Timetable · Annual Schedule
北海道 · Calendar 2026
Seasonal windows and dated events, month by month. Entry pages are in Traditional Chinese; event names appear in their original Japanese.
January
19 itemsJanuary is peak snow, but the two headline experiences sit at opposite ends of the island: powder at Niseko, Rusutsu and Kiroro in central Hokkaido, drift-ice icebreakers only just starting out of Abashiri and Monbetsu. Pick one side.
February
23 itemsDrift ice and the Sapporo Snow Festival land in the same month, which also makes it the hardest to book — festival week saturates city hotels, roads and flights. Either lock things in early or head to Abashiri and Monbetsu instead.
March
22 itemsA trade-off month at winter's tail: ski areas are still running and the Ryuhyo Monogatari train and Garinko icebreaker still sail, but both are winding down. Food is the safer bet — Monbetsu hair crab, Tomakomai surf clam.
April
33 itemsHokkaido's cherry season starts only after Honshu's ends, and the south goes first — Matsumae opens earliest, with Goryokaku and Sapporo's Maruyama Park behind it. Inland flower farms and Asahiyama Zoo's summer season open late, so an early trip finds them shut.
May
34 itemsFlower season opens, but it isn't lavender yet: Kamiyubetsu's tulips and Takinoue's moss phlox carry the month, with Matsumae's blossom still going. Biei's Blue Pond and the hill farms reopen, while Asahidake is still under snow.
June
29 itemsHokkaido skips the rainy season that soaks Honshu, which makes June an easy weather bet. Lavender hasn't peaked, but the seasonal trains — the Lavender Express and the Furano-Biei Norokko — start running, and Daisetsuzan's mountain huts open for hiking season.
July
34 itemsThe busiest month: lavender peaks, so Furano and Biei accommodation and rental cars need booking well ahead. Farm Tomita carries the flowers, Hokuryu's sunflower fields take over late, and Otaru's Ushio festival fireworks and JOIN ALIVE anchor the events.
August
38 itemsHokkaido's escape month while Honshu bakes, and the densest stretch for fireworks and festivals. The south stacks up — Hakodate Port Festival, Esashi's Ubagami shrine parade, Hakodate Hachimangu — while Obihiro's Katsumai fireworks and Rising Sun Rock sit elsewhere.
September
41 itemsJapan's earliest autumn colour starts here, but only high up — Asahidake and Kurodake turn first, with Sounkyo Gorge and Jozankei following late in the month while the lowlands stay green. Autumn salmon replaces summer seafood on the table.
October
32 itemsAutumn colour moves downhill through the month, from Sounkyo and Kurodake to Jozankei, then Showa-shinzan by Lake Toya and Onuma in the far south. Summer operations close as you go: the Norokko trains and Rusutsu's summer park end here.
November
19 itemsA shoulder month: summer attractions have shut and the ski areas only open at the very end, so crowds are at their thinnest. Food is the real reason to come — Akkeshi salmon roe, Tomakomai surf clam. Weight your dates late.
December
14 itemsSki season is fully open but snow is still building, so powder is less reliable than midwinter — the payoff is easier booking before the year-end holidays. Sapporo runs its White Illumination, and crab and Iwanai cod milt come into season.