Hello -
Just got back from the IACE office and checking into their Sapporo Winter Festival prices.  They seems a little high and I wanted to check here to see if anyone else had done the tour or gone on their own.  I am unable to comparison shop because they said airfare prices won't be out until December and package deals won't be out for at least another month (except their package).  They are asking Y75,000 per person for triple occupancy (two adults and one toddler).  The trip is airfare, two nights hotel, bus transportation, one dinner, and one cable car ride up Mt. Moiwa.

Here is what I am wondering - how are things laid out for the festival?  There are four major things we are interested in - the Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival, Sapporo Winter Festival, Tsu Dome, and Otaru at night.  Would it be possible to get around on our own using the trains or independent tour guides/companies?  If you have done the Festivals on your own, was it a huge hassle? Even if we did the ITT tour, I wouldn't want to do the shuttle option because they include a chocolate factory that isn't a desirable stop for such a short trip.

Are there agencies in town (Yokosuka) that you can recommend for putting together a possible 4 days trip or that might be helpful with developing an itinerary more suited to our family?

Thank you.

Awesome question! I checked prices last year from Iwakuni & it was horribly high. My wife & I always travel independently (on our own, without a tour package) but for the winter festival, it just seems easier to buy the package deal. But SOOOOOO freakin' expensive!! I'd like to know also if one can book rooms, airfare & events on their own, or is it just better to go with ITT?

I've been doing some investigating today and it seems like $150-250 for hotels is a reasonable budget for this time period. I cannot check airfare, but current prices from Tokyo to Sapporo are running $400/person (about Y30,000). Not sure if they will go up for the festival. It looks like the trains run everywhere - so no problem getting from the hotel to the airport or to any of the events/places listed on the IACE travel itinerary. From my calculations, factoring in $200 for trains, a two night trip for two adults and one toddler would be $1700-1900. Factor in the one or two meals being provided on the tour and maybe we are pushing $2100. I think for a family of three we are better on our own. I think we would prefer to not have the guided tours and planned out days. Most of the events appear to be free parks that one just walks through.

From checking last year, did the air prices go way up for the festival? I am able to check the hotel prices for the actual dates but have not checked availability. When I talked to IACE they said they would be able to start checking package deals without the guided tours next month. I might wait for that..

Make sure you check Agoda.com for hotel prices. Agoda generally has the best prices around Asia. I've used them extensively; they are a reputable firm.

Good to know. Thank you.

I booked our trip last year myself. I got the hotel for 130.00 a night (I think) which included breakfast every morning. I used hotels.com we stayed at a Best Western which I was really impressed with. train stop was only 5 minute walk from hotel. Itwas a 10 minute walk to the ice and snow festivel. As for airfare I book right through JAL and I think we paid $140 RT pp. They were having winter special. I book everything in December. We took the subway from the airport to the hotel, Easy to do. Then we bought a subway pass to use for the day and went everywhere. again everything was easy. We went to all the same places ITT went we did not do the buffet too expensive there is plenty of reasturants and food booths set up all over. I did bring snacks and bp&j in my suitcase, bought bread at a family mart.

By the way my picture with panda is at Sapporo at the Sapporo Beer Factory.

Tricia - thank you for your post. It makes me feel a lot better. Did you use the JAL site to book directly? I noticed on their site that they have a 48% discount ticket when booked on their site, but only 2 months in advance. We also wanted to go to Otaru Snow light Path - did you guys make it out there? Would you recommend just 2 nights or 3? I am also not big on the ITT All You Can Eat/Drink buffets. My daughter is 3 and I don't drink - so they usually are not worth it. Are there any places you found that were really great and need more time or that we might want to skip?
Thank you.

We had a great time. We even found a mall to walk around and ate at place there. The food booths that were all over were great! we loved the curry places and the corn on the cob. We went Ice skating at the clock tower. walked alot. took a bus for I think it was 100 yen to the Tsudome. the ice fest was down the street on our way to the snow fest. Definatly go to the official snow fest web site and read through it. lots of good info. http://www.snowfes.com/english/

Yes I booked straight from the JAL site. it was easy and the discount was two months prior. We did not make it to Otaru Snow light Path. But I would def. try to go there. I would love to visit Sapporo in the Spring.

