Fish market is indeed a not-to-be-missed destination for most travellers in Japan. If you are travelling in Kanazawa, Japan. The Omi-cho market is a good one to check out. It is very accessible. Only a couple of stops away from Kanazawa Station by the loop buses.
Only held 7 days each year, the Shirakawa-go illumination has become a major winter event in Japan. This tranquil UNESCO World Heritage Site is turned into a busy village with non-stop tourist during the illumination events from mid January to mid February each year. Locating at the Mount Haku in the Ryohaku Mountains, Shirakawa is one of the areas with heavy snowfall in Japan. Hence all the traditional gassho-zukuri houses were built with thatched- and steep-roofed to avoid cumulation of snow. And the wooden houses are built with no nails and other metal materials. The selected 7 days for the illumination event are held at Jan 16, 23, 24, 30, 31, Feb 7 and 14. There are buses that run between Takayama and Shirakawa-go but all tickets are sold out quickly. The alternative ways are either drive or hire a taxi.
Decorated with millions of LED lights, Nabana no Sato holds one of the largest illumination events in Japan from late October to early May every year. It is spectacular and well worth a short trip from Nagoya. Nabana no Sato is part of the Nagashima Resort which is about 35 to 40 minutes away by public transportation from Nagoya. The park has a 9,000 square meter botanic garden, a hot spring, foot bath, and restaurants. In the winter, the garden come to live at night with amazing illumination. Direction from Nagoya: take a bus from Kintetsu Bus Terminal which is located next to the Nagoya JR station. This is the most direct route which takes you to Nabana no Sato without having to switch buses or train. It takes around 40 minutes.
Looking like a gorgeous Chinese landscape painting, Jozankei is a beautiful hot spring area in Hokkaido. The history of Jozankei onsen (hot spring) dates back to 1866 when a monk discovered this beautiful place and built a healing onsen. One of the main reasons why it is so popular is because of its proximity to Sapporo. It takes less than an hour by car and there are a few buses that run frequently between Sapporo and Jozankei. Hot spring gushing out in the Jyozankei spa resort areas contains sodium chloride featuring transparency and mild amount of salt. It is one of the most common spring types in Japan. There are 56 sources of hot spring in the Jyozankei onsen district. Most of them are in the vicinity of Tsukimibashi bridge and Takayamabasi bridge of the Toyohira river running the hot sprint area. Hot spring is abundantly gushing out from crannies of bedrocks in the riverbank and in the bottom of the river.
If you want to go for a day-trip Onsen (hot spring) from Sapporo, Noboribetsu is one of the possible location with a variety of hot springs with healing effects. You may drive, take a bus or train from Sapporo to Noboribetsu. In the winter, I would prefer the JR train which will be less likely to be interrupted by bad weather condition such as snow storms. It is comfortable and safe. It takes about 100 minutes from Sapporo to Noboribetsu JR station. Then a 15 minute bus to the onsen street. The Jigokudani (Hell Valley) is a not-to-be-missed attraction which is only 20 minutes away from the onsen street. On the way up to the Hell Valley, two giant onsen demons in red and blue color holding spiked bats will be waiting for you by the roadside. These hot spring demons are built for driving the evil spirit away, bringing health and happiness to people. Just follow the main road, you will arrive at the Noboribetsu Jigokudani scenery forest. There are wooden paths that leads you to different view points. And you can get closed to the hottest…
Wanna see king penguins without having to travel all the way to Antarctica? The Asahiyama Zoo is a great alternative. From end of December to middle of March each year, the zoo will arrange a penguin parade twice a day. You may watch them walk in front of you, up close. It’s very cute! Besides, there is a good variety of animals in the zoo, particularly those living in cold weather, including Amur tigers, the Hokkaido bears, snow leopards, cranes, seals, polar bears and penguins. The penguin parade is held at 11am and 2:30pm every day during the snowy period. The walk lasts 20 to 30 minutes. During the Winter Festival, the zoo will extend the opening hours from 10:30am to 8:30pm (last entrance at 8:00pm). A light up will be arranged in the evening.
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…
Given a few slabs of ice and 36 hours to complete the ice sculpture for a competition, many ice-carving enthusiasts and teams gather together to build their creative ice sculptures for the annual International Ice Sculpture Competition in Asahikawa. Given the time limit, all participants have to work in any weather condition outdoor which is the toughest challenge I think. The event takes place in Heiwadori Street which is the main street when you walk out of the Asahikawa station. It was a pleasant surprise to me the first time I saw the long strip of ice sculptures being built. Very fascinating to watch the sculptors using chainsaws, chisels, carving tools and gas lighters to create perfect curves, sharp edges and details of the sculpture. The creative works are very delicate! Check out the photos I took below. In 2016, the competition will be held at the same time as the Asahikawa Snow Festival. All ice sculptures have to built from February 6 to 7, then left for public display from February 8 to 11. If you come to Asashikawa for the festival and penguin…
The second largest winter festival in Japan, Asahikawa Winter Festival however always features the biggest snow stage in Japan every year. In 1994, the snow Korean Fortress has made to the book of the Guiness World Record as the world’s biggest snow construction. “Construction” is probably the right word. The transformer I saw the last time I visited was gigantic! It was indeed more a construction where you could walk up to the top and slide down. In addition, there are smaller snow sculptures, snow slides, a snow bar, food and drink stalls, and well as performance on the opening and finale of the winter festival. Locating at the Asahibashi bridge next to the Tokiwa park, the Asaihibashi Site is the main snow festival site for every one to enjoy. It is within walking distance from Asahikawa JR station (1 kilometer) or you may take a free shuttle bus that runs every 20 minutes or so between the station and the site during the winter festival. In 2016, the Winter Festival will be held from February 6 to 11, same period of time as the…
The second Snow Light Path in Otaru is the Temiya railway track about 10 minutes away from the canal site. The Temiya railway is one of the oldest railway laid in 1880 to transport coals for the development of Hokkaido. The train service was terminated in 1985, leaving the historical track an open space for memory. Every year, a snow tunnel will be will be built and many snow candles will be lit up along the old track, creating a snow light path that connects the past. This path is pretty dark with not much street light. And the candles are also put off manually by 9pm when everyone go home and enjoy the rest of the evening. So time yourself when you come visit this site and be careful when walking on the slippery path.
