Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Hokkaido in winter: Snow Festival, drift ice and cranes
8 days from Sapporo to Tokyo: the Snow Festival and Otaru by lamplight, the Asahikawa penguin walk, drift ice from Abashiri and Shiretoko, then red-crowned cranes and a frozen Lake Akan.
8 days · Sapporo to Tokyo · up to 12 guests
A Sapporo streetcar in winter Photo: Tycho Atsma tychoa, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sapporo,_Japan_(Unsplash_68BBDyysBgc).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Sapporo to Tokyo
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Mostly short walks of 1 to 3 km a day on packed snow and ice, with ice cleats provided, and about 2 to 4 hours a day on your feet outdoors at -5 to -15 C. The drift-ice walk is about an hour on sea ice in a dry suit and can be swapped for watching from shore. No step-free access at the frozen falls, the prison museum or the crane viewing paths.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 3 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 850 (estimated price)
- Season
- Winter
Highlights
Why this trip
- The Snow Festival sculptures on Odori Park lit after dark, then again early next morning before the crowds
- Otaru's canal as the gas lamps come on, with the Snow Light Path candles on festival dates
- King penguins walking through the snow at Asahiyama Zoo, then the Blue Pond lit at night
- The Aurora icebreaker out of Abashiri into the drift ice of the Sea of Okhotsk
- A walk on the drift ice off Utoro in a dry suit, with the Shiretoko mountains behind
- Red-crowned cranes calling and dancing in the snow at Tsurui and Akan
- Two nights in an onsen hotel on frozen Lake Akan, with whooper swans at Lake Kussharo on the way
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 850 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Sapporo, the festival after dark
New Chitose Airport to Sapporo
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Sapporo
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into New Chitose Airport (CTS), where a driver meets you for the hour into Sapporo. Plan to land by about 3 pm. Hokkaido's capital was laid out on a grid in the 1870s, so the streets are easy to read even under snow, and your hotel is central, a short walk from Odori Park.
Afternoon
In the late afternoon there is time to see the red-brick Sapporo Beer Museum, set in an 1890 brewery building, or simply to rest.
Evening
At dusk your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on cold-weather kit, ice cleats and how snow can reorder the week. Then we walk to dinner together: jingisukan, lamb grilled at the table on a domed iron pan, the city's own dish. On festival departures we finish by strolling Odori Park, where the big snow sculptures are lit until 10 pm, and Susukino's ice carvings glow at the far end of the avenue.
Included
- Pick-up at New Chitose Airport (CTS)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome jingisukan dinner
- Evening walk through the lit Snow Festival sites on Odori Park and in Susukino (festival departures)
Optional experiences
- Sapporo Beer Museum (entry free, tasting sets paid)
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Activity: Odori Park and Susukino are about 1.5 km apart on packed snow; wear the ice cleats we give you.
Snow sculptures early, Otaru by lamplight
Sapporo to Otaru by train and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Sapporo
- By train
Morning
We are on Odori Park by about 8:30, before the day crowds, to see the large snow sculptures in flat morning light, when the detail shows best, then walk to the smaller citizens' sculptures and the ice slides.
Afternoon
Lunch is soup curry, Sapporo's winter comfort food, near the station. In the early afternoon we take the JR train along the coast to Otaru, about 40 minutes with the sea on one side. Your guide walks you down Sakaimachi Street, past glassworks and old merchant houses, to the Otaru Music Box Museum and the 1920s warehouses on the canal.
Evening
At dusk the canal's gas lamps come on, and on Snow Light Path dates the canal and old railway line are lined with candles in snow lanterns. Take the train back with the group, or stay for sushi in Otaru and come back on your own; the evening is free. On non-festival departures the morning is the Nijo Market and Hokkaido Jingu instead.
Included
- Snow Festival on Odori Park with your guide in the early morning (festival departures)
- Soup curry lunch in Sapporo
- Return JR train from Sapporo to Otaru
- Otaru: Sakaimachi Street, the Music Box Museum and the canal at dusk
Optional experiences
- Mt Moiwa ropeway for the night view over Sapporo
Easier option: Stay in Sapporo for the afternoon and meet the group again at the hotel; the guide gives you a short list of warm places to go.