I am from Floida and froze there so if you are not use to bitter cold weather start looking now for super warm cloths., snow suites, thermals layers snow boots. you can rent these from outdoor gear, I borrowed from freinds for the kids and rented boots for myself. We took hand warmers and carried a thermos with hot cocoa and tea with us.

We had a great time and I woud go back again. It was just long enough to enjoy the snow and then come home. We stayed 3 nights. If you go to Otaru Snow light Path I would add an extra day.

Wow, this is awesome information Tricia. My wife & I have been to 3 of the 4 main Japan islands, plus Okinawa and some smaller islands, and we've done it all on our own, never taking an ITT tour. I hated to ruin our unblemished record, but I was intimidated about doing the ice festival on our own. Now I think we will. I learned one major thing from your post -- I didn't realize there was both an Ice Festival & Snow Festival. These are separate events? Can you tell us more about those, and also what's that Otaru Snow light path? Sounds intriguing.

the ice fest is just down the street leading to the snow fest. we were there before the festive opened and were able to watch them sculpt the ice. pretty cool. lots of resturants on that street too. here is a litle more The Susukino Site, located in and named after Sapporo's largest entertainment district, exhibits about one hundred ice sculptures. Susukino is located only one subway stop south of Odori Park. The ice sculptures are lit up daily until midnight (until 22:00 on the festival's final day).


Otaru is another city not to far away that also does a snow fest. here is a link to check out. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6706.html
We dd not go there but it looks like fun too.

So happy to find this information!  I just spent over an hour at IACE and feel as though I'm about to pay too much for my trip; I'm not doing the package deal but instead booking a flight and hotel deal for the Snow Festival (but not on the ITT tour).  It's above my budget AND I'm not even guaranteed a hotel room yet- I'm on the waiting list because all of the non-smoking rooms are booked.

Can someone post the link the JAL site link for me?  I've done research about flights and hotels on my own but am so new here that I'm nervous to book it without a travel agency or any word of mouth recommendations. 

If I book an airline flight on my own, will they only communicate in Japanese?

Sunroute New Sapporo is the hotel where IACE would have us stay; they do have an English website but their rooms are full for the dates I want, as IACE said.  Anyone have any suggestions on other comparable hotels in Sapporo?  (We want the Japanese yet still slightly western hotel with breakfast included, as Sunroute seems to advertise.)

Finally, does anyone have any firsthand experience with travel agencies off base?  Any places that speak English and have good deals?  Any places to avoid?  I think while I'm still on the waiting list I'm just going to go out in town and walk into a few agencies and see if I can get a better deal.  Guidance would be very much appreciated!

Please and thank you in advance for any information!

JAL website in english http://www.jal.co.jp/en/lp/dom_int/...21&lid=195
I did the whole transaction online printed the tickets everythng worked out great.

For hotel I booked through hotels.com. Stayed at the best western near the ice fest. I was nervous but it was one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in. The site said breakfast was not incuded but when we checked in they gave us breakfast tickets for each day. Train station was just down the street and there was a family mart at the corner.

I have used off base travel agents but some only do international tickets(we went to China, super cheap). They are on blue street and had an english speaker.

Thank you so much, Tricia!

What is the difference between Sakitoku and Super Sakitoku fares on JAL's website?

It seems like the hotels are cheaper but the flights are more expensive when not doing a package deal with IACE. Odd.

Thank you so much for the additional information.

You might be finding the flights are more expensive because JAL does not open up domestic airfare until 2 months prior to departure.  At least this is what IACE told me.  They said to check the websites first week in December for domestic tickets.

