Sapporo Snow Festival with Kids (Yuki Matsuri)
Last Updated on March 5, 2026 by Kay
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission on any purchases through those links at zero additional cost to you. Whatever I make goes to keeping this website running and I am forever grateful for the support. See my Privacy Policy for more information.
If you’re considering the Sapporo Snow Festival (Yuki Matsuri) with kids in tow, you might be wondering what you should know before you go.
I’ve visited the Sapporo Snow Festival twice, once before my daughter was born and then again recently when she was six years old. In this article, I’ll share my child’s experience at Yuki Matsuri as well as key tips that every parent should know before they go.
What the Sapporo Snow Festival is Like for a Child
In this section, I’ll be sharing what my daughter thought about the Sapporo Snow Festival. But before I get into that, let me share a bit of background about the festival.
The Sapporo Snow Festival is a week-long affair that starts at the beginning of February and ends on a national holiday called Foundation Day, so typically from February 4th to 11th.
The festival is spread out across three main sites: Odori, Susukino, and Tsudome, each offering a unique experience involving snow and ice. And the best part for families is that the festival itself is completely free to attend.
Although it is possible to visit all three site and see everything the festival has to offer, it is a lot, especially for kids, so we spread our visit over two days. This way we could take our time and enjoy everything without rushing around or overwhelming our daughter.
We also skipped staying right beside the festival venues because hotel prices around Odori/Susukino/Sapporo Station were wild. (After all, the Sapporo Snow Festival is probably the busiest time of year for the city.)
Instead, we stayed a few train stops away at Villa Koshido Kotoni, an apartment hotel that’s perfect for families. It was much cheaper, the room was bigger (important when you’re dealing with everything you need to pack for a winter trip with kids), and the commute to Odori Station by train was only about 16 minutes.
Alright, now that’s all out of the way, let’s take a look at what my daughter’s visit to the Sapporo Snow Festival was like.
Odori Site
Our first stop for the Sapporo Snow Festival was the Odori site (Odori Park), which we visited early in the morning. Although we arrived in Sapporo at around 6 PM the previous day, I thought it would be too overwhelming to take my daughter straight to the Odori site, so instead we had some amazing soup curry at a restaurant near our hotel and got some rest. This was definitely the right thing to do, as you’ll discover later. (Spoiler alert: the Odori site is nuts at night.)
Now, visiting in the morning was great because Odori Park was blissfully uncrowded, but the train to get to Odori Station, which we took at around 8 AM, was packed with commuters, and we felt like human sardines packed into a can for a few stops. So it might be best to avoid rush hour (7:30 AM to 9 AM). We highly underestimated how busy rush hour in Sapporo is because our train line in Osaka isn’t as busy — it felt just like Tokyo! (For those familiar with Tokyo, think the Chuo-Sobu line.)
Once we arrived, though, we loved being able to see the sculptures up close and taking as many pictures as we wanted without crowds. My daughter brought her camera with her (VTech KidiZoom for anyone who’s wondering, which she’s been using since she was three years old) and she loved taking her time to find the right angle for her photos.
The Odori site has 11 areas (starting near the Sapporo TV Tower, but you can see the areas in whatever order you want), and you’ll see everything from adorable character sculptures to mid-sized displays sponsored by big brands, plus several huge showstoppers.
We also made sure to go to the Sapporo TV Tower. It offers a fantastic view of the Snow Festival grounds at Odori Park, as well as Sapporo covered in snow. And look at those gorgeous snow-covered mountains in the distance in my photo below!
My daughter also loved the free stamp rally they had, which you can finish very quickly. Expect to spend about 10 minutes max on this.
You can purchase a combo ticket for the Sapporo TV Tower and the Sapporo Clock Tower, which is what we did, since it was only 100 yen extra each. Our family didn’t care much for the Clock Tower, though. (There’s a reason why it’s considered the most disappointing tourist attraction in Sapporo, but hey, if your kids are cold, it’s a nice way to warm them up at least!)
At the Odori site of the Sapporo Snow Festival, my daughter was delighted to spot snow sculptures made of her favorite characters, such as Nintendo characters from Mario, Kirby, and Pokémon, as well as Chiikawa and Sanrio (Hello Kitty, of course).
They also had plenty of anime sculptures like Oshi no Ko and Miku.
As well as popular hits like Jujutsu Kaisen:
And how cute is this Kewpie Mayonnaise sculpture?!
Of course, the festival is probably most known for its massive snow sculptures, of which there were five. My daughter wasn’t overly impressed by them, though, because she had no idea what they were.
We tried explaining to her that the Jomon sculpture, pictued below, depicts her ancestors (her father is Japanese) but she was still too young to really appreciate it.