Free time: Evening free in Otaru or Sapporo
Activity: About 4 to 5 km on foot through the day on snowy pavements, in short stretches.
Penguins in the snow and the Blue Pond lit
Sapporo to Asahikawa, then the Blue Pond near Biei and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Asahikawa
- Drive about 4 h
Morning
We leave Sapporo after breakfast and drive about two hours north on the expressway to Asahikawa, Hokkaido's second city, in a basin ringed by the Daisetsuzan mountains, and one of the coldest places in Japan.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch we spend the afternoon at Asahiyama Zoo, known for its enclosures that let you watch animals from below and alongside: polar bears through glass, seals rising through a tube. The highlight in winter is the penguin walk, when king penguins waddle in a line along a snowy path a metre from the crowd; we time our visit for the afternoon walk. As the light goes, about 4:45 pm, we drive an hour south to the Shirogane Blue Pond, which is lit after dark in winter, the drowned larches standing out of snow and ice. Back in Asahikawa we sit down to Asahikawa ramen, a soy-based broth made for nights like this. This day reaches the four-hour driving cap, broken by lunch and the zoo.
Included
- Drive from Sapporo to Asahikawa with your guide
- Sit-down lunch in Asahikawa
- Asahiyama Zoo, including the penguin walk (when snow conditions allow)
- The Shirogane Blue Pond, lit after dark
- Asahikawa ramen dinner
Activity: The zoo is on a hillside with snowy slopes between enclosures; about 2 km on foot. The penguin walk depends on snow cover and the zoo's daily schedule.
Frozen falls and over the pass to the Okhotsk
Asahikawa to Sounkyo, then over Sekihoku Pass to Abashiri
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Abashiri
- Drive about 4 h
We head east into the Daisetsuzan mountains to Sounkyo, a gorge of basalt cliffs where the Ginga and Ryusei waterfalls freeze into columns of blue ice. In winter the village builds the Ice Fall Festival from sprayed river water: ice tunnels and towers you can walk through.
Evening
We are there by day, so you see the ice in daylight; the coloured lights only come on in the evening. Lunch is in Sounkyo or, if the weather is kind, further on in Kitami. The road then climbs over Sekihoku Pass and drops through farmland to the Sea of Okhotsk at Abashiri, about four hours of driving in all. Just before town the road runs beside Lake Abashiri, frozen solid, where we stop to watch the smelt fishers sitting in small tents on the ice. Sekihoku Pass closes in heavy snow; if it does, your guide takes the northern road via Monbetsu and adds the Garinko II icebreaker there, and the Abashiri plan moves a day. The evening is free in Abashiri: the crab and scallops here are the reason many people come.
Included
- Sounkyo gorge and the frozen Ginga and Ryusei waterfalls
- Sounkyo Ice Fall Festival by daylight (lit only in the evenings; dates confirmed each year)
- Sit-down lunch on the way
- Stop at frozen Lake Abashiri to see the smelt fishers on the ice
Free time: Evening free in Abashiri
Activity: Short walks only, on icy paths at the falls; ice cleats needed.
Icebreaker morning, Shiretoko on the ice
Abashiri by icebreaker, then Utoro on the Shiretoko Peninsula and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Abashiri
- Drive about 3 h
We leave the hotel at 8:30 for the Aurora icebreaker's first sailing of the day from Abashiri, about an hour. When the drift ice is in, the bow rides up onto the floes and splits them, and you can stand on deck as plates of ice turn over beside the hull; seals and Steller's sea eagles are sometimes seen resting on the floes. From there we drive about an hour and a quarter along the coast to Utoro, gateway to the Shiretoko Peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, stopping at Oshinkoshin Falls, partly frozen in winter.
Afternoon
After a seafood lunch in Utoro you pull on a dry suit and walk out onto the drift ice with a licensed local guide, about an hour on the floes, with a chance to float in a gap between them. The mountains of Shiretoko rise white behind you.