Just booked our room for the Snow Festival! I'm getting excited. I always book on Agoda.com where I find consistently the best prices in Asia (used it a LOT in Thailand, and Japan too). We got Chisun Inn which is a budget hotel chain; we've had good luck with them in other cities. It's a 5 minute walk from the main JR station, and on the subway line in Sapporo. We got a great price of $120/nt for a double, but no breakfast included. Usually my wife & I will pick up a bento at the konbini the night before to keep as our breakfast, and I can make coffee in the room. And we got the last room at this price.
http://www.agoda.com/asia/japan/sap...pporo.html

If you look now on Agoda, there are a few rooms remaining for the Snow Festival around $120 but they are further from the city center. At $180 there is a broader selection, and of course nicer facilities. Now, if I can only find cheap air fare from Hiroshima...

Just checked the JAL website; they have a good flight Hiroshima -> Sapporo (Chitose) about $500 R/T. I'll check at ITT tomorrow to see if they can beat that price. ANA only books 60 days in advance on their web so I don't know what they charge. There are other discount airlines in Japan that might also work.

Worst case: 2 R/T tix @ $500 each plus the room at $360 for 3 nites = $1360 for my wife & me, airfare & room for 3 nites. I'm thinking the ITT price is more like $1200 pp, and that's only for 2 nights. They probably include airport transfer, breakfast & some lame tours that I don't want to go on. By my reckoning, I'll save nearly 50% by going it alone (factoring in the value of the extra day.) Anyone else planning a trip on their own to the Winter Festival? Festival dates run 6-12 Feb. See ya there!

For anyone still seeking budget accommodations for the Ice Festival, my wife found some good, affordable rooms at Toyoko Inn http://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/index.html . Some categories of rooms are available during the festival week, but selling out fast (there's a chart showing how many of each room is left.) There are several Toyoko in the Sapporo city center area that would be suitable. They include a free breakfast which is the funky riceball & seaweed breakfast.

Please note: The prices they post when you enter your dates are the MEMBER price. If you're not a member, then the nightly rate is like 2000 yen higher. There is no explanation of this in English, so you end up puzzled by a higher bill than you expect. They don't ask for any credit card when you book (although there IS a cancellation fee; no telling how they would collect.) Anyway, you pay at check-in and if you want, you can buy the member card at that time & get the member discount. The card costs 1500 yen and we would save 6000 yen for the 3-nite stay, so it pays to buy the card when you check-in. Then, after you've stayed in Toyoko rooms a total of 10 nites, you get a free room.

if you are going to the snow festival next year you should check out the http://www.skymark.jp/en/ website. They got cheap airfare from hanedA-SApporo.I was able to get a ticket for less than 20000 round trip last year.

Thanks. We flew Skymark to Okinawa last summer, and saved about 60% compared to anything else we could find. I'll check it out.

No Skymark or any discount air from Hiroshima. Our poor airport is too small. I did reserve the JAL flight.

Here's the thing about ITT on base... THEY LIE!!! I went in before buying my ticket, and they said if I buy airfare on my own, the ticket alone would equal the price of their package tour which includes hotel. This is nearly $1200.

Yet JAL is having a CURRENT winter sale. Go on their website http://www.jal.co.jp/en/ and you will see the Super Sakitoku advanced purchase sale. R/T from Hiroshima is 45,000 pp or $570. A far cry from the $1100 fare that ITT told us. They are not yet selling the Sapporo Festival package deal (goes on sale early Dec) but I picked up the brochure and found I got the same flight that they would offer on their tour. Fortunately, not the same day. The last thing I want to do is fly with planeload of loud, oblivious gaijin (no insult intended.)

My total price (hotel & airfare) comes to $750 pp. The package tour would have been $1200 pp. All I'm giving up is the "free" breakfast each day. That's it. The package deal has no included tours or other meals. Contrary to what I said earlier, the package is 3 nights, so I'd say I'm saving 38% by going it alone, and not having to tolerate a crowd along the way. We soooooo much prefer doing these trips on our own instead of a group.

One last VERY IMPORTANT detail I just noticed... the ITT package tour (from Iwakuni) is Feb 3-6. But.. the opening day of the Snow & Ice festival is 6 Feb!! This means just about the time the festival is opening, you're on the way to the airport to fly home. What up with dat?? They totally don't mention this in the brochure. Granted, you can walk around & watch them building the ice structures which will be fun but still... They darn thing ain't open during your trip!!! Isn't that a significant point they should mention?

