Monbetsu Drift Ice Festival 2027 [Feb 11–14]: Dates, Ice Sculptures, Garinko-go Icebreaker, Parking and Access by Campervan
![Monbetsu Drift Ice Festival 2027 [Feb 11–14]: Dates, Ice Sculptures, Garinko-go Icebreaker, Parking and Access by Campervan](https://hokkaido-campingcar.jp/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/monbetsu-hl999-1024x768.jpg)
The 2027 Monbetsu Drift Ice Festival (the 64th) is scheduled for four days, from February 11 (Thu, national holiday) to 14 (Sun). The executive committee decided this on March 25, 2026, according to the official page of the Monbetsu Tourist Information Center (Monbetsu Tourist Information Center: Monbetsu Drift Ice Festival, checked 2026-10-07). The venue is the Gariya area event plaza in Monbetsu City Ocean Park, and the 2027 parking lot has 600 spaces and is free.
Only the dates and venue are settled; hours, admission, stage events, and the main ice sculpture have not been announced. This article keeps the 2026 results and the 2027 plans separate. The official site also lists the 2027 departure times and fares for the Garinko-go icebreaker, which takes you out to see the drift ice at sea. Drift ice is a natural phenomenon, so you may not see it from the sea on festival days.
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Compare rental companies and vehicles →When is the 2027 Monbetsu Drift Ice Festival? Four days, Thursday, February 11 (national holiday) to Sunday, February 14
In 2027, February 11 is a Thursday and National Foundation Day, and the 14th is a Sunday. In 2026 the festival ran for three days, Friday, February 6 to Sunday, February 8, and in 2025 it ran from Saturday, February 8 to Tuesday, February 11. It is usually held in early February, and the 2027 start is 5 days later than in 2026 (Monbetsu Tourist Information Center, HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07).
| Edition | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 64th (2027) | Feb 11 (Thu, national holiday) – Feb 14 (Sun) | Scheduled. Details not yet announced |
| 63rd (2026) | Feb 6 (Fri) – Feb 8 (Sun) | Held. 22,820 visitors |
| 62nd (2025) | Feb 8 (Sat) – Feb 11 (Tue) | Held. No events on the 10th (Mon). 37,240 visitors |
Next door in Abashiri, the Abashiri Okhotsk Drift Ice Festival is scheduled for Saturday, February 6 and Sunday, February 7, 2027 (Abashiri City official tourism site, checked 2026-10-07). It falls 5 days before Monbetsu’s, so you can fit both into one trip. You can compare the dates of other winter festivals in the list of 14 Hokkaido winter events.
What are the hours? Is there evening lighting? In 2026: 10:00–16:00, with lighting from sunset to 20:00
The official page does not yet list the 2027 hours. On the 2026 poster, the venue hours were 10:00–16:00, and the main ice sculpture was lit from “sunset to 20:00” (63rd festival poster, checked 2026-10-07). In 2024 the hours were 10:00–20:00, and events were announced as running until 16:00.
The ice sculptures look different by day and by night. According to the official description, they glow blue in the clear daylight and are lit in vivid colors at night (HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07). If you want to see them at night, plan to stay at the venue after 16:00.
The venue is the Gariya area, where the Garinko-go boarding point (the Ocean Exchange Hall) is located. For inquiries, contact the executive committee office, the Monbetsu Tourist Information Center (0158-24-3900).
What can you see? A huge natural ice sculpture, an ice slide, a food market, and Ningen Ban’ei
The star is the main ice sculpture. According to the official description, it is made over about one month from about 4,500 pieces of natural ice cut from ponds in the city. The 2027 main sculpture has not been decided, and the executive committee is still collecting ideas (HOKKAIDO LOVE!, Monbetsu Tourist Information Center, checked 2026-10-07).
Past main sculptures were Itsukushima Shrine in Monbetsu in 2026, Sojiji Soin Temple in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture in 2025, and Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2024. We will wait for the announcement of the 2027 subject.
Besides the ice sculptures, the 2026 event schedule included the events below. The 2027 program has not been announced, so it may not be the same every year (63rd festival event schedule, checked 2026-10-07).
| Event (2026 results) | Date and time |
|---|---|
| Food market (crab, scallops, and other stalls) | 10:00–16:00 (each festival day) |
| Comedy stage (Tom Brown) | Feb 7, 15:00–15:20 |
| 7th Okhotsk Drift Ice Ningen Ban’ei Race (a race in which people pull natural ice) | Feb 8, 11:00–13:00 |
| Impression stage (Hiro Aoyama) | Feb 8, 15:00–15:30 |
| Mini ice sculptures, ice slide, ice rink, snowmobile land | Permanent at the venue (snowmobiles 10:00–16:00) |
Ningen Ban’ei is a contest in which people pull natural ice. At the food market, Monbetsu’s specialty crab and scallops are grilled over charcoal (HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07).
