Held each February at the high-altitude Yumoto Onsen hamlet inside Nikkō National Park, this intimate snow festival celebrates the deep mountain winter with hand-carved snow lanterns, snow sculptures, and an evening Shinto fire ceremony on the frozen shores of Lake Yunoko. Local ryokan guests and day visitors can watch artisans construct illuminated snow carvings before torchlit processions circle the lake. The surrounding cedar forests and snowy volcano views make this one of the most scenically dramatic winter events in the Kanto region. Pairing it with a soak in one of Yumoto's sulphur hot-spring baths is practically mandatory.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Snow/Winter
- Season
- Winter
- Month
- February
- Region
- Kanto
- Prefecture
- Tochigi
- City
- Nikkō
Highlights
- ◆Hand-carved snow lanterns lining the village streets
- ◆Evening fire ceremony on the frozen Lake Yunoko shore
- ◆Torchlit procession through snow-covered cedar forest
- ◆Sulphur hot-spring onsen baths in traditional ryokan
- ◆Set inside UNESCO-adjacent Nikkō National Park