The central area of Hokkaido, including Sapporo, is a fusion of city and nature, with many tourist spots nearby that are easily accessible. The central area is rich in nature and has a population density of 72 people/㎢, which is very low compared to the Japanese average of 343 people/㎢. 61% of Hokkaido’s population is concentrated in this area. The population density is also relatively high at 150 people/㎢. This means that it is possible to enjoy the rich natural environment and interact with the people of Hokkaido. The area is also easily accessible from New Chitose Airport, making driving in Hokkaido very enjoyable.
Hokkaido’s summer months of July and August are short and fly by. The best part of a trip to Hokkaido is to enjoy this short summer to the fullest.
We can provide information on traditional Japanese festivals, fireworks displays and other events held in various parts of Japan since ancient times, as well as information and tours for travelers who are interested in the summer night sky. Experience the unique festivals and fireworks displays that are held in each region and at each time of year! For festivals and fireworks displays in Japan, let Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency be your guide.
A short drive from Sapporo will take you to Lake Toya, a spectacular volcanic lake with a circumference of 52 km, and Noboribetsu Onsen, a famous “department store” of hot springs with nine different types of hot water.
An hour and a half drive from Sapporo will take you to Numata’s Andon (lantern floats) Festival and Bikuni Shrine’s annual festival.
Table of Contents：
<Sapporo>
・YOSAKOI Soran Festival
・Hokkaido Shrine Festival
・Toyohira River Fireworks Display
・Susukino Festival
・Sapporo Odori Beer Garden
・Hokkai Bon Dance
<Shakotan Peninsula>
・Bikuni Shrine Festival
<Numata>
・Yataka Andon Festival
<Noboribetsu>
・Noboribetsu Hell Festival
<Toyako>
・Lake Toyako Long Run Fireworks Festival
<Sapporo>
YOSAKOI Soran Festival
In June, the city of Sapporo is dyed in fresh green. The YOSAKOI Soran Festival was born in 1992 from the roots of the Yosakoi Festival in Kochi Prefecture, combining the naruko (wooden clappers) of the Yosakoi Festival with the folk song Soranbushi from Hokkaido. Dancers in colourful costumes and with naruko in their hands dance to the melodies of Soranbushi. The city is enveloped in a festival frenzy with the overflowing energy of the dancers.
In 2024, the festival was held for five days from June 5 (Wed.) to 9 (Sun.) at 15 venues in Sapporo. There were 256 participating organizations, including two overseas teams and 69 teams from outside Hokkaido. The number of participants was 25,000. The number of spectators was 2.1 million. To enjoy this Yosakoi Soran Festival trip, please contact Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency.
Hokkaido Shrine Festival
Also known as the Sapporo Festival, this festival has a history of more than 100 years and is well known to the public. Usually held over three days from June 14-16, the Mikoshi (portable shrine) Procession on June 16 sees more than 1,000 citizens dressed in colorful costumes reminiscent of picture scrolls from the Heian period (794-1185) parade through the city with four portable shrines carrying the deities of Hokkaido Shrine and eight other floats. Departing from Hokkaido Shrine in Maruyama and passing through the city center in the afternoon, the mikoshi and floats are shown on Odori Street, where many citizens gather to watch the procession. Stalls and traditional dedication events are held in the precincts of Hokkaido Shrine, and many stalls and haunted house attractions are erected in Nakajima Park. The crowds are so large here that restrictions are imposed and it is almost impossible to move. As it is a one-way street, you can’t turn back and just have to walk through the crowds! It’s a bit like that.
For travel itineraries to visit Hokkaido Shrine and see the portable shrine procession, please consult Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency. Our employees will be happy to answer your questions in a friendly and courteous manner.
Toyohira River Fireworks Display
Summer in Sapporo is characterized by the fireworks display held along the Toyohira River. Without it, you cannot say that summer has arrived in Sapporo.
Organized by the Hokkaido Shimbun Press and UHB TV Station, it has been held every year since 2010 when it became the only fireworks display held on the Toyohira River in Sapporo. It is the one and only fireworks display that can be seen free of charge in the heart of Sapporo, a city of approximately 1.96 million inhabitants. Enjoyable for everyone, from children to the elderly, the fireworks display has been a popular summer tradition for many decades, decorating the night sky of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, in a spectacular manner.