My wife & I are going Feb 8 - 11, right at the peak of things. Closing day is Feb 12.

Wow, I just got an even better deal on a hotel, gonna cancel the first reservation. This is through www.agoda.com which offers great deals on lodging all over Asia. This deal wasn't there last night, but it just popped up... $99/nite for a non-smoking double right at the Sapporo station. Hotel has free onsen, and breakfast is included. With taxes & fees, the stay for 3 nites is $340. My other hotel would have been $370, and didn't include breakfast or onsen.

The new hotel is called Hotel Route Inn Sapporo Ekimae Kita-guchi. Use the search function in agoda; there are 2 doubles left at this price. As I said, it wasn't there yesterday so it seems like the good deals come & go; just keep checking. I'm stoked & really looking forward to this trip.

FWIW, there are some discount chains that you can't find on Agoda.  Toyoko Inn is one such; you have to book directly on their web site.  So while I love Agoda, for some discount chains you have to search further.

ThaiGuy- that is why we booked ours last year on our own. Way cheaper and we were pleasently surprised when we got free breakfast each morning which was not not included when I booked.
Have a great time!

Actually, your little story was what inspired me to do this. Any recommendations on what to see, other than the obvious?

We would like to go up to the Sapporo International Ski Marathon - this is being held on Sunday Feb. 5th - so is this part of the snow festival? it seems like the snow festival starts on Monday the 6th according to the web site mentioned above. This is a cross country[nordic] ski race - anyone with info on this - it would be greatly appreciated. This is what we have 'offered' our son who will be missing his ski season to come to Japan with us in January!! http://www.shsf.jp/ski/info-e.html - thanks in advance for any info anyone has!! we will luck out and get better deals because we want to be there before the festival starts? we really only want to ski : )

You're correct, the Festival starts on the 6th. Sapporo seems to have a lot of activity the week prior, as they build their ice & snow sculptures. You'd probably enjoy walking around looking at this. Also, the Otaru Snow Light Path http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6706.html starts on Feb 3, so you should visit that, too. There are still a lot of rooms at decent prices even near the Sapporo station. This would make it easy to get to the Ski Marathon site, wherever that is. Book your rooms quick; I'm finding the deals on Agoda have no cancellation fee so we've booked & canceled twice as we find better deals. But you need to book something. Airfare is a crap shoot. You can get a decent price right now, but in early Dec the airlines will release their Feb prices. No one seems to know if prices will go up or down. You might also take Shinkansen, and your son could get a rail pass before coming over if he's on a tourist visa. If he's SOFA, he's not supposed to get the rail pass.

Thanks - he'll be SOFA - so I guess the rail pass is out -

Need to do more research, but getting the house packed seems to be taking all my time - oh my.... I will try to look at hotels and figure out the travel situation...although all of the ice/snow festival activities sound really interesting - the priority for him will be getting to race, as he will only be getting a few races in before we have to leave snowy New England behind for Japan. This conversation has been really helpful, so please keep posting as you make final touches to your plan - your planning is very helpful!!

Thanks!

If you have time, you may also look into flying Space A into Misawa AB and taking the train/Ferry into Sapporo

Don't forget Japanese hotels charge their rooms PER PERSON!

Posted By Nekoluvr on 11-26-2011 10:14 AM
Don't forget Japanese hotels charge their rooms PER PERSON!

This is not always true, but it is something to be careful of.  We book our rooms either on Agoda.com which is all in English, or at business hotel pages like Tokyoku Inn.  If you book a double on these sites, the price is per room, not per person.  We don't stay at tourist or resort sites; perhaps this "per person" is more common at those hotels.

Less than 3 weeks till we go to the Ice Festival. Stoked! We're traveling independently (not with an ITT group), booked everything ourselves and saved at least 40% compared to the ITT prices. Plus, we go during the actual festival, not the days before the festival which is what the ITT Iwakuni group tour does. What a crock! We've got our daily itinerary mapped out with plenty to see, do & eat. I'll be posting pix here when we get back.

Cannot wait to see how your trip went. I have fond memories. There is an underground mall that you can go from one side to the other. Great place to keep warm.

