Tokamachi Snow Festival: A Winter Festival Experiencing Snow Country Culture

The Tokamachi Snow Festival, held every February in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture, is a major winter event known as "the birthplace of the modern snow festival," having begun in 1950 (Showa 25). Turning to advantage the snow that only a heavy-snow region has, and guided by the spirit of "making use of snow, enjoying snow, befriending snow," the whole community turns out to build enormous snow sculptures. This festival of light and music that warms the bitterly cold night is a one-of-a-kind winter event, crystallising the toughness and creativity of the people of snow country.

Giant Snow Sculptures Built by the Citizens

One of the festival's highlights is the handmade snow sculptures that appear all over the city. Local people pool their ideas neighbourhood by neighbourhood, producing snow sculptures large and small in the shape of popular characters, animals, buildings and more. At night they are lit up, and the white snow carvings emerge in dreamlike fashion. Being able to walk around the city on a snow sculpture tour is an attraction unique to this deeply community-rooted festival. Distinctive snow statues and snow stages created by citizen and corporate teams line up, allowing you to feel the culture of snow country.

The Main Venue: "Snow Rich Hiroba"

At the heart of the festival is the main venue, "Snow Rich Hiroba," set up on the grounds of Tokamachi Municipal Nishi Elementary School. The stage bustles all day with local dance teams, music groups and a kimono runway show appearing one after another, and at night the "Nijiyuki Hanabi" (rainbow snow fireworks) colour the sky above the snowfield. The food stall area, where restaurants from around the city line up side by side, is gathered here too, so you can enjoy local flavours while taking in the snow.

For many years the festival's signature event was the "Snow Carnival," in which a giant snow stage was built on a vast snowfield for concerts by famous artists, but following a collapse accident during construction of the snow stage it came to an end after 2019 (the 70th festival).

Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Art

Tokamachi is also one of the main venues for the "Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial," with artworks scattered in satoyama landscapes viewable year-round.

Best Season and Access

The Tokamachi Snow Festival is usually held on a weekend from the middle to the end of February (in 2026, February 20-22). Snow is deep in Tokamachi at this time of year, so cold- and waterproof preparation and non-slip shoes are essential. For access, "Tokamachi Station" on the JR Iiyama Line and the Hokuetsu Express Hokuhoku Line is the base; coming from the Tokyo direction, the convenient route is to change to the Hokuhoku Line at "Echigo-Yuzawa Station" on the Joetsu Shinkansen. The area around the venue becomes crowded, so public transport is recommended. It also works well combined with sightseeing in the equally snowy Uonuma and Tsumari areas.

Practical Information (based on the 2026 festival, with 2027 plans)

• Dates: Friday February 20 to Sunday February 22, 2026 = the 77th festival. The next, 78th festival will be held on Friday February 19, Saturday February 20 and Sunday February 21, 2027 (details to be announced around December 2026)
• Opening times of the main venue "Snow Rich Hiroba": Friday February 20, 18:00-21:00 (snow sculpture viewing only on this day; no food stalls) / Saturday February 21, 10:00-21:00 / Sunday February 22, 9:00-15:00
• Location: Around the grounds of Tokamachi Municipal Nishi Elementary School. About a 15-minute walk from Tokamachi Station
• Stage programme on February 21: 10:15 FC Echigo-Tsumari / 12:15 Gottoppachi / 13:30 TaMa / 14:30 dss Dance School / 16:30 Kimono Runway Show 1st / 17:30 SIO / 18:30 Kimono Runway Show Final / 19:00 Nijiyuki Hanabi (rainbow snow fireworks) / 19:30 Fujima Rennosuke / 20:15 DJ neo
• Stage programme on February 22: 10:30 Idol Shikkaku / 11:15 YAMAGA / 12:15 Lazo Dance School / 13:15 NPO music club, and others
• Food stalls: 27 restaurants from around the city set up stalls in the main area (February 21 and 22; none on the 20th)
• Temporary car parks (free, February 21 and 22): Rissho Kosei-kai Tokamachi Church 100 spaces / Utsunomiya Seisakusho 40 / Crosston No. 2 car park 50 / Tokamachi Station West Exit car park 110 / JA Uonuma head office 180 / Water and Sewerage Bureau 30 / Soka Gakkai Tokamachi Culture Centre 40 / City Hall 150 / Mizusawa Elementary School 30 (February 21 only)
• Free shuttle buses: These circulate around the city on February 21 and 22. Route 1: City Hall → Tokamachi Station West Exit → near Snow Rich Hiroba / Route 2: JA Uonuma head office → Tokamachi Station West Exit → near Snow Rich Hiroba / In the Echigo-Mizusawa Station area: Mizusawa Elementary School → Mizusawa Snow Festival Hiroba. A separate "snow sculpture and venue loop bus" also operates
• Extra trains: Extra trains run on JR East and on the Hokuetsu Express Hokuhoku Line
• Traffic restrictions: On February 21 and 22 some vehicles are barred from the area around the general gymnasium. The area around the gymnasium is reserved for those involved in the festival, so visitors should use the temporary car parks
• Clothing: You will be standing outdoors until night in a heavy-snow region in midwinter. Waterproof, non-slip shoes, thick gloves and a hat that covers the ears are essential

📚 Sources

• Tokamachi Snow Festival official website