Colorful lights illuminating the ice sculptures (Photo: Outside147/CC By SA 3.0)
Jan 25th
Mar 9th
Colorful lights illuminating the ice sculptures (Photo: Outside147/CC By SA 3.0)

Sounkyo Onsen Ice Fall Festival 2025

Celebrate the beauty of Hokkaido's harsh winter

Venue
Sounkyo Onsen, Hokkaido
When
Jan 25th - Mar 9th 2025

The annual Sounkyo Ice Fall Festival has been running for over 40 years now, and it celebrates the beauty of the harsh, cold winters that this part of Hokkaido is known for. There are numerous illuminated ice sculptures to appreciate, an ice climbing experience, an icefall shrine, and even projection mapping on the ice. In typical years there are also stage performances and ice sliding events, but those have been canceled for this year in efforts to prevent against the spread of the coronavirus.

Due to the chilly temperatures here, visitors are reminded to dress warmly to protect from the cold.

Admission to the event is priced at 500 yen.

Getting there

For those who are driving to the area, it's around 30 minutes from the Kamikawa Sounkyo IC on Asahikawa Monbetsu Road. Free parking is available on-site.

For those using public transport, head to JR Kamikawa Station, served by the Sekihoku Main Line. From there, take the Kamikawa Mori no Terrace bus until you reach the stop for Sounkyo Onsen. The event venue is around a five minute walk from the bus stop.

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gift9878 laoputi a year ago
私はこのフェスティバルに行くつもりで航空券を予約しました。日付 2024 年 3 月 18 日お祭りに間に合わなくなるのはとても残念です。
Kim Bergström Author a year ago
That's a shame :( They haven't released 2024 dates on their site yet but based on 2023 the festival finished on March 12th. Hopefully they release 2024 dates soon.
Elena Lisina 3 years ago
We have "ice towns" only for the New Year, by February they're removed. Each year the theme is different. We have many slides, not only decorations from ice.
Kim Bergström Author 3 years ago
This event usually has slides too :( sadly because of COVID they're not running them this year, but hoping to see things return to normal next year!

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