Snow festival sapporo

Hello We will be going to sapporo shortly after the snow festival. My question is will the sculptures still be viewable or any activities. This is our first time in Japan. Thankyou

Hello We will be going to sapporo shortly after the snow festival.

What exact date do you arrive in Sapporo?

My question is will the sculptures still be viewable or any activities.

They start destroying the sculptures at around 10pm on the last day of the Snow Festival, which is Feb 11, 2013. Removal continues during the following day, Feb 12, but I would expect most of it to be gone any day after that.

Depending on what date you arrive, you may wish to visit the Otaru Snow Light Path Festival which will be held from February 8 to 17, 2013.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6706.html
Otaru is an easy day trip from Sapporo
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6700.html

Enjoy your trip!

Thankyou very much. We will probably wait till another year then and plan to go during the festival if they destroy the sculptures.

No worries!

If you plan on going book your accommodation well in advance as it is obviously peak season especially over the weekend. Also many hotels will have increased rates and a minimum night stay during the weekend of the festival. Our hotel rate in Sapporo halved comparing Saturday night to Sunday night!

Depending on how long you spend in Sapporo we found the destruction process quite interesting but the sculptures tend to be better earlier in the festival.

Also, depending on how you plan on getting to Sapporo, you may wish to book your transportation in advance as much as possible, or try and travel during the week to avoid the main rush. We took the trains up and back and enjoyed the rides but bear in mind it is close to 10 hours from Tokyo to Sapporo by train. We spent the night at Hakodate to break the journey up a bit. The whole train journey is covered by a JR Pass.

Hakodate
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5350.html

Access to Sapporo
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5306.html