Warmth is good! Is the underground mall beneath the Odori site, or at the train station, or where?

I have a good feel for all the sculptures & stuff we wanna see, including the Otaru Snow Light Festival
(here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6706.html)

Can you suggest anything else we oughta see that we might overlook?

Please tell about this underground mall. We too booked our trip ourselves thanks to this post. So so so much cheaper then the ITT prices. I am excited and can't wait for our trip. So glad we will get to go here before leaving this summer.

This is the site I used to plan the places to go

http://www.snowfes.com/english/

I just discovered Sapporo has a facebook page. More sugestions on there.

The undergound mall is at Odori site. you will see it when you go to the subways. http://www.welcome.city.sapporo.jp/...kagai.html

You can also get a subway pass to use for two days. (Ithink that is what is is) so if you are goingto use the subway alot it is a good deal.

At the Sapporo beer factory, the tour is free but you have to buy the beer. http://www.welcome.city.sapporo.jp/...useum.html

There is a museam near Odori, cannot remember the name but it was interesting. I believe the original building was a school for farming. found it....It is the clock tower her is the link. http://www.welcome.city.sapporo.jp/english/sites/tokeidai.html

bring hand warmers with you. I do not have snow boots so I whore my rainboots with liners and winter socks. My feet were warmIt is icey. We even brough a thermos with us filled with hot coffee. and definatly layer layer layer.

Have a great adventure!! Cannot wait to read your posts!

I'm getting ready for our trip to Sapporo on the 6th for 3 nights! We booked everything ourselves and it was much cheaper than going through ITT.
I was wondering if we can use our pasmo cards for the train/subway there...... Just thought about it as I'm getting ready to get extra yen out today for the trip.
Thanks!

krismas, post your pix when you get back. My wife & I are going on the 8th, for 3 nights. Like you said, WAAAY cheaper than ITT. We saved about 40%.

ThaiGuy - Will do I'm going with a group of people and we all booked the flights and hotels on our own and found some great deals. I couldn't understand why ITT was charging so much! We are lucky that we got our flights on skymark from Haneda for $210 RT. (We live in Yokosuka.) And we found our hotel room on Agoda through a website called hotelscombined.com, which allows you to find rates from several websites all in one place. Total price for the flight and room $450pp. We are looking forward to going up there! Just hope we don't freeze our butts off!! Everybody keeps saying how cold it is up there! Hope you and your wife have a great trip and look forward to seeing everybody's pics!

We're back from the Snow Festival. It was unspeakably beautiful & definitely the high point of our time in Japan (along with Kyoto).  We went solo (not with ITT), stayed at Hotel Route Inn about 20 seconds walk from Sapporo Station.  They had a free breakfast buffet each morning, and onsen at night which is essential after a day of walking in the cold.  We visited all the major venues in downtown Sapporo, along with Tsudome (a family-oriented festival on the edge of town) plus the town of Otaru, about 45-minute train ride away. 

Here are some pix...

One of the dozens of sculptures at Tsudome.


The Snow Light Path Festival in Otaru.


Downtown Sapporo (Odori district)


  The canal walk in Otaru.


Getting ready for nightfall in Otaru.  Photo taken from the window of a German bierhaus, as we enjoyed cider & hot cherry beer, waiting for the sun to go down.

Wow, beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing!!

I agree with Miss Kim and definitely want to go next year!

We got back Thursday night from Sapporo.  We too booked on our own.  We flew Skymark and round trip ticket for each was $265 if we could've purchased a week sooner it would've been $208 each.  Our hotel we booked on hotels.com and it was located in between the snow sculptures and the ice sculpture streets and wasn't too far from Sapporo Station.  We did everything ITT did plus more and still saved almost a grand.  It was beautiful and wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it would be except for Lake Shikotsu.  It was freezing there but beautiful and worth it. My husband looked up the tour info for Lake Shikotsu and we had our Japanese friend call and make reservations for us.  The building to pay for the tour is right next to the Sapporo Station on the 2nd floor.  The only thing is they don't have an english tour guide but it's pretty self explanatory.