Yokote Kamakura Snow Festival

Yokote's kamakura are the original ones. In this snow-country town in southern Akita, families have built domed snow huts each February for centuries to honour the water god, and for two nights the tradition is opened to everyone. Full-sized kamakura stand in the forecourt of the city hall, in Yokote Park beneath the castle and along the riverbanks, each with an altar inside and a charcoal brazier, and children in padded jackets call out to passers-by to come in, offering warm amazake and grilled rice cakes. Rows of miniature kamakura lit with candles line the riverside beside them.

The festival falls on the Friday and Saturday immediately before the Bonten festival of 16 and 17 February, a schedule being trialled from 2026 to 2029 in place of the old fixed dates of 15 and 16 February; in 2027 that puts it on 12 and 13 February. The huts glow from 18:00 to 21:00 and the evenings are the whole festival. The climb up to Yokote Castle in the park gives the view over the field of miniature huts by the river.

Yokote is reached from Akita City or from Kitakami on the Tohoku Shinkansen by the Ou and Kitakami lines, and the sites are walkable from the station. Accommodation in Yokote is limited, so many visitors come from Akita or combine it with the Namahage Sedo Festival on the Oga Peninsula the same weekend. Expect deep snow, sub-zero cold and an intimate, family-run festival with no stages or floats.