Freezing temperatures hit a new high as the Shirogane Blue Pond Ice Falls Festival kicks off

By / MOOK Scenic Spots Home Travel Life Network Editorial Department

This year marks the 40th edition of the Shirogane Ice Falls Festival, which runs from late January through March. Located within Daisetsuzan National Park, Shirogane Gorge is one of the most popular hot spring resorts and hiking destinations in the Dōhoku region. The festival is held annually on the bed of the Ishikari River in Yunokawa Onsen, Asahikawa City, where dazzling lights illuminate towering icefalls at night, alongside ice sculptures and snow forts crafted entirely from snow and ice—creating a fantastical winter wonderland.

In winter, Shirogane Gorge dons a silvery-white coat, instantly transforming from vibrant to ethereal. Especially when most snow festivals end by mid-February, in this coldest corner of Hokkaido, the waterfalls cascading down cliffs freeze solid into massive icefalls. A one-of-a-kind ice spectacle grandly opens at the end of January and continues until the end of March, ushering in the most energetic festival of the year in Shirogane Gorge.

The Shirogane Ice Falls Festival takes place in the gorge’s hot spring town, utilizing the frozen areas near the Ishikari River once it thickens with ice in winter. The vast 10,000-square-meter venue features approximately 80 ice structures of varying sizes, including a 15-meter-tall main exhibition hall, as well as ice bridges, corridors, slides, tunnels, bars, observation decks—and even an ice shrine.