The Asahikawa Winter Festival is held every year in severe cold weather, with the average temperature in February falling below freezing. The festival is held every year in the bitter cold of February, when the average temperature is below freezing. The powerful main snow sculpture is said to be one of the largest in the world, and is well worth seeing.

© Asahikawa City

This year, the 65th edition of the festival is held under the theme of "Next Stage: Winter for Everyone with Friends! You won't want to miss the "Dragon Quest" motifs appearing here and there throughout the venue.

The main snow sculpture will include a popular character from the Dracula series!

©ARMOR PROJECT/BIRD STUDIO/SQUARE ENIX

The main snow sculpture, one of the largest in the world, 140m wide x 20m high, features the popular characters from the Dragon Quest series, "Slime," "Drakey," and "Dragon King," and Asahikawa's character "Asappy" in collaboration with a snow castle in the background, representing the world of Square Enix's masterpiece, "Dragon Quest. The maze is a giant snow maze. Dragon Quest will also appear in the giant snow maze.

Thrilling! 100-meter-long giant slide and a variety of activities!

A giant ice slide that goes down from the top of the snow sculpture is also set up at the venue, and is very popular every year! There are also plenty of activities such as snow rafting, tire tubing, mini snowman decorating, zip line, and moving machine gymnastics, as well as fun stage events. You will want to stay and play for a long time, won't you? The event is held outdoors, so be sure to bring warm clothing.

At night, a sound and light show will color the winter sky.

The photo is from last year.

From 19:00 to 19:45 every day during the festival, visitors can enjoy a spectacular fireworks display that accompanies the show held on the special stage of the large snow sculpture. The powerful snow sculptures and the fireworks that light up the clear winter night sky create a fantastic and festive atmosphere.

Let's blow away the cold with warm gourmet food and local sake!

The "Winter Marche" (10:00 - 20:00) will be held at the venue with more than 30 stores selling authentic Asahikawa ramen, local gourmet foods representing the local area, local cuisine made with the finest ingredients, and original Winter Festival menus. The "Slime Man" meat buns and custard buns are also available as official Dragon Quest gourmet products! For those who love to drink, we also recommend the "Dohoku no Aishu Bar in Asahikawa Winter Festival" (12:00 - 20:00), where you can enjoy a variety of local sake from the northern Hokkaido area.

Dracula goods are also on sale! Official store not to be missed!

The official Asahikawa Winter Festival store (9:00 - 20:00) will be open at the venue. Official Dragon Quest goods and various souvenirs will be on sale, including the "Asappi x Yukirin Pin Badge" and the "Dragon Quest Slime Pin Badge" which is a winter festival version of the slime. Be sure to stop by and take a look!

After the festival, there will be illumination in the center of Asahikawa!

The Heiwa-dori Shopping Park, which runs from in front of JR Asahikawa Station, will be illuminated at night with the works of ice sculptures that participated in the World Ice Sculpture Competition. Why not stop by before or after the festival?

The Asahikawa Winter Festival takes full advantage of the severe cold and snow to offer visitors a chance to enjoy the charms of winter to the fullest. Please dress warmly and join the festival.

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