Sapporo White Illumination

Sapporo's White Illumination was the first of Japan's city illuminations and remains one of the loveliest, because it has snow. From late November the lights come on across five sites in the city centre: Odori Park, with its large sculptural installations of stars and trees; Ekimae-dori, the avenue running south from the station; Minami 1-jo; the Kita 3-jo Plaza in front of the old Hokkaido government building; and the south plaza of Sapporo Station itself. Once the first snow settles, the lights are reflected in it and the whole centre glows.

The sites run to different dates. Odori Park, the heart of the display, is lit only until 25 December, after which the park is cleared for the Snow Festival; the street sites continue into mid-February and the station plaza to mid-March. Alongside the Odori lights, the Munich Christmas Market sets up in the park through December, with mulled wine, sausages and German crafts under the lights. Early to mid-December, with fresh snow and every site lit, is the time to come.

Everything is within a few minutes' walk of Sapporo Station or Odori Station and entirely free. Expect real cold from December onward and icy pavements, and note that the illumination and the Snow Festival do not overlap in Odori Park itself; a February visit will find the park full of snow sculptures and the lights confined to the surrounding streets.