Explore Shikotsu Ice Festival (day tour)
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Overview
Enjoy magical winter Hokkaido at Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival. Every year, Lake Shikotsu creates the most stunning local festival using sprayed water from the lake itself. There is fun for all the family, including ice sculptures, ice buildings and outdoor displays, ice slides, a small ice ring, and a number of stalls and festivities.
Inclusions
- Driver/guide
- Local guide
- Snacks
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Travel Hokkaido, 4 Kita 6-Jo Nishi, Kita-Ku Sapporo Station North Exit, Sapporo 060-0807 Hokkaido
Price Includes
• Charter Bus Transportation
• Tour Guide
• Entrance Fees
• Light Dinner/Snack
Price Excludes
• Any Private Expenses
• Hot Spring Fee (there are local hot springs and it is completely optional to use time to go)
What to Expect
We will leave Sapporo Station at 1pm, and travel to Lake Shikotsu by charter bus.
Here we’ll spend the afternoon at the ice festival there, enjoying the frozen sculptures, buildings and activities. As well as an ice slide and an ice rink, there are also many food stalls, view spots of the lake, and a large information centre about the area that we recommend checking out.
Later in the afternoon, we’ll meet together for a light dinner, or coffee and snack, and there would be time here to visit the local hot spring if you wanted to add this to your day.
In the evening, we’ll revisit the ice festival for the illuminations, and on the weekend, the fireworks activity.
1pm Leave Sapporo Station North Exit
2.30pm Arrive at Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival – day time
4.30pm Snack/Early Dinner
6.30pm See the illuminations (also fireworks on weekends)
7.30pm Return to Sapporo
9pm Drop off Sapporo Station
Stop At: Lake Shikotsu, Chitose Hokkaido
Lake Shikotsu, Chitose, Japan
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Travel Hokkaido, 4 Kita 6-Jo Nishi, Kita-Ku Sapporo Station North Exit, Sapporo 060-0807 Hokkaido
Price Includes
• Charter Bus Transportation
• Tour Guide
• Entrance Fees
• Light Dinner/Snack
Price Excludes
• Any Private Expenses
• Hot Spring Fee (there are local hot springs and it is completely optional to use time to go)
What to Expect
We will leave Sapporo Station at 1pm, and travel to Lake Shikotsu by charter bus.
Here we’ll spend the afternoon at the ice festival there, enjoying the frozen sculptures, buildings and activities. As well as an ice slide and an ice rink, there are also many food stalls, view spots of the lake, and a large information centre about the area that we recommend checking out.
Later in the afternoon, we’ll meet together for a light dinner, or coffee and snack, and there would be time here to visit the local hot spring if you wanted to add this to your day.
In the evening, we’ll revisit the ice festival for the illuminations, and on the weekend, the fireworks activity.
1pm Leave Sapporo Station North Exit
2.30pm Arrive at Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival – day time
4.30pm Snack/Early Dinner
6.30pm See the illuminations (also fireworks on weekends)
7.30pm Return to Sapporo
9pm Drop off Sapporo Station
Stop At: Lake Shikotsu, Chitose Hokkaido
Lake Shikotsu, Chitose, Japan
Time of tour
01:00 PM
Meeting point
Sapporo Station, 3 Chome-4 Chome Kita 6 Jonishi, Kita Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0806, Japan
Traveler pickup is offered
Directions: From the main JR train station, please use the North Exit on the East ticket gate side. There is a Dotour Coffee Shop where we ask people to wait, but if you look outside, you will see a bus car park directly in front of you and a member of our team will also be holding a 'Travel Hokkaido' sign.
Traveler pickup is offered
Directions: From the main JR train station, please use the North Exit on the East ticket gate side. There is a Dotour Coffee Shop where we ask people to wait, but if you look outside, you will see a bus car park directly in front of you and a member of our team will also be holding a 'Travel Hokkaido' sign.
