Iwate snow festival is one of the five biggest snow festivals in the Tohoku region. This winter event is held in early February every year and considered to be the symbol of winter in Iwate prefecture.
Northern and northeastern part of Japan host country’s best snow festivals in the winter and surprisingly this is one of them. Iwate is blessed with diverse nature and the historic landmark of Hiraizumi including the Morioka Castle Ruins.
Winter here is charming so is the Iwate snow festival. Due to the geographical location, here you would experience a lot of snowfalls. Excessive snowfall brings the joy of Iwate residents, as they get prepared to celebrate the snow festival in early February.
Not many foreign tourists are familiar with this popular winter festival. In general, most of the tourist who visit Japan in February only pay a visit to Sapporo snow festival and Otaru snow light path festival in Hokkaido. This festival is without question overshadowed by Hokkaido’s top winter festivals.
Have you ever wished to visit the other snow festivals except those two? Maybe you have or you have not! You should put this in to your bucket list. I have found that there is no complete article written based on this festival.
That’s why I have to share my travel experiences here with you. I hope, through this article I would be able to attract thousands of new comers in Iwate to experience its wonderful snow festival.
The dates for this event are not yet confirmed. This page will be updated once the festival dates are announced officially.
Iwate – Where the Four Seasons of Japan Shines
I don’t go to Okinawa very often because it is too far to travel from my home town. On the other hand, northern and northeastern parts of Japan are my kingdom where I roam around in search of beautiful wonders.
Iwate is situated in my kingdom as well, I have been visiting the beautiful historical places of Iwate over time. It has a number of beautiful attractions to discover and they are arguably at their best in different season throughout the year.
In spring, many visitors from other parts of Japan come to see the rock splitting cherry tree, located in front of the Morioka courthouse. It is approximately 380 years old edohigan cherry tree that looks gorgeous when all the cherry buds are in full bloom.
You may go to Kitakami city to view its wonderful sakura where there are more than 10,000 cherry trees were planted alongside the Kitakami River in Tenshochi Park. Summer Iwate offers a great atmosphere to have a day trip to several sandy beaches which are located along the coastline of the Pacific Ocean.
Koiwai farm gets crowded mostly in the summer and winter. There, stunning nature with beautiful landscapes of Mt. Iwate could be enjoyed from the grounds of Koiwai farm.
In the summer, family members together can spend their summer time at Koiwai farm doing various sort of outdoor activities such picnicking, and children can play football on the green grounds of this farm.
The farm is quite renowned for producing variety of dairy products. Everything is fresh there from vegetable to meat. Omelets filled with rice and homemade soft ice cream is to die for! Honestly, I hardly leave Koiwai farm without having them.
Iwate hosts some of the most popular autumn foliage viewing spots of the Tohoku region as well such as Chuson-ji Temple, Morioka Central Public Hall, Morioka Castle site Park, Geibikei Gorge and Genbikei gorge. Fall colors can be experienced by a leisurely boat journey in the river gorges mostly found in Iwate prefecture.
Finally, when winter arrives, a lot of small and giant snow sculptures, including kamakura (igloo like houses) are built and they all get illuminated in the evening during the Iwate snow festival.
This is not frustrating when massive snowfall occurs in the area. Do you know why? It’s because without excessive snowfall, it would be impossible to see a winter wonderland like this in Iwate.
About the Festival
The Iwate Snow Festival is held at Koiwai farm in Shizukuishi town, Morioka. The farm is located in central Iwate. Without having any doubt in mind, I can say that this festival is overshadowed by the Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido.
Though this is one of the top winter festivals in the Tohoku Region of Japan.
This festival is unbeatable by the famous Chagu-Chagu Umakko event of Morioka. Chagu-Chagu Umakko is a popular summer event which attracts thousands of visitors to get together in one place every year in the summer.
Iwate snow festival is an incredible winter event where I have been before only twice. When I come here, I feel like I am in Sapporo and experiencing its giant snow sculptures in Odori Park.
It is absolutely surprising when I gaze at the wonderful firework display there and then I feel like I am at the Tokamachi snow festival. Indeed, these are all sound pretty great to be part of the festival.
A snow festival without having illumination at night sounds pretty odd to me because it does not offer what I really want from it. Fortunately, like other snow festivals that are celebrated throughout Japan, Iwate snow festival has caught my attention offering me illuminated snow sculptures and firework display.
Despite the cold weather, all the snow sculptures, igloo houses, and other things are built prior to the festival days. Once everything is done it counts the days till it get started.
It begins at the right time though due to extreme weather and other circumstances the schedule may change.
The festival highlights several other interesting events such as you can have fun watching live performance shows, horse sleigh riding, horseback riding firework display at night over the main stage, looking at those lined cute igloo houses, walking through a snow maze, riding on a sledge and snow train.
There is also a snow sculpture contest where the snow sculptors get rewarded for their great snow artworks by the applause of the visitors after the voting.
You can have your lunch or dinner inside a kamakura which means you are going to have an unforgettable experience with your meal. There is a slope, made of snow, build to give you and your kid enormous joys just sledding down it. That’s the real winter fun activity we all wish to have, don’t you think so?
It is very much splendid to have a day trip to Koiwai farm, after all nothing is going to be wasted but you certainly would be amazed participating in this winter festival.
It is a surreal and atmospheric place to enjoy it on your own way. In fact these are the all reasons why you should get there and why it is considered one of the top five famous winter festivals in the Tohoku region.