The 2024 event will be held from 19:40 to 20:30, Friday, July 26 and will be launched between Minami Ohashi and Horohira Bridge on the Toyohira River.
This year, the fireworks were launched in a three-part program: ‘Summer Night Carnival’, ‘Dreaming Night’ and ‘Grand Finale’.
Please leave it to Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency to arrange your trip to see the Toyohira River Fireworks Festival. Our guides will be happy to accompany you.
Susukino Festival
Susukino is the largest entertainment district north of Tokyo, extending south of Odori; roughly speaking, it stretches from Minami 4-jo to Minami 8-jo north to south, and from Nishi 2-chome to Nishi 5-chome east to west. The neon-lit streets, with the famed Nikka Whisky sign, form one of the three biggest entertainment districts in Japan, and Susukino is well-known throughout the country.
It began as a brothel around 1870 during the pioneer era, and the brothel was relocated to Shiroishi around 1920. Restaurants and other establishments lined the former site, laying the foundations for today’s neon-lit district.
Susukino is a town that never sleeps, with a night-time population of some 80,000 people, and is characterized by the sheer number of its shops. The area has a concentration of some 3,500 shops, and on weekends, customers are constantly coming to the area until dawn. The area is crowded with a wide range of establishments catering to a variety of needs, including local restaurants, pubs, clubs, bars, karaoke rooms, show pubs, ramen shops and hotels.
Various events are also held, such as the Susukino Festival in the summer, when a procession of courtesans is re-enacted, and Susukino Ice World, where ice sculptures line the streets during the Snow Festival in February. The bustling town becomes even more lively then.
The Oiran Dochu (procession of courtesans) is the main event held on the first day of the Susukino Festival, and in 1984, as a commemorative event for the 20th festival, nine oiran (high-class courtesan) performers from Asakusa, Tokyo, were invited to perform the Oiran Dochu, which proved more popular than expected and became a regular event the following year in 1985. Two oiran were chosen in a public competition and named Yumechiyo Tayu and Kazuno Tayu.
The Susukino Festival, a summer tradition in Susukino, celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2024 and was held grandly for three days on August 1, 2 and 3, mainly at the intersection of Sapporo Ekimae Dori and Minami 5-jo Dori. The biggest event of the Susukino Festival is the Oiran Dochu (courtesan procession). Starting at 8.15 pm, the leading oiran (courtesans) left from in front of Minami 5-jo Round One and paraded for about one hour to the stage in front of Toyokawa Inari. The glamorous courtesans were played by Kotoyo and Koume from the Sapporo Maikoren (geisha society).
The Susukino Oiran-Dochu is said to have started in the pioneer days of the Meiji era. The procession of oiran is one of the climaxes of the festival, recreating the elegant scenes of those days.
If you want to see the oiran procession at the Susukino Festival, leave it to Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency. Our registered veteran guides will accompany you throughout the procession.
Sapporo Odori Beer Garden
What is the Sapporo Summer Festival? An event to enjoy the short northern summer to the fullest!
The Sapporo Summer Festival started in 1954. The festival was held with Nakajima Park as its main venue, and various summer events were held in various parts of Sapporo, including the Bon Odori dance festival that continues to this day. Sapporo Odori Beer Garden is one of the largest beer gardens in Japan, using six sections of Odori Park. The welfare-sponsored Sapporo Odori Beer Garden began in 1959 as a summer garden, and since the beginning, part of the proceeds has been donated to welfare organizations. The beer garden is a great way to experience the bliss of tasty beer and Genghis Khan (mutton barbecue) in the fresh air of Hokkaido, where the humidity is low.
In 2024, beer gardens from various beer companies were held from Friday July 19 to Wednesday August 14 from noon to 21:00 in Odori Park between 5-chome and 11-chome.
If you want to enjoy beer at the Sapporo Odori Beer Garden, Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency is the place for you. Our guides, who are registered as door-to-door guides, will be happy to make reservations and accompany you to the beer venue of your choice.
Hokkai Bon Odori (Bon Dance)
Bon is a Buddhist custom which has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places where they visit and clean their ancestors’ graves when the ancestral spirits are said to revisit household altars. Widely known as the Bon dance of Hokkaido, the Hokkai Bon Dance has been held since the first Sapporo Summer Festival in 1954. Today, it is a lively Bon dance with an international flavor that attracts an increasing number of overseas visitors. It was not until the 11th festival in 1964 that a full-fledged Hokkai Bon dance with a stronger local flavor began. It is now firmly established as the finale of the Sapporo Summer Festival, with live music performed by the Sapporo Minyo Renmei (Sapporo Folk Song Federation).
