Yokote Kamakura Snow Festival
Akita · Snow and ice festival
Around a hundred snow huts across Yokote, each with a candle and children inside offering sweet amazake.
Dates
15 to 16 February 2027
Held every year on 15 and 16 February.
The kamakura are not decorations. They are small shrines to the water god, built for a rite that goes back some four hundred and fifty years, and each one has an altar at the back facing the entrance. Children sit inside and call visitors in to share amazake and grilled mochi in exchange for a coin offered to the god, which is the whole transaction and takes about five minutes per hut. Alongside the large ones, thousands of miniature kamakura are set along the riverbank and lit with a single candle each, which is the part people photograph. Yokote is deep snow country, so this is a festival to dress properly for.
Getting a good spot
The huts are lit from around 18:00 on both evenings. The riverbank miniatures and the huts in the town centre are a walk apart, so allow time for both rather than choosing one.
Access
Common questions
When is the Yokote Kamakura Snow Festival?
On 15 and 16 February every year. The huts are lit from around 18:00 on both evenings.
Can you go inside the snow huts?
Yes. The children inside invite visitors in, and offering a small coin to the water god's altar is the customary exchange for amazake and grilled mochi.