Abashiri Okhotsk Drift Ice Festival

With ice floes and drift ice in the winter seas around Abashiri in the far north of Hokkaido, it gets very, very cold – so what better place to have a festival with giant carved ice sculptures?

Sculptures large and small along with figures shaped from snow will fill the seaside venue. After dark, the sculptures are spectacularly illuminated, transforming the atmosphere. All this is to see for free, but there will also be a music festival on February 11 from 5 p.m. that costs ¥6,500.

How to get there

To get to the venue, it’s a ten-minute bus ride from Abashiri Station on the “Tourist Facility Rounds Route”. Get off at Ryuhyo Saihyosen Terminal. From there, it’s another 10 minutes of walking to get to the venue.