Evening
We are back in Abashiri by early evening, and the night is free. If the ice is not in at Utoro, as is usual on late-January dates, the walk becomes a guided snowshoe walk in the Shiretoko forest.
Included
- Aurora icebreaker cruise from Abashiri (about 1 hour)
- Oshinkoshin Falls
- Seafood lunch in Utoro
- Drift-ice walk off Utoro in a dry suit with a licensed local guide (snowshoe walk in the Shiretoko forest if there is no ice)
Easier option: Skip the drift-ice walk and watch from the shore at Utoro, or spend the time at the Shiretoko Nature Center with its film on the peninsula.
More active option: A longer guided snowshoe walk in the Shiretoko forest after the drift-ice walk, looking for deer and fox tracks.
Free time: Evening free in Abashiri
Activity: The drift-ice walk has health and minimum-age limits set by the local operators; we check them with you when you book. The icebreaker deck is cold and windy; dress for -15 C.
Prison museum, swans and volcano lakes to Akan
Abashiri to Lake Kussharo, Io-zan and Lake Mashu, then Lake Akan
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Akanko Onsen
- Drive about 3 h
We are at the Abashiri Prison Museum at 9 am opening, before any coaches. The Meiji-era wooden prison buildings, moved here from the working prison, include a radial cell block whose five wings fan out from a central watch post; convicts held here built many of Hokkaido's first roads. Then south across farmland to Lake Kussharo, Japan's largest caldera lake, which freezes over except at Sunayu, where hot springs warm the shore and whooper swans gather on the open water.
Afternoon
Lunch is in Kawayu Onsen. Io-zan, a sulphur mountain a few minutes away, steams and hisses beside the car park, its vents ringed with yellow crystals. From the first observatory at Lake Mashu, a very clear crater lake when the fog lifts, you look down into a ring of snowy crater walls. The day is about 145 km and 3 hours of winter driving, under the 4-hour cap, in five short legs between stops.
Evening
We reach our onsen hotel on Lake Akan late afternoon, with time for the baths before dinner and an Ainu performance at the Ikor theatre.
Included
- Abashiri Prison Museum
- Whooper swans at Sunayu on Lake Kussharo
- Sit-down lunch in Kawayu Onsen
- Io-zan sulphur mountain
- Lake Mashu first observatory
- Onsen dinner at the hotel
- Ainu performance at the Ikor theatre in Akan Kotan
Free time: Late afternoon free for the onsen
Activity: Short walks of a few hundred metres at each stop. The road to Lake Mashu can close in snow; if it does, we see Mashu from Kawayu instead.
Red-crowned cranes and the frozen lake
Lake Akan to Tsurui and the Akan crane centre, then back to Lake Akan
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Akanko Onsen
- Drive about 2.5 h
The red-crowned crane, the tancho, was almost gone from Japan a century ago; winter feeding by local farmers helped bring it back, and today the cranes gather each winter around Tsurui and Akan.
Morning
We leave at 7:30 after an early breakfast, the one early start of the trip, and drive about an hour through the snow to the Tsurui Ito Tancho Sanctuary for the morning feed, when dozens of cranes fly in over the snowfields, call to each other and, if you are lucky, dance: bowing, leaping and throwing their heads back.
Afternoon
Lunch is in Tsurui. Then we move to the Akan International Crane Center, with a small museum on the birds, and the Tancho Observation Center feeding ground beside it. Back at Lake Akan by mid-afternoon, the rest of the day is free: walk out on the frozen lake with your guide, try the lake's winter activities, or soak in the outdoor bath as the light goes.
Evening
Dinner is at the hotel. On set winter evenings there are small fireworks over the frozen lake.
Included
- Tsurui Ito Tancho Sanctuary, morning crane feeding
- Sit-down lunch in Tsurui
- The Akan International Crane Center and the Tancho Observation Center feeding ground
- Walk on frozen Lake Akan with your guide
- Onsen dinner at the hotel
Optional experiences
- Lake Akan winter activities on the ice: snowmobile, ice fishing, skating (paid locally)
Easier option: Stay at the hotel after the morning feed at Tsurui and rejoin the group at dinner.
