotsuba (よつ葉), a company that specializes in milk products. It was piping hot and delicious, another win.
So in general, my husband and I found the food at the Sapporo Snow Festival’s Odori site to be pretty good. Definitely way better than what you find at summer festivals in Japan.
In terms of the snow sculptures, we enjoyed seeing them during the day way more than at night. The number of people was overwhelming once it was dark, especially when you have to cross the street to go from one area to another!
The paths were also not properly shovelled, so it was bumpy and icy. We had no trouble walking thanks to having Columbia boots, but we saw plenty of people fall.
Susukino Site
We went to the Susukino Site in the afternoon after going to the Odori Site. This site displays ice sculptures made by businesses and is located a few minutes’ walk from the Odori Site (head to COCONOSUKINO).
However, everything is roped off until 3 PM to allow traffic to pass. After 3 PM, the roads are closed, so you can walk right up to the ice sculptures, which also light up.
These sculptures aren’t as big as the Odori ones but I like how interactive some of them are. We were also able to get our photo taken for free at several spots by staff.
It doesn’t take much time to go through the Susukino Site, maybe 30 minutes tops, but we enjoyed it because it surprisingly wasn’t as crowded as Odori.
Tsudome Site
This was my family’s favorite part of the snow festival, which we visited on the second day. It’s located a bit further away from Odori, so visitors have to take a train to get there, specifically to Sakaemachi Station, and then take a shuttle bus that costs 200 yen.
The trip there is absolutely worth it if you have kids, though. This site has so much kid-friendly stuff to do, and it’s all free! I’m taking tube sledding, ice slides, snowball target practice, snow mazes, and more!
If you don’t have a kiddo, I still suggest visiting the Tsudome Site just to check out the atmosphere and maybe take a ride on the tube slider. (I went on it when I was in my early twenties and I had just as much fun this time as I did back then!)
Downsides of the Yuki Matsuri
So now that I’ve shared what it was like to visit the Snow Festival, I thought I should share some important things to keep in mind if you’re thinking of visiting.
The Sapporo Snow Festival is becoming increasingly more popular every year, especially with the rise of social media. Due to this, it is the most expensive time to stay at a hotel around Odori, Susukino, and Sapporo Station.
Restaurants are also packed with long lines, so plan accordingly and make reservations in advance if possible.
Due to climate change, the weather is also very unpredictable lately. When I visited over a decade ago, the weather was consistently cold, so it was easy to walk around without worrying about falling. However, lately the temperature fluctuates a lot, causing snow to melt one day, creating huge puddles, and then freeze the next, making uneven icy walkways that can be dangerous.
For these reasons, I highly recommend getting good, insulated boots with seriously good grip. I wear Columbia winter boots and didn’t slip once. When my husband noticed this, he bought a pair for himself while we were in Sapporo at a Columbia store and said it was the best purchase he had made in a while.
So, Is the Yuki Matsuri Worth It?
Since this was my second time visiting the Sapporo Snow Festival, I wasn’t as blown away as I was the first time. There are fewer large sculptures, and even the larger ones weren’t as detailed as the ones I saw a few years ago. I enjoyed the food at the festival but again, it didn’t feel like something I needed to travel for. Provided this, I don’t know if I would go again, especially given how expensive hotels are and how crowded it is (and I do think it’s going to get worse).
This was my husband’s first time going to the Yuki Matsuri, and he said it wasn’t worth the extra cost. The Odori site was also my daughter’s least favorite part of our Sapporo trip because there weren’t many interactive things for her to do.
If you really enjoy snow sculptures, want to enjoy winter activities for free and try local food, and don’t mind the crowds and premium hotel prices, then I think it might be worth visiting the Sapporo Snow Festival at least once. But don’t expect to be blown away.