The Bon Odori usually takes place from 18:00 to 21:00 from August 11 (Sun., holiday) to 16 (Fri.) every year, during which the children’s Bon Odori is held from 18:00 to 19:00. After the Children’s Bon Dance, souvenirs are available for children of primary school age and younger. Tourists are also welcome to participate. The venue is Odori Park Nishi 2-chome.
The main songs played are Hokkaido’s two major Bon songs: Hokkai Bon Uta, which originated in the coal mines of Ikushunbetsu in Mikasa, and Hokkai Yosarebusu (a Bon dance song that was once overwhelmingly popular throughout Hokkaido), which was created in the mid-Meiji period (1868－1912) when Yosarebusu was imported from Tsugaru. The song for the children’s Bon dance is Kodomo Bon Odori Uta. The steps and movements are simple and repeated many times, so even first-time participants can learn quickly.
If you would like to watch and participate in the Hokkai Bon Dance, leave it to Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency. Our registered guides will be happy to show you around.
<Shakotan Peninsula>
Bikuni Shrine Festival
The Bikuni Shrine Festival is usually held on July 4, 5 and 6 every year at Bikuni Shrine in the town of Shakotan. The festival could not be held for a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was finally held again in 2024. This is the only traditional event at Bikuni Shrine in Japan that has been held since the Edo period. Praying for a good catch and harvest, the festival features a maritime procession in the harbor and a lively procession of portable shrines and floats in the city center. The main event, the Tengu (long-nosed goblin) Fire Walking, takes place in the precincts of Bikuni Shrine on the nights of July 5 and 6 every year. After touring the town, the tengu and the mikoshi (portable shrines) return to the shrine and perform a firewalk in the precincts of the shrine to purify themselves. The brave young men carrying the mikoshi do not flinch, but run while shouting ‘wasse, wasse’. The sight of the tengu and the mikoshi bearers walking majestically amidst the fire sparks is dynamic in itself.
Please come and visit Shakotan to feel the excitement of the Bikuni Shrine Festival.
If you wish to visit the Bikuni Shrine Festival, leave it to Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency. We can arrange your itinerary, car and guide.
<Numata>
Yotaka Andon Festival
This is one of Hokkaido’s three major andon (lantern float) festivals and is held for two days on the fourth Friday and Saturday of every August. The highlight of the festival is the parade of various sizes of Yotaka Andon lantern floats (large ones are 7m high x 12m long x 3m wide). Yotaka Andon are gorgeous and colorful, decorated with a dragon or a palace car shaped out of bamboo covered with waxed Japanese paper and set on a pedestal with light bulbs. Contests are held to see how well they turn out, and powerful fighting andon (big andon clashes) are held at night.
The Yotaka Andon Festival, an elegant and heroic country festival, was inherited in 1977 from Oyabe in Toyama Prefecture, the birthplace of Kisaburo Numata, the founder of the pioneering village, and is one of Hokkaido’s three major andon festivals, and the only fighting andon festival in Hokkaido. The biggest highlight of the festival is the powerful clashing of large andons, which attracts many tourists every year.
350 years ago, in 1653, in the village of Tonami in Toyama, the guardian deity of the village of Fukuno, a shinto shrine that was recommended by Ise Jingu Shrine, the most venerated Shinto shrine in Japan, came to Fukuno in the procession of the Kangu. Night fell when the procession reached the Kurikara Pass, the border between Ishikawa and Toyama Prefecture, and they were unable to proceed. When the villagers learnt of this from the mailman, they rushed to the pass with lanterns in their hands, and the whole village joined in welcoming the procession. This was the origin of the festival, which has been passed down from generation to generation in the local area. In 1977, the Yotaka Andon Festival was handed on to Numata by Mayor Matsumoto of what is now Oyabe, Toyama Prefecture, the hometown of Numata’s founder, Kisaburo Numata, and volunteers from Tsuzawa. Mayor Matsumoto attended a ceremony in 1974 that celebrated the 80th anniversary of the founding of Numata. The lanterns lit in faraway Tsuzawa continue to light up the hearts of the people of Numata.
