Yokote Kamakura Festival Grounds

Two-night February festival in Yokote, southeastern Akita, in a tradition dating to the Edo period (about 450 years per the Akita Tourism Federation). Hundreds of two-meter-tall snow domes (kamakura) line the streets; inside each, a snow altar honors the water deity, and children offer hot amazake and mochi to visitors who duck inside. The riverside Mini-Kamakura display lights hundreds of candle-lit miniature domes along the Yokote River from dusk; the reflection on the water is the canonical view. Held on the second Friday of February and the Saturday following. Dress for −5 to −10 °C overnight; the streets are walkable but icy.