More active option: Before breakfast, drive with the guide to the Otowa Bridge at Tsurui to see the cranes standing in the steaming Setsuri River at sunrise (about a 5:30 am start, temperatures can be -20 C).
Free time: Late afternoon free at Lake Akan
Activity: Crane viewing is mostly standing still in the cold for 30 to 60 minutes at a time; dress more warmly than you think.
Fly to Tokyo
Lake Akan to Kushiro Airport, then a flight to Tokyo Haneda
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
A last morning soak, breakfast, and a slow start. Mid-morning we drive about an hour south through the snow to Kushiro Airport (KUH), past the edge of the Kushiro Marsh, Japan's largest wetland and the cranes' summer home. Your guide checks the group in for the domestic flight to Tokyo Haneda (HND), about an hour and a half, which we book for you and include in the price.
Afternoon
Most days the group lands at Haneda early or mid-afternoon; the exact flight is confirmed with your final itinerary. The trip ends on arrival at Haneda. From there it is a short train ride into central Tokyo if you are staying on, or a connection home. If a storm grounds the flight, which happens a few days each winter, we rebook the first available seats and arrange a hotel near the airport. Book any onward international flight from Haneda for after about 6 pm.
Included
- Transfer from Lake Akan to Kushiro Airport (KUH)
- Flight from Kushiro to Tokyo Haneda (HND), economy, with checked bag
Free time: Morning free for the onsen
Activity: Book onward flights from Haneda for after about 6 pm, or plan a night in Tokyo.
- Sapporo2 nights
- Asahikawa1 night
- Abashiri2 nights
- Akanko Onsen2 nights
- Tokyoend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Days run from about -10 C to 0 C, colder inland at Asahikawa and Akan, with short daylight (sunset around 4:45 pm in early February). Drift ice is most reliable off Abashiri and Utoro from mid-February to early March; on late-January dates it has often not arrived. Red-crowned cranes gather at the feeding grounds from November to March; whooper swans winter at Lake Kussharo; Steller's sea eagles and seals are sometimes seen from the icebreaker.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want Hokkaido's winter at its fullest: festival, drift ice, cranes and onsen in one week
- Wildlife watchers and photographers happy to stand in the cold for the cranes
- Anyone ending in Tokyo before the Golden Route or a flight home
- People who like a fixed plan but want free evenings for seafood and izakaya
Not for you if you want
- Skiers: there are no ski days on this trip
- Travellers who dislike cold: most days are below freezing
- Anyone who needs step-free access: paths at the falls, the zoo and the crane sites are snowy and uneven
- Those who want guaranteed drift ice; nature sets the dates
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Sapporo2 nights
- Asahikawa1 night
- Abashiri2 nights
- Akanko Onsen2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 2 in central Sapporo, 1 in Asahikawa, 2 in Abashiri and 2 at an onsen hotel on Lake Akan
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at New Chitose Airport (CTS)
- Our own winter-equipped vehicle and driver from Sapporo to Kushiro Airport
- Return JR train from Sapporo to Otaru
- Aurora icebreaker cruise from Abashiri
- Flight from Kushiro (KUH) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) with a checked bag
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip, from New Chitose to Kushiro Airport
- A licensed local guide for the drift-ice walk at Utoro
Activities
- Sapporo: the Snow Festival sites on Odori Park and in Susukino with your guide (festival departures)
- Otaru: Sakaimachi Street, the Music Box Museum and the canal at dusk
- Asahikawa: Asahiyama Zoo and the penguin walk
- Biei: the Shirogane Blue Pond, lit after dark
- Sounkyo: the frozen waterfalls and the Ice Fall Festival
- Abashiri: the Aurora icebreaker, the Abashiri Prison Museum, frozen Lake Abashiri
- Shiretoko: Oshinkoshin Falls and the drift-ice walk at Utoro, with dry suit
- Akan: Lake Kussharo swans, Io-zan, Lake Mashu, the Ainu performance at the Ikor theatre, the frozen lake walk
- Cranes: the Tsurui Ito Tancho Sanctuary and the Akan International Crane Center
- Ice cleats to use for the trip