If you are thinking of visiting the Yotaka Andon Festival, we can organize an itinerary, car and guide.
<Noboribetsu>
Noboribetsu Hell Festival
Noboribetsu Onsen is one of Hokkaido’s leading hot spring resorts, only an hour and a half’s drive from Sapporo. The hot spring resort stretches along a tributary of the Noboribetsu River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean, and is lined with modern hotels, Japanese-style inns and numerous souvenir shops. The springs’ sources, Jigokudani (Hell Valley) and Mount Hiyori, are still active. Hot steam and volcanic gases erupt violently and the muddy white water pulsates with a throbbing pulse – it is truly a living earth. If you go further afield, you will find a treasure trove of nature, with wild birds singing and alpine plants in full bloom. The fishing port is close by and the area is blessed with seafood. With theme parks such as Bear Farm, Noboribetsu Onsen is a major hot-spring resort that will never bore you. Noboribetsu Onsen is famous for its milky-white, niggly sulphuric spring water, but as each accommodation has a different quality of spring water, it is also fun to go on a hot spring tour to find the water that suits you best.
Noboribetsu Hell Festival is based on the legend that on the last Saturday and Sunday of every August, the lid of hell’s cauldron opens from Noboribetsu Onsen’s Hell Valley, and King Enma, riding on a 6 meter-high float, visits Noboribetsu Onsen with demons in tow.
The festival includes Noboribetsu taiko drums, an onimikoshi (a portable shrine) carried by students from Noboribetsu Junior High School, and oni (demons) dancing. There are many events associated with demons. This is a unique festival to Noboribetsu, a town that coexists with Hell Valley, and offers excitement that is hard to find elsewhere.
If you are thinking of visiting Noboribetsu Hell Festival, leave it to Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency. We will make the itinerary and travel arrangements for you.
<Toyako>
Lake Toyako Long Run Fireworks Festival
Lake Toya can be reached in about two hours by car from hotels in Sapporo. Lake Toya is a volcanically active lake with a circumference of 52 km. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Hokkaido, with Lake Toya Hot Springs, Mount Usu and Mount Showa Shinzan. Visitors can enjoy fireworks over the lake while soaking in the hot springs.
This fireworks display is usually held on the shores of Lake Toya from late April to the end of October. During this period, approximately 450 fireworks are set off every day from 20:45 for 20 minutes, and the colorful, large fireworks reflected in the night sky and on the water are a spectacular sight. The fireworks are launched along a 2 km stretch of Lake Toya, so they can be seen from anywhere along the lake in the Toya Onsen district, even from hotel rooms.
During the festival, fireworks viewing boats are also available (fee charged, reservation required), so you can enjoy the fireworks from various perspectives, whether from the boat or along the lakeside.
If you are interested in seeing the Lake Toyako Long Run Fireworks Festival, let Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency arrange it for you. We can make all the arrangements for your itinerary.
Come on! Let’s leave to enjoy the summer in Hokkaido!
Hokkaido’s refreshing and crisp climate, with little humidity even in summer, is perfect for summer travel! This is the best season to enjoy Hokkaido’s uniqueness by touring the vast expanses of flower fields and experiencing the outdoors.
Here are some of the best places to visit in Hokkaido in summer, including scenic spots, seasonal delicacies, events, and other fun things to do. Enjoy Hokkaido’s short summer to the fullest.
Don’t miss this opportunity if you want to enjoy Sapporo in summer! You can enjoy various events such as Bon dancing and Susukino Festival for about a month. The beer garden in Odori Park is one of the largest in Japan with more than 10,000 seats, and has become a summer tradition in Sapporo. Enjoy the short northern summer to the fullest!
This is the only summer festival in Japan where you can participate in a historic shrine festival. Enjoy the festivals with our experienced guides.
The fireworks display in the unobstructed night sky of Hokkaido is one of the must-see events! It is an event that will brighten up the short summer season in Hokkaido. Many of the fireworks festivals are held in the vicinity of hot spring resorts, making them a great way to create memories of your trip. It is sure to be an unforgettable experience.
The spots introduced and the itinerary can be freely customized to suit your schedule and interests. Let Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency take care of all your travel needs.
Please indicate your convenient travel dates. Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Agency’s dedicated travel consultants will support your trip. Our dedicated drivers and English-speaking interpreter/guides will assist you throughout your trip, from your arrival at the airport to your departure from it.
