For two years I had the opportunity to live as an international student at the International University of Japan (IUJ) located right in the middle of the rice fields of Minamiuonuma in Niigata prefecture. A common joke in our university was that IUJ stands for I and U (you) in Jail because there’s really nothing else to do but study. I beg to differ. Though information on the internet about activities around the area are scarce and the ones available are mainly in Japanese, there are plenty available that goes in perfect balance with our studies near and around the local community of Minamiuonuma.
Coming from a tropical country, snow is a foreign concept that I’ve only seen through movies and series. Exploring an area where little to no people speak English in the middle of an unfamiliar season can be seen as scary. So for those who feel the same way, I’ve compiled a few snow festivals you can visit when you’re stuck in the snowy rice fields of Minamiuonuma.
A quick note before we start. Most of these are drawn from memory during my time there from 2017-2019. It is best to doublecheck more updated information on the official websites of each activity.
1. Mukonage and Suminuri (Around the 2nd week of January)
The Mukonage is a festival dating back to the Edo period, members of this village in Tokamachi, Niigata throw the men who “took one of their women” off of a snow-filled cliff. It is a way for the village folks to “even the score” between them and the grooms of one of their village women. Many apply for the honor of partaking in this festival, but only a few are handpicked to join. The men are carried and paraded through the village before making their way up the hill where they will be thrown.
Suminuri is the part that follows the Mukonage. It is a spiritual exercise aimed at strengthening ties between newlyweds. A bonfire is made after the tossing events where people mix the ashes with the snow and cover each others faces with the mixture.
The festival takes place every January 15 in Matsunoyama Hot Springs in Tokamachi. It is best to go to the festival by car. I was lucky that some of my Vietnamese friends know some locals who organized a trip to experience this festival.
2. Minamiuonuma Snow Festival (Around the 1st week of February)
A 17-minute train ride along the Joetsu line from Echigo Yuzawa station will take you to the town of Muikamachi, where the festival proper is just a quick walk through the rural landscape. The smell of delicious Japanese festival food will greet you as rows of food stalls are waiting near the entrance. The stage hosts various performances, including a traditional Japanese drum performance, to keep visitors entertained throughout the day. Spend the day by watching (or participating in) a snow sports exhibition, riding inflatables pulled across the winter snow, or soaking your hands and feet in an onsen. Be sure to stay until the candles in the little snow igloos are lit for that perfect shot in your Instagram page.
3. Tokamachi Snow Festival (Around the 2nd week of February)
Arguably the biggest winter festival in Snow Country, the Tokamachi Snow Festival is held in the heart of the Niigata Alps – collecting snow for nearly half the year. This Winter Festival is organized into multiple plazas called “hirobas” which offer different activities in each one. You can make your way past a snow wall labyrinth, glide down an ice slide, or enjoy a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in the snow. The winter wonderland fantasy-like atmosphere of the Festival is reinforced by adorable snow sculptures scattered all over town, greeting you as you walk between hirobas. There are also bus routes to access other plazas where the giant snow sculptures are waiting to be photographed. End your trip with a bang by watching the fireworks display on the giant snow stage!
The Festival can be accessed from Echigo-Yuzawa station via a 31-minute train trip along the Joetsu and Hokuhoku line bound for Naoetsu. If you’re coming from Niigata city, you can take the Shinakansen to Urasa Station and take a local train from there to Muikamachi. You can transfer to the Hokuhoku line from Muikamachi Station.
4. Koide International Snowball Festival (Around the 2nd or 3rd week of February)
The International Snowball Championships are held in Koide, the town just above Minamiuonuma. Team registration is required prior to the event if you want to participate, so it is best to join with a local or with someone who is fluent in Japanese. A team of five will go against each other in a single round-robin matches to determine who will go on towards the knockout playoffs. People of all age groups join the competition and some of them even join the festivities in costumes.
The event takes place in Hibikinomori park, near the building where the International University of Japan usually holds their graduation ceremonies.
5. Ojiya Glow Balloon Festival (Around the 1st week of March)
Ojiya city is a local train ride away from Urasa station. It is known for the Koi that is grown in the area. But when the snow comes, it becomes the venue for a unique winter festival. The Ojiya Glow Balloon Festival is a two-day festival where numerous hot air balloons soar up high across the snow-covered rice fields of Ojiya city. Sample your way through various festival foods served, especially Niigata’s own snow crabs! At night, enjoy the awesome fireworks display behind an assortment of glow balloons illuminate the dark snowy fields.
6. Urasa Naked Man Festival (Around the 1st week of March)
If Japanese culture and tradition is something that excites you, then book a train ticket to Urasa for the Bishamondo Naked Man Festival. A festival that dates back to winter of 1,200 years ago, it is said that this winter festival started because people were pushing each other to pray to Bishamonten, one of the seven gods of luck in Japan. Chants of “Sanyo San” echo the area around the temple as local males strip down to nothing but a loincloth and brave the cold winter snow of Japan. Volunteers carrying 30kg candles lead the procession to the temple where participants take a quick cleansing dip before jousting against each other to pray to Bishamonten. The Urasa Naked Man Festival is indeed one of the more cultural and unique festivals in Japan. Urasa station is the shinkansen stop after Echigo Yuzawa station; it is also a 32-minute local train ride along the Joetsu line from Echigo Yuzawa. The festival
Experience Snow Country at its best through the different festivals a few hours away from Minamiuonuma. But if festivals aren’t your thing, there are still plenty of activities you can do while in the middle of the winter season. Counter the cold winter air by soaking in the warm waters of the numerous onsens in the area. Enjoy a unique sake-tasting experience from sake vending machines (Ponshukan), or take a sake-infused onsen bath in Echigo Yuzawa station. Spend the extra day experiencing the Snow Country culture by visiting the Yuzawa Museum of History and Folklore. Visit the Ryokan where the famous Nobel Prize winning novel, Snow Country, was written and see the author’s room turned museum. Travel up the mountain and glide through the amazing slopes of the different snow resorts in the area. All of this while taking in the majestic fantasy-like scenery of the winter wonderland called Snow Country.
“The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country. The earth lay white under the night sky. The train pulled up at a signal stop.”