Asahikawa Winter Festival

What to know

The 2027 Winter Festival is scheduled for February 6-11.

The Asahikawa Winter Festival (旭川冬まつり, Asahikawa Fuyu Matsuri) is Hokkaido's second largest winter festival after Sapporo's Snow Festival. It runs for a week in early February, overlapping with the Sapporo Snow Festival. This makes it easy for winter visitors to enjoy both events on the same trip, as the two cities are only 80 minutes apart by train.

Although Asahikawa doesn't host Hokkaido's biggest winter festival, it boasts one of the largest snow sculptures. Each year, a massive snow sculpture serves as a stage for music and performances. In 1994, a giant Korean fortress sculpture even earned a Guinness World Record as the largest snow construction ever built.

The giant snow sculpture is at the riverside Asahibashi Site, one of two festival venues, named after the nearby bridge. Other attractions here vary annually but typically include smaller snow sculptures, snow slides, snowmobile rides, horse-drawn sleigh rides, and an ice bar. The Asahibashi Site also hosts the opening and closing ceremonies and a small daily fireworks display.

The second venue is Heiwa Dori pedestrian street, stretching about one kilometer from Asahikawa Station toward the Asahibashi Site. Around 50 ice sculptures are displayed here for an ice sculpture competition. During the first few days, sculptors work on their creations, and afterward the sculptures remain on display. They look especially beautiful when illuminated in the evenings.

Heiwa Dori pedestrian zone runs from Asahikawa Station about one kilometer through the city center. From its end, it's a 10-15 minute walk to the Asahibashi Site. Alternatively, free shuttle buses run every 30 minutes between Asahikawa Station and the Asahibashi Site during the festival.