basic information

The Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri) is held during one week every February in Hokkaido's capital Sapporo. In 2009, the Snow Festival will be held from February 5 through February 11, 2009.

The Sapporo Snow Festival was started in 1950, when high school students built a few snow statues in Odori Park. It has since developed into a large, commercialized event, featuring spectacular snow and ice sculptures and attracting more than two million visitors from Japan and across the world.

The Snow Festival is staged on three sites across Sapporo City: the Odori Site, Susukino Site and Sato Land Site.

The main site is the Odori Site in Sapporo's centrally located 1.5 kilometer long Odori Park. The festival's famous large snow sculptures, some more than 15 meters tall and 25 meters wide, are exhibited there. They are lit up daily until 22:00.

Besides about a dozen large snow sculptures, the Odori Site exhibits more than one hundred smaller snow and ice statues and hosts several concerts and events, many of which use the sculptures as their stage.

A great view over Odori Park can be enjoyed from the Sapporo TV Tower, which stands at the eastern end of the park and is opened from 9:00 to 22:30 during the festival (from 8:30 on the weekend). Admission to the top observatory deck costs 700 Yen per adult.

The Susukino Site, located in and named after Sapporo's largest entertainment district, exhibits about one hundred ice sculptures. Susukino is located only one subway stop south of Odori Park. The ice sculptures are lit up daily until midnight (until 22:00 on the festival's final day).

The less centrally located Sato Land Site in Sapporo Sato Land Park is a family oriented site, featuring slides and a maze made out of snow and ice. It also exhibits several more small snow sculptures, and is open daily from 9:00 to 17:00.

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how to get there

While the Odori and Susukino Sites are in central Sapporo, the Sato Land Site is located outside of the city center and can be accessed by subway and one of the following shuttle buses:

From Shindo-Higashi Station (Toho Subway Line):
About 15 minutes, 200 Yen, every 15-20 minutes

From Asabu Station (Nanboku Subway Line):
About 30 minutes, 200 Yen, every 20-30 minutes, stops at Sakaemachi Station (Toho Subway Line) along the way

From Odori Site and JR Sapporo Station:
About 45 minutes, 200 Yen, every 15-30 minutes

How to get to and around Sapporo

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5th of 11 most visited sights in Sapporo.
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hotels & ryokan

Sapporo Garland Hotel Newly renovated hotel located in Sapporo's Susukino district. FREE internet access in room and laundry facilities available. Marks Inn Sapporo A clean, quiet, convenient hotel in Sapporo city. 3 min walk to two subway stations and Susukino. FREE Small Breakfast.

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