Plus, another traditional festival involves giving a very icy bath to recently wedded grooms.

Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture is probably most famous for its koshihikari rice production, but that doesn’t mean that it’s only worth visiting in the warmer months. While we previously compiled some of the best autumn activities to do in Uonuma, let’s build on that list by looking at two unusual festivals that blur the lines between fire and ice when the temperature drops and the snow starts to pile up in a prefecture known for being part of Japan’s “snow country” on the Sea of Japan coast.

First, the Yunosato Snow Festival of 108 Lights has continued for 380 years at the local Oritate Onsen in order for people to pray for good health and a large harvest. Held on the first Sunday of every March, the festival features 108 straw bonfires (representative of the 108 earthly sins of Buddhist belief) lit on the snowy mountain’s ridge followed by a display of fireworks. The sight of the burning flames against the snow creates an otherworldly atmosphere.

At the same time, local representatives pound glutinous rice into mochi in a steady rhythm, eventually set to the backdrop of traditional song as the fires begin to burn. The special atmosphere is neatly summarized in this video from 2023’s festival.

Second, the Snow Flower Water Festival takes place every February at Yabuue Hachimangu Shrine in the city’s Horinouchi district. The festival is said to date back to the Edo period (1600-1868) before fizzling out, but was then revived by locals in 1988. Fresh water drawn on New Year’s Day is poured over men who were married in the previous year to wish for marital harmony and family safety.

Get a taste of the marital magic (suffering?) in the following video.

We suppose this is one festival you’ll be more than happy to watch from a distance!

As a bonus, festivals aren’t the only thing to do in the winter in Uonuma, which is also a snow lover’s paradise. For instance, while waiting for the festivals to begin, you might get some daytime exercise by snowshoeing. Snowshoes help more evenly distribute your weight over a larger area, allowing you to walk on snow without sinking, but their weight, combined with the unique movements they require to move around in, result in an excellent but low-impact muscular and cardiovascular workout. The best time to go snowshoeing in Uonuma is between January and March. You can take a solo hike in a sparkling winter wonderland like this…

…or take part in a group hike led by staff from the Uonuma City Tourism Association, from which you can also rent snowshoes. A half-day tour costs 5,000 yen (US$32) per person and requires a minimum of two people to run.

Meanwhile, families with little ones might enjoy watching them zoom around on a Snow Strider, which is a regular Strider balance bike with a special ski attachment that makes it easy to travel on the snow. You can rent one at Uonuma’s Koide Ski Area, which is set to open on December 26 this year.

Snow Striders for the kids could be a fun, family-friendly alternative to skiing or snowboarding when you want to hit the slopes.

Finally, a fairly unique activity is collecting sap from Echigo Herb Fragrance Park Irihirose’s painted maple trees. Sap from these trees is boiled down to produce maple syrup.

The park even offers tours to show how the trees are tapped for sap. Excitingly, this experience also includes sampling some of the natural sweetener on bread or as herbal tea. Given the more limited timeframe for sap collection between late February and early March, please note that tour reservations must be made at least three days in advance. The fee for adults is 5,000 yen and the fee for elementary school-age children is 3,000 yen.

There are plenty more reasons to visit Niigata, not the least of which is that the prefecture was ranked in the top five prefectures selected for delicious food in all of Japan. Happy winter festival-going, snow-playing, and eating while you’re there!

Related: Koide Ski Area, Echigo Herb Park Irighirose
Source, images: @Press
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