Tokamachi Snow Festival starts tonight.

It is a big weekend for snow lovers with one of the biggest Snow Festivals in Japan starting tonight in Tokamachi. The Japanese do Snow Festivals in a big way and if you haven't been to one, you are missing out. Incredible snow sculptures are the main attraction but there are loads of things going on in and around the town too. Food, fireworks, a carnival, a beauty pageant, and it looks like it is going to snow most of the time too - just what a Snow Festival needs.

There is masses to see and do and some of it is spread around, so if some of you are enjoying the slops, while some have free time, this would be a great way to spend a day or two.

The Tokamachi Snow Festival runs through from 6pm tonight until 4pm on Sunday.

Tokamachi Snow Festival 2013 - 15-17 Feb

Another "Save the Date" post so you don't miss out on the best of Snow Country this winter. One of Japan's most impressive snow festivals takes place in Tokamachi every year and it is certainly worth seeing.

There is masses going on all weekend so you'll want to check out the event schedule a little closer to the time to make sure you are in the right place. There are snow carvings, a carnival, fireworks and loads of other events in and around the town.

There are some amazing sights and you really need to see some of the creations in person to fully appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into them. Check out some of these images to whet your appetite.

Tokamachi Snow Festival

Tsunan - One of the snowiest places in Japan

It was on the news last night that Tsunan is currently one of the snowiest places in Japan this winter. We've rolled into February in the middle of a period of heavy snowfall that is keeping everybody busy. It is an exceptional year and rivaling the winter of 5 years ago when Tsunan was also among the snowiest places in Japan. That year the Self Defence Forces were out in force to help with the snow clearing effort and students had to be airlifted from their homes to get to their college entrance exams.

To get an idea of how much snow is actually falling in Snow Country you can keep an eye on the Tsunan Town website where they have table with the snowfall for the year. It makes interesting reading. The data is for two locations in the area and the columns, left to right are
Temperature at 9am
Amount of snowfall for the day in cms
Total amount of snow built up at the location at 9am
Last year's total build up on that date.

From 26th to 31st January over 3 meters fell with an amazing 112 cms falling on 28th alone.

Snow Country is living up to its name. The silver lining though is that will be plenty of snow for the snow sculptures for neighboring Tokamachi's Snow Festival in the middle of this month.

Tokamachi Snow Festival - 17-19 Feb 2012

Snow Festivals are amazing sights and most people have heard of the one up in Sapporo every year. Less well known but equally impressive is the Tokamachi Snow Festival which is in its 63 year this year. It runs from Friday 17th February to Sunday 19th February, kicking off early evening/late afternoon on most days. It is an amazing spectacle and of all many winter festivals in Snow Country this is one you do not want to miss. It is definitely one of the top Snow Festivals in the whole of Japan.

The main stage itself, home to the Saturday night Snow Carnival is an amazing work of art that is designed to impressive. For a taste of what to expect, you can see some of the stages from past festivals here.

There is loads going on with plenty of festival food, more incredible snow sculptures and a variety of other events.

It's been a bumper year for snow so the artists have plenty of raw material to work with so we are expecting big things for this winter's Tokamachi Snow Festival.

Hopefully we will see you there.