Additional information
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- Please inform us immediately if you will need infant seats
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers
Exclusions
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
sharonybl
February 2020
this day tour was very well arranged, great communication and helpful advise from the day I booked. Our guide and driver were very friendly and helpful. It is a small group so everyone got to know one another and became friends. So it was great! The ice village experience itself was fantastic, ...
this day tour was very well arranged, great communication and helpful advise from the day I booked. Our guide and driver were very friendly and helpful. It is a small group so everyone got to know one another and became friends. So it was great! The ice village experience itself was fantastic, lots of snow. I am glad I joined this day tour. It was very very cold (but there is a place to buy hot snacks and drinks plus a place to get warm). Make sure you have waterproof boots and very thermal/wool socks. Tip: get hand and feet warmers which you can buy from the convenient stores before you get on this trip. Dinner was included and it was very good! Thank you, Peta Jeffrey and Mr. Driver (sorry I did not get your name).421leighc
February 2020
Had an awesome time at the ice festival at night. Such a beautiful place and even better with all the lights illuminating the ice. Favourite part was the giant ice wall and slide
Had an awesome time at the ice festival at night. Such a beautiful place and even better with all the lights illuminating the ice. Favourite part was the giant ice wall and slidedynamic14
February 2020
Open daily from 9am - 10pm, the Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival only happens about 3 weeks in Jan/Feb. Hubby had booked the tour even before arriving in Japan and we were looking forward to discover this yearly festival. We met our tour group at the JR station and it took us about 1.5 hours to rea...
Open daily from 9am - 10pm, the Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival only happens about 3 weeks in Jan/Feb. Hubby had booked the tour even before arriving in Japan and we were looking forward to discover this yearly festival. We met our tour group at the JR station and it took us about 1.5 hours to reach the site by bus. Our guide brought us around to familiarise us with the surroundings before we met again at 4.30pm for an early dinner. We took the opportunity to snap some pretty pictures of the lake and check out the ice festival where various ice sculptures were exhibited as well as an ice rink and a slide. There is an Observatory which we did not visit due to the many steps. Also a museum at the visitor centre. Various food outlets are on site and we had a lovely dinner at one of them together with our group. The ice cream was thick and creamy, made from Hokkaidō milk. After dinner, we went to view the ice festival light up and enjoyed the drum performance. At 6.30pm, on weekends, during the festival, we managed to enjoy the fireworks display before calling it a day.MartinTMRupp
February 2020
We took this tour because it is very hard to get to the festival just for one day by public transportation. This tour is by far the best option if you want to experience the most of the festival. The festival itself is a must if you are in the area in winter. The ice sculptures are all hand buil...
We took this tour because it is very hard to get to the festival just for one day by public transportation. This tour is by far the best option if you want to experience the most of the festival. The festival itself is a must if you are in the area in winter. The ice sculptures are all hand build by local people and the festival area has a very family atmosphere with things to do for kids, couples and everyone. In the small village of Shikotsu you can experiance local foods and drinks. I strongly recommend the hot sake (amazake).suzewearsshoes
September 2019
My husband and I were looking for a way to experience some of Hokkaido’s beautiful scenery and events that weren’t accessible via public transport, but we didn’t have time for the full-day or multi-day tours that are typically offered. Enter Travel Hokkaido! Several of their tours were for half...
My husband and I were looking for a way to experience some of Hokkaido’s beautiful scenery and events that weren’t accessible via public transport, but we didn’t have time for the full-day or multi-day tours that are typically offered. Enter Travel Hokkaido! Several of their tours were for half a day - we chose an evening trip to Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival, which was out of this world. We really appreciated the flexibility the shorter tour offered, and at a very reasonable price, too. Communication through website and email was quick and very helpful, and Peta also kept us up-to-date on the day as well. The pickup from Sapporo station was easy and we were delighted at how relaxed and friendly they were. (As a side note, I loved that they had brought their baby since another family also had kids with them! He was a delight and it was really clear how much Travel Hokkaido was a part of Shunsuke and Peta’s life). The journey to the festival was a little delayed (through no fault of TH) and Peta was extremely accommodating in making sure everyone was comfortable and relaxed. Everything was taken care of and clearly explained. The Ice Festival itself - wow! If you have a chance to experience it, I would highly recommend it. It’s not a huge event, but so extraordinary beautiful and magical. We really appreciated the opportunity to visit as without a car it would have been impossible. Thank you Shinsuke and Peta for your warm hospitality and excellent hosting! If (hopefully when!) we make it back to Hokkaido we will undoubtedly be returning for more trips with you :)