Some years have no ice sculpture. In 2023 (the 60th), heavy snow made it impossible to secure the natural ice for materials, so the ice sculpture was canceled. Instead, Himeji Castle was carved on a snow main stage (Monbetsu Tourist Information Center, checked 2026-10-07). Whether an ice sculpture will appear in 2027 should also be confirmed in follow-up announcements from the official site.
What about admission and parking? The venue lot has 600 spaces and is free; no admission fee is listed
Neither the official 2027 page nor the 2026 poster lists an admission amount. Since we cannot give a figure, please check with the Monbetsu Tourist Information Center (0158-24-3900) or the official page before you go (Monbetsu Tourist Information Center, checked 2026-10-07).
For parking, the HOKKAIDO LOVE! 2027 listing says “600 spaces, free” (checked 2026-10-07). The same page says the venue, parking lots, and surrounding roads are expected to be crowded, so allow extra time. A campervan is tall and long, so check the height limit and the size of the spaces at the entrance before you pull in.
The 2026 poster announced a shuttle bus, the “Gariya-go,” to avoid crowding at the venue. The fare was ¥200 for adults and ¥100 for children (checked 2026-10-07). Whether it will run in 2027 has not been announced.
Can you see drift ice on festival days? In Monbetsu the normal first-arrival date is February 9, and it is not the same every year
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency’s normal values (1991–2020), in Monbetsu the first sighting of drift ice is January 24, the first day the ice reaches the shore is February 9, and the last day of drift ice is March 30. The festival dates, February 11–14, fall just after the shore arrival in a normal year. This is a typical guide, not the conditions on the day (Japan Meteorological Agency: Sea ice observations along the Hokkaido coast (normal values and extremes), checked 2026-10-07).
The difference between years is large; the latest first-arrival date in Monbetsu was March 26, 1989.
However, observations in Monbetsu ended in 2007, so these figures are old statistics. From the winter of fiscal 2025, the Japan Meteorological Agency ended the visual observation of the first sighting of drift ice and the first shore arrival altogether, and switched to providing sea ice distribution information from weather satellites and other sources (Japan Meteorological Agency: press release, 2025-12-09, checked 2026-10-07).
Just before your trip, check the sea ice bulletin from the First Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, which shows the sea ice distribution, and the Garinko-go operating status. The ice sculptures can be seen even without drift ice. Plan on drift ice as a bonus if you get to see it.
Can you ride the Garinko-go icebreaker? In 2027 it runs January 15 to March 31, with 5 departures a day on festival days
The 2027 winter season for Garinko-go III IMERU runs daily from Friday, January 15 to Wednesday, March 31. The official site says reservations are scheduled to open at 9:00 on Friday, October 9, 2026 (Garinko-go official site, checked 2026-10-07). Check seat availability on the booking site.
| Date | Departure times |
|---|---|
| Feb 11 (Thu, national holiday) | 8:45 / 10:30 / 12:30 / 14:30 / 16:15 |
| Feb 12 (Fri) | ◆8:45 (extra sailing) / 10:30 / 12:30 / 14:30 / 16:15 |
| Feb 13 (Sat) and 14 (Sun) | 8:45 / 10:30 / 12:30 / 14:30 / 16:15 |
The February regular fares are ¥6,000 for adults (junior high school age and older), ¥3,000 for elementary school children, and free for preschoolers. The Tower Set, which includes admission to Okhotsk Tower, is ¥7,000 for adults and ¥3,500 for elementary school children (Garinko-go official fare table, checked 2026-10-07). The regular adult fare in January and March is ¥5,000.
You can also board without a reservation if seats are available on the day. However, you must complete the procedure 30 minutes before departure, and the official site recommends reserving because it gets crowded. Even with a reservation, you need to exchange it for a boarding ticket at the ticket counter. Exchange is possible from 1 hour to 30 minutes before departure (official FAQ, Garinko-go official site, checked 2026-10-07).
It is also worth knowing in advance what happens if no drift ice is visible. The official FAQ says that because drift ice is a natural phenomenon, “we cannot promise that you will definitely see it.” The cancellation fees are 10% for 14–8 days before departure, 30% for 7–2 days before, 50% for the day before, and 100% on the day, and they also apply when you cancel “because drift ice cannot be seen or does not look likely to be seen” (checked 2026-10-07).
