murmurAbashiri Okhotsk Drift Ice Festival
Abashiri City · Abashiri Commercial Port Pier
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Abashiri Tourism Association / Abashiri City Tourism Division · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Feb 7–8, 2026 （Ended） 10:00–20:00 (until 16:00 on the final day)
- 2027
- Feb 6–7, 2027 Feb 6: 10:00–20:00; Feb 7: 10:00–16:00 (planned)
- Usual timing
- Usually early February
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Held over a weekend in February; dates are announced each year
- Venue
- Abashiri Commercial Port Pier
- City
- Abashiri City, Hokkaido
About
Every February, Abashiri – a town on the Sea of Okhotsk where drift ice arrives each winter – holds this two-day winter festival, which reaches its 62nd edition in 2027. The harbor-side venue fills with snow sculptures made by local groups and glittering ice sculptures, and the whole site is lit up after dark. Hands-on activities include an ice slide and a ring-toss game with crab and other seafood as prizes, and there are stage shows and the festival's famous scallop scatter. Warm up with local comfort food such as Abashiri champon, venison-miso ramen and clam soup made with freshwater clams from Lake Abashiri. Under the theme "Save the Ice, Save the Earth," the festival also shines a light on the shrinking drift ice and why it matters.
Sources
- OfficialAbashiri Tourism Association / Abashiri City Tourism Division visit-abashiri.jp
- OfficialHokkaido Tourism Organization www.visit-hokkaido.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.