One thing I found particularly cool (excuse the pun) was a free ice slide that was sponsored by Cup Noodles, which opened at around 10 AM. Sadly, my daughter didn’t want to go on it despite plenty of kiddos riding (and kids are allowed to sit on their parents’ laps).
She said it was because she didn’t want her butt to get wet (she refused to wear the snow pants that we brought with us, which means the Canada government will have to revoke her Canadian citizenship).
But although my daughter was against going on the slide, I didn’t let that stop me! I slid down alone while my daughter and husband watched, and it was so fun! I really wish my daughter had tried, but what can you do? Note that you need gloves to go down the slide (kids as well).
There was a Cup Noodles Monster near the slide and we got our photo taken with him (her? Them?) (and again, for free, yay!). Surprisingly, the monster put his arm around me and pulled me close, which made me laugh and helped create a great family photo.
The Cup Noodles Monster was my daughter’s favorite part about the Odori site of the Sapporo Snow Festival.
My daughter really wanted to make a snowman at a snowman station, which opened at 11 AM, but this is one thing I suggest you avoid doing if there is a line, because the line moves very slowly.
I think there were fewer than ten people ahead of us, but we waited a whopping 30 minutes! Kids will have plenty of chances to play with snow at the Tsudome site (more on that later), so I would skip this unless there are only maybe two or three groups ahead of you.
The snowman below in the middle with the pinecone nose and eyes, as well as the cute headpieces, is my daughter’s. She came up with everything herself!
Speaking of snow, apart from the sculptures and this snowman area, the snow at the Odori site is generally kinda dirty. Very “city snow” (just like the downtown area of my hometown in Canada), so make sure your kids know this isn’t the place to have fun in the snow.
There’s also a skating rink here, but Odori is still more of a “spectator” site compared to Tsudome.
After visiting all three sites (Odori, Susukino, and Tsudome), my daughter said Odori was her least favorite festival site, mostly because it wasn’t as interactive. It was absolutely more “look than touch”, which can be boring for kids. My kid was definitely bored halfway through the 11 sections of the Odori site. (My husband was, too.)
In terms of food, there are lots of food stalls selling Hokkaido favorites like steamed crab buns and potatoes.
My daughter wanted soup, so we got a variety set for her, and she enjoyed a steamed venison bun. The stalls open around 10 AM or 11 AM. There are a few tables where you can sit down and eat, as well as vending machines where you can get hot drinks.
If you need a washroom, there are plenty at the Odori site, as you can see in the photo below. (Also, look at the snow here — this is exactly what I mean when I say “dirty snow”.)
There are also vending machines with hot drinks (look for the red mark that reads “あったか〜い”), which is a great way to get warmed up if you feel cold. However, the cans can be quite hot so make sure to check the temperature before giving it to your kiddo.
We spent about four hours at the Odori site, which included having lunch there. Afterwards, we went to the Susukino site.
Now, it’s totally possible to go straight to the Tsudome site from the Odori site by train (and then bus), and this will take about 30 minutes one-way. But it might be exhausting for younger kids, and as you’ll see later on in this article, we spent an entire day at the Tsudome site on the second day of our time at the Sapporo Snow Festival.
Susukino Site
Susukino is a short walk from Odori, about ten minutes depending on how fast your kid moves, but you can also ride the train one stop from Odori Station to Susukino Station. To get to the Susukino Site, take exit 4 near a mall called COCONOSUSUKINO.
The Susukino site features ice sculptures sponsored by local businesses. The sculptures aren’t nearly as large as the ones in Odori, but my daughter loved them because they looked more fantastical. For instance, there are mermaids and dragons. She spent a lot of time taking photos of each one.
She also really enjoyed the ice sculpture that had real frozen seafood inside!
Note that this area is roped off until 3 PM to allow traffic through. After 3 PM, the roads close and you can walk right up to the sculptures as they light up.
We did a quick daytime look of the Susukino site (night is definitely better), and then ducked into an aquarium called AOAO SAPPORO in moyuk Sapporo (an easy, under-10-minute walk away) when my daughter needed a warm break.
AOAO is a compact aquarium you can do in about an hour, with a small preschool play area, solid diaper/breastfeeding facilities, and close-up penguins (plus a dreamy jellyfish section) without the usual big-city crowds.
Afterward, we hopped one stop via the train from Susukino Station to Nakajimakoen Station to have some snow play at Nakajima Park. Two hours later, my daughter still didn’t want to leave! If you can, bring a few snow toys (sled/shovel/molds), and arrive before 3:30 PM if you want to try cross-country skiing (around ¥1,000).
When we were done, we went back to the Susukino site at around 5 PM to see the ice sculptures at night and take photos.
It doesn’t take long to see everything the Susukino site offers. We were done in just 30 minutes or so, making it perfect with kids. And in our experience, it was noticeably less crowded than Odori.
