Interesting Festivals You Need To Know in Sapporo, Japan Round The Year!
Local festivals, also known as matsuri (祭り) is abundant in Japan with an estimated number of 200,000 festivals each year. Most festivals are held annually in celebration of a shrine's deity, a seasonal or historical event. When digging into Japanese Festivals, it is evident that some of the best ones are held in Sapporo!
Sapporo (札幌市, Sapporo-shi) is the largest city in Japan lying north of Tokyo, and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northern most main island of the country. It is the capital city of Hokkaido Prefecture and Ishikari Subprefecture. Sapporo lies in the southwest of Hokkaido, within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River It is considered the cultural, economic, and political center of Hokkaido.
1. Sapporo Snow Festival
The Sapporo Snow Festival (さっぽろ雪まつり, Sapporo Yuki Matsuri), one of Japan's most popular winter events is held during one week every February in Hokkaido's capital Sapporo.
The Sapporo Snow Festival started in 1950 when high school students built snow statues in Odori Park. It has since developed into a large, commercialised event, featuring spectacular snow and ice sculptures that attracts more than two million visitors from Japan and across the world!
Festival Period: January - February
Website: https://www.snowfes.com/english/
2. Chitose & Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival
Chitose and Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival is an ice festival held in Lake Shikotsu hot springs in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, located about 40 minutes away by car from Sapporo city.
Feast your eyes on lines of ice sculptures made by spraying water from Lake Shikotsu, a lake with some of the clearest water in Japan. Popular features include ice slides, ice rink where you can slide around in boots, and even the horse rides around the venue..
More than 300 fireworks grace the sky on Saturdays and Sundays, alongside Wadaiko drum performances. P/s Warm up in the nearby hot springs and enjoy a meal in town, don’t forget the souvenirs!
Festival Period: January - February
Website: http://www.1000sai-chitose.or.jp/
3. Hokkaido Shrine Festival
The Hokkaido Shrine Festival is also called the Sapporo Festival. This festival has a history that dates back over a century ago. It is also one of the biggest festivals in Hokkaido.
Stalls, entertainment and other attractions are set up through Nakajima park for this 3 days event. Traditional dedication ceremonies are held at the shrine in Maruyama park, where many festival stalls are also set up.
On the final day of the festival, a large parade sets out from Hokkaido Shrine and makes its way into the centre of Sapporo. This procession involves thousands of people dressed in colourful Heian period costumes, winding their way through the city along with the sound of the taiko drums.
Festival Period: June
Website: http://www.hokkaidojingu.or.jp/eng/index.html
4. Yosakoi Soran Festival
The Yosakoi Soran Festival in Hokkaido is based on another Japanese festival that originates from the Kochi Prefecture that features naruko clappers accompanying Hokkaido's Soran Bushi folk melodies. The first Yosakoi Soran Festival dates back to 1992, it now attracts upwards of a million visitors a year!
Festival Period: June
Website: http://www.yosakoi-soran.jp/
5. Sapporo Craft Beer Forest
As Hokkaido begins to warm up in the summer months, the Sapporo Craft Beer Forest has become an increasingly popular spot to enjoy a huge selection of craft beer from local sellers. There are over twenty-five different craft beer stalls at this event, each selling a selection of their hard work. You can sample beers from all over the world at this event, and find a variety of beers ranging from light and flavorful pale ales, sweet and malty blonde ales, flowery or spicy pilsners, to smooth & creamy dark lagers and everything in between. The Sapporo Craft Beer Forest has something for everybody.
This event brings together craft beer from Hokkaido, as well as other parts of Japan and overseas at Sapporo Bankei Ski Area. Situated in a forest and surrounded by nature, this joyful event takes place at a ski area in summer and allows visitors to enjoy a glass of refreshing beer from lunch time. Visitors can also enjoy meeting with beer brewers and hear firsthand about beer crafting. In addition, there will be an offering of live music performances as well as a host of food items that go great with beer, sure to excite the crowd.
Festival Period: July
Website: http://www.sapporo-craft-beer-forest.com/enjoy/
6. The Sapporo Lilac Festival
The Sapporo Lilac Festival first began in 1959, and the following year the lilac was designated the tree of Sapporo After a long winter many citizens eagerly look forward to this festival where everyone can enjoy the start of a warmer season and eating and walking outdoors. Odori Park has about 400 lilac trees, and on the first day of the festival, lilac seedlings are given away to visitors.
There is also an outdoor tea ceremony, a store to try on kimonos, a music festival and a stamp rally. There is international cuisine and the wine garden serves up delicious food made with Hokkaido ingredients and locally produced wines. A variety of events are held in the lilac forest of Kawashimo Park in Sapporo’s Shiroishi Ward, such as the Shimokawa Park concert, and guided tours of the lilacs.
Festival Period: May - June
Website: N.A
7. Sapporo Summer Festival
The Sapporo Summer Festival attracts more than a million visitors to its cavernous beer garden stretching from 5-chome to 11-chome in Odori Park operating for about a month; a Hokkai Bon Odori dance, the Tanuki Festival along the Tanukikoji shopping street, the Susukino Festival, and numerous other events held in conjunction with it.
When it began in 1954, the main site was Nakajima Park and featured a boat festival, bon odori dancing, fireworks display, firefly hunting, and the Tanabata star festival. The venue moved to Odori Park in 1957, and the beer garden first appeared at 6-chome in 1959.
Festival Period: Mid July - Mid August
Website: http://sapporo-natsu.com/
Source: Hokkaido Guide
8. Sapporo Autumn Festival
The Sapporo Autumn Fest is one of the newer festivals in Hokkaido, being held for the first time in 2008. It is the last of the big Sapporo festivals for the year. The 4 big festivals in Sapporo come with each season, the winter has the Snow Festival, spring has the Lilac Festival, summer brings the Sapporo Beer Garden , and the changing of the leaves sees the arrival of the Autumn Festival.
Autumn is the harvest season, with the focal point of the festival being the showcase of the best food from around Hokkaido! The Sapporo Autumn Fest runs the length of Odori park and each block has its own unique theme. Discover each, and enjoy the sights and smells of delicious food and drink from all corners of Hokkaido!
Festival Period: September - October
Website: http://www.sapporo-autumnfest.jp/
9. German Christmas Market
The market has been held in Sapporo since 2002, when the city marked the thirtieth anniversary of its sister-city ties with Munich, Germany.
Stalls selling Christmas items, hot wine, and German food are set up for about a month at Odori Park. Also on sale are commemorative mug cups which change design each year. There are outdoor concerts, indoor workshops, and if you’re lucky you might receive a gift from Santa Claus! Tents with seats are available near the food stalls, so you don’t have to worry about the snow. The Christmas mood deepens from late November, when the Sapporo White Illumination also begins at Odori Park.
Festival Period: November - December
Website: https://white-illumination.jp/munich/
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