Sōunkyō Icefall Festival

Overview

Sōunkyō Icefall Festival (層雲峡氷瀑まつり) is a winter ice festival held annually from late January to mid-March at Sōunkyō Onsen in Kamikawa Town, Kamikawa District, Hokkaido. Staged along the banks of the Ishikari River, the festival features massive ice sculptures, ice tunnels, and an ice shrine, illuminated at night to create a magical frozen world. Drawing approximately 200,000 visitors during its seven-week run, it is one of Hokkaido's iconic winter attractions in the Daisetsuzan mountain range.

History

The festival began in 1976 (Shōwa 51) as a winter event organized by the Sōunkyō Onsen Tourism Association. Originally consisting of small ice sculptures aimed at attracting winter visitors to the hot-spring town, it was gradually expanded from the 1980s by local craftsmen and residents who built ever-larger handmade structures, eventually developing into today's grand ice-spectacle venue. Since 2007, interactive installations such as the Icefall Shrine and Ice Tunnel have been added, and with the rise of social media in the 2010s, the festival has seen explosive growth in inbound visitors from Taiwan, China, and Southeast Asia.

Highlights

The festival's centerpiece is a cluster of approximately 15-meter-tall ice towers and walk-through ice tunnels — massive structures built from ice pillars and snow blocks that, when illuminated at night with red, blue, and green lighting, evoke a fantastical otherworldly castle. Visitors can offer ema (wooden prayer plaques) at the Icefall Shrine and enjoy cocktails in special ice glasses at the Ice Bar (reservations required). Fireworks are launched every Saturday night, painting the winter sky above the ice formations.

Event Information

The venue is the special site along the Ishikari River at Sōunkyō Onsen in Kamikawa Town, Kamikawa District, Hokkaido. The nearest station is Kamikawa Station on the JR Sekihoku Main Line, followed by an approximately 30-minute bus ride bound for Sōunkyō Onsen. The festival runs annually from late January to mid-March (about seven weeks). Illumination hours are from 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM. A cooperation fee of approximately 500 yen is requested for junior high school students and older. As temperatures regularly drop below −20°C, full winter gear — heavy down jacket, thick hat, gloves, and snow boots — is absolutely essential.

Nearby Attractions

Sōunkyō Onsen sits at the gateway to Daisetsuzan National Park, renowned for its dramatic columnar jointed cliffs formed by volcanic activity. Two of Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls — Ginga-no-Taki (Milky Way Falls) and Ryūsei-no-Taki (Shooting Star Falls) — are within walking distance and transform into frozen icefalls during the festival period. The Kurodake Ropeway carries visitors up to 1,300 meters, where breathtaking views of snow-covered peaks and rime-frosted trees await. Asahikawa City is approximately 90 minutes away by car, and combining the visit with Asahiyama Zoo is a popular itinerary.

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