I asked my daughter if she liked the Susukino site and she said, “Yes, I liked the dragon sculpture!”.
I completely agree, it’s pretty cool. Kudos to the sculptor! There were plenty of other ice sculptures she liked and marveled at when we were looking at them, it was so cute. My daughter definitely appreciates fantastical art like her mama!
Nighttime at the Odori Site
When we were done with Susukino, we headed back to Odori Park. We had to take the train back to our hotel from Odori Station anyway, so we figured we might as well check out the sculptures as well.
At night (around 5 PM to 10 PM), the big sculptures light up with music, which sounds magical… and it can be.
But it’s also when the crowds swell, the speakers are shockingly loud up close. We made the mistake of going right up to the castle sculpture during one of their light shows so that my daughter could see, and we all felt like our heads were going to split due to the speakers. I covered my daughter’s ears with my hands but she was still crying out.
Unfortunately, there were so many people around us that we couldn’t leave until the show was over! I felt like the worst mom ever. So… don’t make the same mistake as me, look at the sculptures at night from a distance.
My daughter did enjoy the music at the smaller Oshi no Ko and Miku sculptures, which was not at an ear-splitting volume.
Overall, we personally enjoyed Odori much more during the day, and with kids, I’d choose daytime almost every time because there is less noise, fewer crowds, and a lot fewer “I can’t see!” moments.
We spent around three to four hours at the Odori site of the Sapporo Snow Festival during the day, and about an hour at night.
When I asked my daughter what she thought of the Odori site, she said, “Maa maa,” which means “so-so” in Japanese. I asked her if she would go again, and she answered, “Yes, because I want to see the Cup Noodles Monster.” So there you have it!
Tsudome Site
The following day, we headed to the Tsudome Site bright and early. It was the last day of the Snow Festival and a public holiday, so although the train was rather empty compared to the rush hour crowd, there were lots of local families heading to the Tsudome Site.
To get to the Tsudome Site, you need to take a train to Sakaemachi Station, which is seven stops from Odori Station on the Toho Line. From there, you can walk to Tsudome (about 15 minutes) or take a shuttle bus for 200 yen.
We took the shuttle bus because I knew it would take longer on kid-time (and my daughter would likely ask her father to carry her midway through, which he didn’t want to do). The shuttle buses run quite often, so if there’s a line, don’t worry. It moves very fast and if a bus departs, another one will show up soon.
Since we visited on a holiday, we had to get a numbered ticket for the Tube Slider (which are only distributed on weekends and holidays), so we headed there right away. The venue opened at 10 AM. We arrived by 9:55 AM and there was already a line for the Tube Slider tickets. We managed to get lucky 100.
They make announcements regarding which numbered ticket group is next so you don’t have to stand around the Tube Slider until it’s your turn. So we took a look around the Tsudome site and man, it was amazing for kids.
There are so many areas where kids can play in the snow in different ways. I’m talking snowball target games:
Beanbag tossing in ice (my daughter did pretty well!):
Ice slides (which my daughter actually did this time since she was wearing snow pants):
Two areas to play in the snow, including one with free toys that you can borrow (my daughter LOVED this place):
Snow foot golf, which seemed kind of like soccer to me (this was the only thing my daughter refused to try):
A smaller family tube slider where you don’t need tickets (we rode this one repeatedly):
A snow maze:
Snow sculptures made by Sapporo high school students, where the staff will take a photo of your family if you like:
Best of all, the above activities are completely FREE!
And for an additional fee, you can do snow rafting, where you sit in an inflatable rafting boat and are pulled across the snow by a snowmobile. We did this, and my daughter loved it so much she wanted to do it again! Unfortunately, you can’t take photos on the ride. You can purchase a photo for 2000 yen, which we did not.
There is also a Chicken Ramen booth where you can buy a cup of Chicken Ramen and enjoy it inside or outside. We chose outside, and there is truly nothing like having a hot cup of instant noodles in the snow. I never tried having instant ramen outside in Canada during the winter but now I think I’ll have to if I ever visit again in that season.
If you need a break from outside, you can head inside Tsudome (a large white building) where there are plenty of activities for kids.
Note, though, that the inflatable play areas are all paid attractions, and it can get pretty pricey. We shelled out for our kid to do everything, though, and she didn’t want to leave!
There are also lots of food stalls inside, so it’s a great place to eat. And, of course, you’ll find washrooms here as well.
Tsudome’s hours are from 10 AM to 4 PM, and we ended up spending the entire day here! I recommend coming on a weekday if possible because it’s considerably less crowded. (We confirmed this with the staff working there.)
This was absolutely the highlight of the Snow Festival for our daughter, and for us as well! Unlike Odori and Susukino, Tsudome is a place where kids can get interactive with the snow, and that’s heaven for little ones.
