Shikaribetsu Kotan

Shikaribetsu Kotan is a temporary settlement of igloos, an ice bar, and an ice chapel constructed every winter (roughly late January to mid-March) on the frozen surface of Lake Shikaribetsu, which sits at 804 meters above sea level and is the highest and longest-freezing lake in Hokkaido. Its best-known feature is an open-air hot spring bath set directly into the ice, where bathers soak in heated water while surrounded by snow and sub-zero air. The tradition of building the ice village dates back to 1980. The event is organized around Shikaoi Town and the Lake Shikaribetsu Nature Center.