Lake Shikotsu Illumination and Ice Festival Half-Day from Sapporo

The experience was great! It was easy to meet up and the bus ride was pleasant and comfortable. Lake Shikotsu was incredible and the ice formations were spectacular. I wore two layers of thermal clothing and I was still freezing in the wind blowing along the shores of the lake. The light illuminations were amazing as it reflected through the ice.

The bus guide only spoke Japanese but was very kind at all times and provided information and made himself understood by the rest of the people who did not speak Japanese. A very nice experience at this festival.

If it's your first time visiting, I recommend signing up for a tour, because this spot is really inconvenient to get to without a car. But if you're planning to go, be sure to eat lunch beforehand, because other than cotton candy and drinks, I didn't see any shops inside the area. By the time you get back to the city, it might be after 9 PM, so I strongly suggest bringing some food. We were lucky, even though it was the hottest week in Hokkaido, and there wasn't much snow in the city, but when we got to Lake Shikotsu, it started snowing as soon as we entered the exhibition area, unlocking my travel buddy's first snow experience. However, it's a bit remote there, so the wind is quite cold. I highly recommend wearing warm clothes and gloves, otherwise you'll feel the piercing wind. If I have the chance, I'd like to go again, but maybe I'll arrive around noon so I can wander around at my leisure.

Because the tour leader is Japanese, she knows a little English and can use Google Translate. She is very helpful and sweet.

Meeting place and time is very exact. The guide will call for the tour at the exact time they mention since there are loads of other tours using the same hotel as a meeting place too, so be careful not to get mixed up! Our guide was very sweet! She couldn’t speak english, so she translated all her announcements for all non-Japanese participants of the tour. Really appreciate her! Overall, a wonderful tour! It was so beautiful and you have more than enough time to go through the venue. Amazing experience!

The place is truly magical and lights up at night like an ice castle. However we encountered a massive traffic jam on the way to the festival so our time at the festival was limited.

There's plenty of time, so it's definitely worth it if you can get a reservation! There's also a paid marshmallow roasting experience on-site. Everything is beautifully decorated, as expected of an ice and snow art festival. It's really great for taking pictures!

worth it for the price, even the venue is small it was an amazing half day tour ever this was also the highlight of our hokkaido trip

The whole experience was good, but there was not enough time to visit the surrounding area.

There was bad traffic for more than an hour which affected everything. Also the guide did not really speak English.