[Nayoro Winter Festival] High Quality Snow Sculpture Can Be Enjoyed in Nayoro Best Quality Snow in Japan Festival

Nayoro Winter Festival

Nayoro Winter Festival (なよろ雪質日本一フェスティバル * The formal name is Nayoro Best Quality Snow in Japan Festival) is a snow event held in Nayoro city located between Asahikawa city and Wakkanai city, and has been held since 1952. Open period is 3 days in mid February, and about 20,000 tourists come to see. The Best Quality Snow in Japan is related to the climate of the Nayoro, and it is dry in a winter, and the temperature is from -5 to -25 degrees Celsius. The snow that is more superfine than Powder Snow turns into Silky Snow depending on that environment, and the Nayoro city appeals the excellence of the snow quality. The venue is Minami-hiroba Open Space (南広場) near Saijo Depart (西条デパート) and Komyo Kindergarten (光名幼稚園). Admission free. A parking lot for the tourists is not provided at the venue. But some parking lots for the tourists are provided in the downtown.

In the Nayoro Winter Festival, snow sculptures made by the Self-Defense Force and Nayoro citizens are displayed, and International Snow Sculpting Competition (国際雪像彫刻大会) is held at the same site while the opening the festival, too. Some teams from the wrold compete in the artistry snow sculpture by hands and the silky snow without using electric tools. It features that the competition compel engravers and professional artists join the teams, so high-quality snow sculpture art can be enjoyed.

Speaking of tasty restaurants in the Nayoro, Brazil (ブラジル) and Mitsuboshi Shokudo (三星食堂) are popular in particular. I ate foods at the Brazil, the Mitsuboshi Shokudo, Toyoken (東洋軒) and Tamasaburo (たまさぶろう), and those were tasty. As for the onsen, Nayoro Onsen (なよろ温泉) is at the foot of Piyashiri Ski Resort (ピヤシリスキー場). By the way, a highway bus, Express Nayoro-go (高速なよろ号), runs between the Nayoro and Sapporo.

List of Highway Bus

Refer to following a company for the highway bus service between Nayoro and Sapporo.

Chuo Bus(中央バス)	From Sapporo to Nayoro	HP	Jalan	Rakuten
Chuo Bus(中央バス)	From Nayoro to Sapporo	HP	Jalan	Rakuten

Nayoro Onsen

Nayoro Onsen (名寄温泉) is a hot-spring place in Nayoro city located between Asahikawa city and Wakkanai city. Nayoro Onsen Sun Pillar (なよろ温泉サンピラー) is built at the end of Hokkaido Road 939, and there are Piyashiri Ski Resort (ピヤシリスキー場) and Piyashiri Ski Jumping Hill (ピヤシリジャンプ台) around here, and a building is adjacent to a ski lodge. Natural phenomena such as the sun pillar, the diamond dust and snow rime can be seen at the Piyashiri Ski Resort in a winter. There are trailheads for Mt. Kudosan and Mt. Piyashiri, too. The distance is around 10 km far away from the center of the Nayoro, and restraunts, cafes and convenience stores are not built near here. Article is here

Brazil

Brazil (ブラジル) is a popular coffee shop in Nayoro city and is known as sweets shop in Nayoro from old days, too. Except sweets, breads and meals are served. I heard from my elder sister that Nayoro Pudding (名寄プリン) was tasty, and I visited here. Article is here

Mitsuboshi Shokudo

Mitsuboshi Shokudo (三星食堂) in Nayoro city is a long-established restraunt located in the north part of Asahikawa city and was founded in 1914 near the Nayoro station. They have a wide variety on the menu and are well-known restraunt by local people. There was a lot of familiar restraunts such as the Restaurant Midoriya (レストラン緑) that local people often went to eat a dish near the Nayoro station in old days, but many restraunts has already closed their business. I think that the Mitsuboshi Shokudo keep doing their business. Article is here

NAYORO

Nayoro (名寄) that about 30,000 people live is the 24th largest commercial city in Hokkaido, and is located between Wakkanai city and Asahikawa city, and is one of regional hub cities of the North Hokkaido area. The Nayoro means "A country near rivers" in Ainu language, and the downtown is between Nayoro River (名寄川) and Teshio River (天塩川). Furen that became incorporated with the Nayoro in 2006 is well-known for glutinous rice, and the planted area is the largest in Japan. As for a climate, it is hot that temperature rises to nearly 30 degrees in a summer, and it is cold that temperature falls to nearly -30 degrees in a winter because Nayoro is located in a basin. Natural environment of abou 60-degrees temperature difference is one of features of the Nayoro. So natural phenomena such as SunPillar and Diamond Dust can be enjoyed. The Nayoro is just beside Bifuka town recorded the coldest temperature, -41.5 degrees, in Japan, and is one of the coldest region in the Hokkaido. Article is here

Winter Festivals in Hokkaido

Snow often begins to fall around Christmas season, and Hokkaido is covered with the snow until late March that snow begins to melt, the ground turns into the white world in a winter. The snow falls in silence, and the temperature falls, too, and its peak is February, and various winter events that snow, ice and coldness can be enjoyed are held all over Hokkaido around the February. Article is here