Hokkaido

Surreal Ice Festival

On the coldest day in my last Hokkaido snow festival trip, I took a long bus ride from Sapporo to Sounyko which meant to be 3.5 hours but turned out to be 5.5 hours! At least I got there and settled in a hotel with hot-spring. That’s nice!

Locating in a hot spring area in Daisetsuzan, the largest national park in Hokkaido, the Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival is an interesting ice festival occupying 10,000 square meters of open space by the riverbank. Evening is the best time to visit when the venue is illuminated with colorful lights. Firework starts at 8:30pm every night and lasts about 5 to 10 mins. There is a small entrance fee of 300 Yen per person.

The event will be held from January 23 to March 27 in 2016.  It is recommended that you stay over in Sounkyo and combine a trip to Asahiyama Zoo for the penguin parade and Asahikawa Snow Festival. Soukyo is only 1.5 hours away from Asahikawa by bus. There are some scheduled buses that run between Asahikawa and Sounkyo. And some hotels in Sounkyo offers free shuttle bus services to/from Asahikawa and Sapporo. The alternative is to drive, always.

On the way to Sounkyo 往層雲峽途中
There was a snow storm on my way to Sounkyo. I could only see half of the houses emerged from the snow. 去層雲峽途中遇到大風雪,沿途看到的房子只能看到一半,積雪至少一米高。
On the way to Sounkyo 往層雲峽途中
The driving was so slow that I could take photos easily along the way. 從車廂內容易拍到外面風景,就代表車行得有點慢。
On the way to Sounkyo 往層雲峽途中
This is the rest area after almost three hours drive. Look at the bus and the taxi top to see how thick the snow was.
這是中途休息站,已經開了三小時車。看看巴士旁邊的積雪和前面的士車頂,就知道雪有多厚。
On the way to Sounkyo 往層雲峽途中
The view is pretty nice when the storm stops. 天灰灰、白矇矇,車程很長,還好雪不是很大時可以看到漂亮的風景。
Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival 層雲峽冰瀑祭
The Sounkyo Ice Waterfall is built on a 10,000 square meter site by the Ishikari riverbank.
層雲峽冰瀑祭會場位於溫泉街石狩川畔,佔地一萬平方米。
Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival 層雲峽冰瀑祭
The whole venue is built with ice. The reflection of colorful illumination creates a surreal environment. 層雲峽冰瀑祭整個會場都是冰做的,晚上的幻彩燈光加上雪地的反映,站在其中,如置身於夢幻仙境。
Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival 層雲峽冰瀑祭
It is an open space by the river. Be careful when walking on the ice and near the edge of the venue. You don’t really know where the edge is. There’s not fence. 會場是一片空曠的雪地,走在冰上要小心滑,走到會場邊沿更要注意,因為沒有圍欄。
Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival 層雲峽冰瀑祭
There are many igloos with different ice statue to explore.
雪祭會場以冰洞為主,每個冰洞都有一個小冰雕作品。
sounkyo ice waterfall festival 層雲峽冰瀑祭
Most of the igloos are really amazing inside. They all look like limestone caves with ice stalactites stabbing down from the ceiling. And this one has lots of coins and a donation box in it. Beautiful! 
層雲峽冰瀑祭的冰洞充滿驚喜,晶瑩通透的冰柱從洞頂下垂,你會感覺置身於冰雪鐘乳洞一樣。很多冰洞內都有錢幣藏在冰柱及冰雕內,這一個洞內就是一個祈福用的捐獻箱,是不是很豪華呢?!
Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival 層雲峽冰瀑祭
The ice status of an owl (bringing fortune). 冰貓頭鷹(福到)。
Kate Wu in Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival
Okay. I need some luck and fortune, too. 我也需要一點運氣和財富。
Sounkyo Ice Festival Shrine 層雲峽冰瀑神社
The Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival Shrine, blessing every visitor. 冰瀑神社為各位帶來好運!
Fireworks at Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival 層雲峽冰瀑祭的煙火表演
The highlight of the event is the firework show at 8:30 every night. It’s very nice! If you want to see the show, you will have to stay over in Sounkyo for a night because unless you drive back.
每晚的重點節目是8:30的煙火表演。在幻彩冰川上空的煙花表演的確很好看!但如果要看的話,就要在層雲峽住宿一個晚上(或者自行開車離開)。
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