On the drift ice season, the official FAQ says the first sighting is usually around late January and the peak is from early February to early March. The festival period is just about when the peak begins. Once you have decided your boarding day, check the operating status the day before and confirm the departure time.
What else is nearby? Okhotsk Tower and the Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum of Hokkaido (GIZA)
Okhotsk Tower stands in the same Ocean Park as the Garinko-go boarding point. It has 11 underwater observation windows on the undersea floor, and the 3rd floor is a 360-degree panoramic deck.
It is open 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30) and closed December 29 to January 3, so it is open during the festival. A free shuttle runs from the Garinko-go boarding point and the Tower entrance parking lot (Okhotsk Tower official site, checked 2026-10-07).
The Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum of Hokkaido “GIZA,” run by Hokkaido, is at 11 Motomonbetsu, Monbetsu City. In its minus 20°C deep-freeze room, you can touch drift ice collected during the winter.
Admission is ¥700 for the exhibition room and ¥1,100 for the exhibition room plus the video hall, and it is free for junior high school students and younger. It is open every day during the drift ice season (January 4 to March 31), 9:00–17:00 (GIZA official site, checked 2026-10-07).
The official site says that from GIZA’s 3rd-floor observation room you can see Garinko-go moving across the drift ice field in the drift ice season. On days when the drift ice has not yet arrived, these two facilities make good stops between festival visits. The full picture of a winter drift ice trip is in the complete guide to drift ice by campervan rental.
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View details at Moving Inn →How cold is it and what should you wear? Mid-February lows in Monbetsu average -9.4°C; on the boat it is -15 to 0°C
The mid-February normal values for Monbetsu are a daily high of -2.2°C, a daily low of -9.4°C, and an average wind speed of 3.0 m/s (Japan Meteorological Agency 1991–2020 normals, ten-day values, checked 2026-10-07). This is a typical guide, not a forecast for the day.
The Garinko-go official FAQ gives the temperature in the depth of winter as “around -15 to 0°C” and says it is especially cold on the boat (checked 2026-10-07). The seaside venue has little to block the wind, so dress the same way for the time you spend walking around the ice sculptures. You need a thick outer layer, earmuffs, gloves, and non-slip shoes. For how to think about temperatures, see the article on Hokkaido winter temperatures.
How do you get to Monbetsu? About 122 km and 1 hour 35 minutes from Memanbetsu Airport, about 285 km from New Chitose
The airport closest to the venue is Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport. The official site says it is about 10 minutes by car from the airport to the venue (HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07). The 2026 poster listed one round-trip flight each way with Haneda. Check the 2027 flights with the airline.
For people traveling by campervan, Memanbetsu Airport is the realistic gateway. The Garinko-go official FAQ says there is no direct bus from Memanbetsu Airport to the facility, and that transferring between trains and buses takes 4–5 hours one way. For rentals, see how to rent a campervan at Memanbetsu Airport.
| Starting point | Distance to the venue (Ocean Park) | Time (no snow, no breaks) |
|---|---|---|
| Near Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport | about 5 km | about 6 min |
| Kitami Station | about 91 km | about 1 hr 17 min |
| Abashiri City | about 107 km | about 1 hr 22 min |
| Memanbetsu Airport | about 122 km | about 1 hr 35 min |
| Central Asahikawa | about 143 km | about 2 hr |
| Near New Chitose Airport | about 285 km | about 3 hr 53 min |
The roughly 285 km from New Chitose Airport exceeds this site’s guideline of “200 km and 9 hours of driving per day” (not an official standard). Do not try to cover it in one day; plan an overnight stop on the way. The roughly 143 km from Asahikawa falls within the guideline.
Winter roads mean packed snow, ice, and poor visibility in blowing snow. Winter days end early, and it gets dark by evening. Avoid long drives after sunset and plan to arrive while it is still light. On days when you drive along the coast from Abashiri, Michi-no-Eki Saroma-ko is a good place to take a break. For roads that close in winter, check Hokkaido roads that become impassable in winter.
Where can you stay in Monbetsu? Hotels are about 3 km from the venue; we could not find a winter RV park
The accommodation page of the Monbetsu Tourist Information Center lists hotels, pensions, and minshuku guesthouses.