Meals
- 7 breakfasts
- 6 lunches: soup curry in Sapporo, Asahikawa, Sounkyo or Kitami, Utoro, Kawayu Onsen and Tsurui
- 4 dinners: a welcome jingisukan dinner in Sapporo, an Asahikawa ramen dinner and two onsen dinners at Lake Akan
Not included
- International flights to New Chitose and from Tokyo
- Visa, if your passport needs one
- Travel insurance
- Dinners in Sapporo on day 2 and in Abashiri on days 4 and 5
- Drinks
- Optional activities: the Mt Moiwa ropeway, beer tastings, Lake Akan snowmobile, ice fishing and skating
- Tips
- Personal winter clothing and boots
- Hotel nights in Tokyo after the trip
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 850 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Seven nights in central hotels and a Lake Akan onsen hotel, 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 4 dinners, our own vehicle and driver, the train to Otaru, the Aurora icebreaker, the drift-ice walk with dry suit, the zoo, the prison museum, both crane sites, the Ainu performance, the flight from Kushiro to Tokyo Haneda and your See Sight Tours guide throughout.
When does the Sapporo Snow Festival happen?
It runs for about a week in early February, with the dates set by the city each year. We time one departure to the festival week; on other dates in late January and February, the Sapporo day swaps the sculptures for the Nijo Market, Hokkaido Jingu and the Mt Moiwa night view.
When is the best time to see the Snow Festival, drift ice and cranes?
The second week of February gives the best odds of all three. The Snow Festival runs for about a week in early February (expected around 4 to 11 February in 2027), drift ice is most reliable from mid-February to early March, and cranes feed at Tsurui and Akan from November to March. Late-January departures usually get the snowshoe walk instead.
Will we definitely see drift ice?
Not definitely. Drift ice is most reliable off Abashiri and Utoro from mid-February to early March, and wind can push it offshore; on late-January dates it has usually not arrived. The icebreaker sails either way. If there is no ice at Utoro, the drift-ice walk becomes a guided snowshoe walk in the Shiretoko forest.
What happens if snow closes the roads?
Your guide reorders the days or takes another road. Sekihoku Pass, the Shiretoko coast road and the Mashu road can close for hours in storms. We plan the swap the evening before, with the driver, so a closed road moves a visit rather than cancelling it.
How cold is it and what should I pack?
Expect about -10 C to 0 C by day, colder at dawn at Tsurui and Akan. Bring an insulated parka, thermal layers, waterproof boots with grip, a hat, gloves and a neck warmer. We provide ice cleats; the drift-ice operators provide dry suits.
How big is the group and who leads it?
The small group has 7 to 12 guests, led from New Chitose to Kushiro Airport by a See Sight Tours guide, with a licensed local guide for the drift-ice walk. A group this size fits in one vehicle and around one table at lunch.
How fit do I need to be?
Not very. Walks are short, 1 to 3 km a day, but on snow and ice, and crane viewing means standing in the cold. The drift-ice walk is about an hour in a dry suit and can be swapped for watching from the shore.
I am travelling solo. What does a room of my own cost?
A room of your own is from CAD 850 more. Solo travellers get the same seat, the same meals and the same included activities as everyone else; the supplement is shown up front when you request to book.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. The trip also runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 9,010 per person. To travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we quote it separately. The trip ends at Tokyo Haneda, so it joins easily to our Tokyo, Fuji, Kyoto and Osaka trip.
Do I need a visa for Japan?
Canadian, US, UK, EU and Australian passport holders can visit Japan visa-free for short tourist stays. Other passports may need a visa; check with the Japanese embassy before you book flights.
How does booking work?
Choose a departure and request to book. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. The small group starts from CAD 5,005 per person sharing, with taxes.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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