The Yatai at Iwate Snow Festival
Yatai is a traditional Japanese food stall, usually seen at many festivals event across Japan. It serves various types of traditional Japanese street foods including particular famous local delicacies of a region or city.
All the food stalls that are situated around the main festival venue offer various types of fresh dairy products and dishes. Due to lots of crowds you may not get a space to sit down on the benches to enjoy your meal.
You can eat fresh barbecued mutton or lambs from the stalls. This is a special dish of shizukuishi town which is known as Jingisukan or Genghis Khan, named after the great Mongolian ruler.
If you like having fresh grilled barbecue meat then you must try it. For vegetarian, I would recommend you to have omelets, cheese, wanko soba noodles, sweets, pancakes and homemade soft ice cream.
To keep your body temperature warm in the harsh winter month of February, I would tell you to drink amazake. It is a sweet drink with no alcohol. So don’t worry you won’t get drunk! You can get it from the stalls or the restaurants located at the farm.
My Experience
Koiwai farm, where the festival is held is a very spacious and atmospheric. Outstanding illumination in the evening and the firework display had blown my mind. When I arrived there by bus with my friends there was no snow falling but it was cloudy and freezing out there.
I felt like I should have drunk some amazake, though! Bear in mind that you are to walk on the grounds covered with snow. If you don’t mind then read about how to dress right during winter in Japan.
I was quite curious of how my first impression would be about the festival. It did not make me sad rather my experience with it was astonishing. As I have been to Sapporo snow festival before, and I knew the tradition of celebrating a winter festival in Japan. What about you?
The low winter temperatures did contribute to give all the snow sculptures a long last. This is actually what I hoped for before I get to this place.
The place was built to have a winter stroll around it, so yes we did it comfortably. We have found food stalls there from where it was easy to buy foods. Not only those snow sculptures dominate the festival but the food stalls as well.
In fact we had a nice dinner time inside a cute kamakura. One thing I was surprised most was I have seen visitors could participate in a live performance show, they were supposed to do whatever they wanted to do. It was fun! You can do a lot of fun winter activities here alone, with friends or little ones.
I have bought some few souvenirs for my mother while one of my friends bought two stuffed animals which were truly cute! Please note that, admission is free during the snow festival and smoking is strictly prohibited over there.
What to Buy?
Koiwai farm is pleasant and spacious. You can buy a lot of things that are pretty cute to look at. Usually, at Koiwai farm area, there are souvenir shops which operate their business all year round.
A variety of traditional folk handcrafts and local gourmet foods can be found there including wooden ornaments, bags, stuffed animals, pack of Morioka reimen, chopsticks sets, wooden dolls, coin case and etc.
I have seen visitors buying cute Kokeshi from the souvenir shops out there. It is a wooden doll that comes in different shapes and patterns based on a certain region or territory. I have bought beautiful Nambu cast ironware which is a designated craft-work of Morioka.
It was named after Nambu clan who built the Morioka castle 400 years ago. Buy it for your friend that comes in different colors and size. If you want to know more about Tohoku Kokeshi then please read this book right away.
I don’t know if you get hungry at night after coming back from the snow festival. In case, you are then I would suggest you to buy a pack of Koiwai farm milk caramel, milk buns, pasteurized milk, and Koiwai cookies before you leave the farm.
How to Get There?
So are you planning to have a trip to Koiwai Farm where the Iwate snow festival takes place? Please note that it takes only a-145 minute train ride from Tokyo to Morioka Station by the JR Tohoku Shinkansen.
The train fare is fully covered by the JR East Pass or Japan Rail Pass. I would highly recommend you to buy and exchange your JR East Pass at Haneda and Narita Airports.
When you get off the train, you can take a bus to get to Koiwai Farm from JR Morioka Station. It requires about 35-40 minutes bus ride from the station.
There is a special bus for the visitors to reach the site. You can get there by taxi as well, just take a taxi from Koiwai Station.
Where to Stay in Morioka?
Morioka has a number of good hotels located around the city. Some of the hotels are located pretty close to JR Morioka Station and Morioka Castle Ruins and Park.
Below are the best hotels you could stay in when visiting Morioka’s famous attractions including the Iwate Snow Festival.
Hotel Carina – A 12-minute walk from Morioka JR Station.
Iyashinoyado Rodem – A 35-minute drive from Morioka Castle Park.
Toyoko Inn Morioka-eki Minami-guchi Ekimae – A 3-minute walk from JR Morioka Station.
Kita Hotel – A 5-minute drive from JR Morioka Station.
R&B Hotel Morioka Ekimae – Just A 2- minute walk from JR Morioka Station.
Please Come and Have Fun with the Snow!
My trip to this winter event was amazing and still I believe that I have had a very great time spending a whole day over there with my friends. I am a snow fanatic; I miss it quite often when winter does not knock on my door.
After the sunset the place is grasped by the darkness but it fades away once the whole festival areas are lit up with lights and when firework display is about to happen I feel like I am going to celebrate the 31st night on the New Years Eve.
Having fun with the snow in the winter is a typical way of expressing and sharing our joys with everyone. Every single moment you experience at Koiwai farm would delight you very much.
It would be hard to forget a winter event like this where dairy products of different kinds and unique souvenirs can be found at a single event. Don’t wait anymore, buy a JR East Pass right away and get to Morioka as soon as possible before the festival ends. Good luck!
Venue: Koiwai Farm, Iwate Prefecture
Festival date: Early February, 2025
Admission: Free
