Chitose Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival 2027 Confirmed

千歳・支笏湖氷濤まつり — Chitose, Hokkaido (Hokkaido)

Last updated: Sun, October 11, 2026

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The Chitose-Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival fills the lakeside at Shikotsuko Onsen with ice sculptures, towers and walk-through ice caves, made by spraying water from Lake Shikotsu onto frames until it freezes. By day the ice glows the pale "Shikotsu blue" of the lake; from 4:30 PM it is lit in changing colours. The festival is about an hour from New Chitose Airport, which makes it an easy first or last stop on a Hokkaido winter trip. The 2027 festival runs January 30 – February 23, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM.

Background

Lake Shikotsu is a caldera lake formed by volcanic activity about 32,000 years ago. It is the second-deepest lake in Japan after Lake Tazawa and has topped the national water-quality survey 20 times, which is why the ice is so clear and blue. The festival began in January 1979 to bring visitors to the lake in winter, when its hot-spring hotels were otherwise quiet; the name "hyoto" means "ice waves", a nod to Japan's northernmost lake that does not freeze over. About ten people who work on the lake, including nature guides and fishermen, build the ice each year: frames go up from late November, spraying starts once temperatures drop below freezing in late December, and in January the spraying runs around the clock.

Getting there

Hokkaido Chuo Bus runs route buses from New Chitose Airport (about 55 min) via JR Chitose Station (about 45 min) to the Shikotsuko terminal; from Sapporo, take the JR Rapid Airport train to Chitose (about 30 min) and change to the bus. During the festival the reserved-seat Hyoto Blue Liner bus also runs between New Chitose Airport, JR Chitose Station and Shikotsuko Onsen (¥2,000 one way for junior high school age and up, ¥1,000 for elementary school children). The venue is about a 5-minute walk from the hot-spring village. A taxi from the airport takes about 40 min and costs about ¥7,000. By car it is about 40 min (30 km) from the airport and about 70 min (50 km) from central Sapporo; there are 400 parking spaces, free in winter.

Tips

• Open 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM, with the light-up from 4:30 PM. Arriving in the mid to late afternoon lets you see the ice in its natural blue and then lit up.
• From 2027, weekend and holiday entry rises to ¥3,000 (weekdays stay at ¥1,000), partly to ease crowding. A weekday visit is much cheaper and calmer.
• Tickets are sold at the entrance only; you can pay in cash, by credit card or with PayPay. Elementary school children and younger get in free.
• Look out for the Blue Tower, about 13 m tall in 2026, a lookout deck with views over the lake, and the Ice Kitchen serving hot drinks. The layout and sculptures change every year.
• The Blue Liner needs a reservation; in 2026 bookings closed at 8:30 PM the day before, the first bus left the airport at 9:00 AM and the last bus back left Shikotsuko Onsen at 7:30 PM.
• If you stay at a Shikotsuko Onsen hotel, you can buy a Premium Time ticket (¥1,500, entry included) to see the ice after closing, 8:15–9:15 PM, plus 10:00 AM – noon the next day. In 2027 it is sold for weekdays from February 1 to 18, except February 11.
• The lakeside is open to the wind and this is the coldest time of year. Wear a windproof hooded coat, thermal layers, hat, gloves and thick socks, and slip-on crampons if you are not used to icy paths (take them off indoors and on buses).
• Several hotels and inns at Shikotsuko Onsen and Marukoma Onsen on the north shore offer day-use bathing, a good way to warm up after the cold. If you drive, roads to the lake get congested on weekend and holiday evenings, so go early.

Maintained by Tetsu Yamamoto · Last verified against the official source: Sun, October 11, 2026