My daughter said the Tsudome was “good because I can play”. She said it was her favorite site out of the three.
Tips for Visiting the Sapporo Snow Festival with Kids
Now that you have a good idea of what it’s like to visit the Sapporo Snow Festival with kiddos, I thought I would share some important pointers that every parent should know before they visit.
Wear Proper Winter Boots
This is essential! Do not wear sneakers; buy proper, insulated winter boots with grip. I bolded “with grip” because it is SO important so that you don’t slip.
The walkways can be icy, especially with snow melting and then freezing again. I saw so many people slip and fall.
My husband wore his silly Work Man winter boots he bought for 3000 yen, which are perfectly fine for snowless winters in Osaka but absolutely not enough for winter in Hokkaido. I wore Columbia boots, pictured below, and didn’t fall once. After seeing this, my husband headed to the closest Columbia store in the city and bought himself a pair.
In his words, it was the best purchase he made all year!
Dress for Snow and Wind
This seems like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised by the number of people I saw in a mini-skirt and tights in Hokkaido. Make sure to wear warm clothing, insulated if possible. Have thick, insulated socks as well because the temperature can drop quite a bit at night.
For outerwear, bring an insulated, windproof and waterproof winter jacket (I wear Helly Hansen), a hat, and make sure to have proper gloves that won’t get soaked when you handle snow.
For kids, make sure you have snowpants. All children in Hokkaido wear snowpants to and from school. So did I when I grew up in Canada. It is a must, especially if your child wants to play in the snow. My daughter’s snowpants are from Helly Hansen, but you can buy a good pair from any ski shop as well. Montbell, a Japanese brand, is also good. My daughter’s jacket, pictured below, is from Montbell.
My family and I didn’t feel cold whatsoever in Sapporo, and this was because we dressed warmly.
(That being said, make sure you have a bag or backpack with you that you can shove your kids’ jackets, etc., if they complain about being too hot.)
Bring BOTH a Baby Carrier and a Stroller
Okay, so I did a lot of research on this, including asking my Canadian friends what they do when they go out with babies in winter, and it seems like baby carrying is the most popular way to transport a child in the snow. Or a sled, if you have one, but that won’t work for sidewalks that have been shoveled. I saw SO many local parents baby wearing at the festival in Sapporo.
The one problem is that you need boots with a good grip, because you can fall on icy walkways. For extra protection, Odori site of the snow festival offers walking poles that you can borrow so you don’t fall easily, and these are free, so I highly recommend taking advantage of them.
Of course, you can bring a stroller, but make sure it has large, sturdy wheels so it can handle being pushed in the snow and ice. Also, note that sometimes there are HUGE puddles of water when the snow melts, so getting around this can be a challenge when you have a stroller.
By bringing both a baby carrier and a stroller, you can figure out which works best for your family.
Book Accommodation in Advance
Good accommodations around Odori fill up fast for the Snow Festival. People like to be within walking distance, so prices are also much higher than usual.
If you want to be close to the action, I suggest staying at these family-friendly hotels:
- The Royal Park Canvas Odori Park (only a minute from Odori Park!)
La’gent Stay Sapporo Odori (under 10 minutes on foot from Odori Park)
Hotel Sosei Sapporo MGallery Collection (10 minutes on foot from Odori Park)
JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo (connected to Sapporo Station and 11 minutes on foot from Odori Park)
SAPPORO STREAM HOTEL (connected to Susukino Station)
However, if you don’t mind taking the train for a few minutes (only one train line!), I highly recommend staying at Villa Koshido Kotoni. This is where we stayed, and I would stay here again.
Book Restaurants in Advance (or not)
If you want to dine around the Snow Festival (Odori and Susukino), you might want to book a restaurant in advance so you don’t have to go through the hassle of finding a place to eat or waiting in line.
I recommend Genghis Khan Hige no Ushi if you want lamb. It’s very tender and flavorful. There were so many young families eating here when we went on the first day of the festival. Note that they do not have a children’s menu, though.
I was surprised to see a lot of seats at the food court of COCONOSUKINO, though, and the food there looked pretty good. There was even a soup curry restaurant! So I think if my family goes to the Snow Festival again, we’ll just eat there.
Don’t Rent a Car
You do not need a car for the Sapporo Snow Festival. Parking spaces are expensive and few and far between (there are also NONE for the Tsudome site), and everything is reachable by public transport.
Not to mention the roads in Sapporo are absolutely crazy in winter. I don’t know if it’s because there was an unusually large amount of snow when we happened to visit, but the smaller roads were not paved and my husband had the worst time driving, and this is a man who lived (and drove) in one of the coldest cities in Canada. I didn’t even want to try because my husband is a way more experienced driver than I am, and if he was having trouble, I would as well.
It was pretty scary and I don’t recommend it to anyone.