By car, the distance to the venue (Ocean Park) was about 2.7 km and about 5 minutes for Monbetsu Prince Hotel (Honmachi 7-chome), about 2.8 km and about 5 minutes for Monbetsu Central Hotel (Minatomachi 7-chome), and about 3.3 km and about 6 minutes for Hotel Okhotsk Palace (Saiwaicho 5-chome) (calculated with OSRM from the addresses on Monbetsu Tourist Information Center: Accommodation, with no snow and no breaks, calculated 2026-10-07).
Lodging may fill up during the four festival days. Check availability and rates with each facility. Also ask when you book whether campervan parking is possible.
We could not confirm a place for overnight parking in this research. The Garinko-go side’s “Gel Camp Monbetsu” and “Bay Area Auto Site” have an auto site season of June to September, so they are not a winter lodging option (Garinko Tower official site, checked 2026-10-07). We could not find an RV park usable in winter within Monbetsu City on an official site.
For the full picture of where you can park overnight in winter, see 13 RV parks and Michi-no-Eki where you can park overnight in winter. Avoid staying overnight at a Michi-no-Eki or parking lot that does not state that it accepts overnight stays. On a below-freezing night, the fuel left for the FF heater determines how long you can stay warm, and we do not sleep with the engine running, because if snow buries the muffler, exhaust gas can enter the cabin.
For an example that lines up the festival, drift ice, and a snow festival in one trip, see the 10-day winter model route around Hokkaido.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
When is the 2027 Monbetsu Drift Ice Festival?
The 64th festival is scheduled for four days, February 11 (Thu, national holiday) to 14 (Sun), 2027. Details have not been announced (Monbetsu Tourist Information Center, checked 2026-10-07).
What are the hours, and where is it held?
The venue is the Gariya area event plaza in Monbetsu City Ocean Park. The 2027 hours have not been announced; in 2026 it was 10:00–16:00, with the ice sculpture lit from sunset to 20:00 (Monbetsu Tourist Information Center, checked 2026-10-07).
What can you see? Is there an ice sculpture every year?
There is a huge natural ice sculpture, an ice slide, a food market, Ningen Ban’ei, and more. In 2023, heavy snow meant not enough natural ice could be gathered, and the ice sculpture was canceled that year. The 2027 main sculpture has not been decided (Monbetsu Tourist Information Center, checked 2026-10-07).
What about admission and parking?
The official site lists no admission amount, so please check with the Monbetsu Tourist Information Center (0158-24-3900). Parking has 600 spaces and is free (HOKKAIDO LOVE!, checked 2026-10-07).
Can you see drift ice on festival days?
There is no guarantee. The normal first shore-arrival date of drift ice in Monbetsu is February 9, and it shifts from year to year. The Garinko-go official site also says “we cannot promise that you will definitely see it” (Japan Meteorological Agency and Garinko-go official site, checked 2026-10-07).
Do you need a reservation for Garinko-go? How much is it?
It is not required, and you can board on the day if seats are available, but reserving is the safe choice. The 2027 season runs January 15 to March 31, and the February regular fare is ¥6,000 for adults and ¥3,000 for elementary school children. Cancellation fees apply even if no drift ice is visible (Garinko-go official site, checked 2026-10-07).
What else can you do besides the festival?
There are Okhotsk Tower (10:00–17:00) and the Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum of Hokkaido “GIZA” (9:00–17:00, open every day in the drift ice season). GIZA has a minus 20°C deep-freeze room (official sites, checked 2026-10-07).
What should you wear?
The mid-February normals for Monbetsu are a daily high of -2.2°C and a daily low of -9.4°C. The official site says it is about -15 to 0°C on the boat. Bring a thick outer layer, earmuffs, gloves, and non-slip shoes (Japan Meteorological Agency and Garinko-go official site, checked 2026-10-07).
How do you get there from Memanbetsu Airport or New Chitose Airport?
By car, it is about 122 km and about 1 hour 35 minutes from Memanbetsu Airport, and about 285 km and about 3 hours 53 minutes from near New Chitose Airport (calculated with OSRM, no snow, no breaks, 2026-10-07). Since 285 km is over the daily guideline, plan an overnight stop on the way.
Is there a place to stay in Monbetsu?
The accommodation page of the Monbetsu Tourist Information Center lists hotels, pensions, and minshuku guesthouses. Some hotels are within about 3 km of the venue. We could not find an RV park usable in winter (Monbetsu Tourist Information Center, checked 2026-10-07).
Pages to read next
- 14 Hokkaido winter events on a map and a date calendar
- Complete guide to drift ice by campervan rental
- Guide to Abashiri, Lake Saroma, and Okhotsk
- 10-day winter model route around Hokkaido
- 13 RV parks and Michi-no-Eki where you can park overnight in winter
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