If you're visiting Japan in February 2027, the first ticket releases are only weeks away. The Nintendo Museum's February lottery is already open. Tokyo Disney Resort starts selling February dates on December 1, and Ghibli Park follows on December 10.
Some things don't need booking at all. General entry to the Sapporo Snow Festival (さっぽろ雪まつり, February 4–11) is free, according to its official FAQ. This page lists what does need booking, based on official information checked on November 11, 2026 (all times JST).
The Nintendo Museum hasn't posted when its February lottery closes. If you want a February slot, enter as soon as you can.
On-sale dates for February 2027
Items already on sale come first, then the rest in order of on-sale date. Where an official site gives only a rule, the date shown is our calculation from that rule. A dash means the official site doesn't say.
What | When February tickets go on sale | Same-day sales |
|---|---|---|
Nintendo Museum (Uji, Kyoto) | Lottery open now; results December 1 | No |
Japan Grand Sumo Tournament (February 7, Tokyo) | On sale since November 7; closes January 21 | — |
Ginzan Onsen shuttle, 9:00 a. | On sale since November 1 (whole season) | If seats remain |
Tokaido–Sanyo Shinkansen via smartEX/EX | Requests open now for some seats | If seats remain |
Namahage Sedo Festival (Oga, Akita) | December 1 (planned) | Not sold at the gate (prepaid in advance only) |
Tokyo Disney Resort | Daily at 2:00 p. | Online if any remain (Disney hotel guests: at the hotel) |
Ghibli Park (near Nagoya) | December 10, 2:00 p. | Not sold at the park |
Ginzan Onsen shuttle, 2:00–6:00 p. | January 1, 12:00 a. | If seats remain |
Shinkansen reserved seats (stations, most booking sites) | One month before, 10:00 a. | If seats remain |
Ghibli Museum (Mitaka) | January 10, 10:00 a. | Not sold at the museum |
Kabukiza February program | Not yet announced | Single-act seats on the day |
Aurora icebreaker cruise (Abashiri) | Online booking not open as of November 11 | — |
Pokémon Cafe (ポケモンカフェ) | February date not yet announced | — |
Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival shuttle | On-sale date not posted; book by 8:30 p. | No same-day booking |
Both February holidays fall midweek: National Foundation Day on Thursday, February 11, and the Emperor's Birthday on Tuesday, February 23. Neither creates a three-day weekend, but both count as holidays for weekend pricing at places like Ghibli Park and the Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival.
Shinkansen: no reserved-only Nozomi days in February
JR Central lists three reserved-only Nozomi periods for this winter and spring: December 25 to January 5, January 9–11 and March 20–22. None fall in February, so non-reserved cars run as usual all month.
At stations and on most booking sites, reserved seats go on sale one month before the travel date at 10:00 a.m. Seats for February 1 open on January 1, and seats for February 28 open on January 28.
JR Central's smartEX/EX opens reservations at 5:30 a.m. one year before the travel date, though only for some fare types and a limited number of seats.
The exact train and your seat are confirmed at 8:00 a.m. one month before. Early-booking discounts, S Work seats and wheelchair spaces can't be booked that early.
JR East's Eki-net (えきねっと) takes advance requests from 2:00 p.m. a week before the sale date. It doesn't cover trips that use JR Central, JR Kyushu or JR Shikoku lines, so it won't help on the Tokaido Shinkansen.
Ghibli, Nintendo, Disney and USJ: dated tickets
Ghibli Park releases tickets on the 10th at 2:00 p.m., two months out. That puts the on-sale date for February tickets at December 10. An adult Osanpo pass (大さんぽ券), the standard ticket, costs ¥3,300 on weekdays and ¥3,800 on weekends and holidays.
The park is closed on Tuesdays, or the next weekday when Tuesday is a holiday. That means it's open on Tuesday, February 23, and closed on Wednesday, February 24, though the official calendar doesn't mark either date yet.
The Ghibli Museum (三鷹の森ジブリ美術館) in Mitaka releases each month's tickets on the 10th at 10:00 a.m., so February goes on sale January 10. Tickets are sold through Lawson Ticket (ローソンチケット), with a ¥110 fee per ticket; there's no box office at the museum.
The museum is closed on Tuesdays. Whether it opens on the February 23 holiday hasn't been posted.
The Nintendo Museum (ニンテンドーミュージアム) lottery for February is open now. Results come out on the afternoon of December 1, and winners must pay by 11:59 p.m. on December 7.
After the lottery, the museum sometimes sells leftover slots first-come, first-served. Payment is by credit card only, and non-Japanese visitors need a passport as ID at the door.
Tokyo Disney Resort releases dated tickets every day at 2:00 p.m. for the same date two months ahead, and doesn't sell them at the parks. Guests at Disney hotels can buy them at their hotel.
At Universal Studios Japan, dated Studio Passes are sold on the official web store, and prices change by date.
Sumo and kabuki in February
February has no regular 15-day tournament (honbasho). Instead, there's the Japan Grand Sumo Tournament (日本大相撲トーナメント), a one-day event at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Sunday, February 7. Doors open at 11:00 a.m.
Tickets have been on sale through e+ (イープラス) since November 7 and close January 21, or earlier if they sell out. Chair seats start at ¥3,300, and everyone aged four and up needs a ticket. The sales page is in Japanese and doesn't explain buying from overseas.
If your trip runs into mid-March, the Osaka tournament (March 14–28) goes on general sale February 6 on Ticket Oosumo (チケット大相撲). Our sumo ticket guide explains the seat types.
The Kabukiza's February program, Saruwaka-sai (猿若祭二月大歌舞伎), runs February 2–26, with no shows on February 9 and 18. Single-act seats (幕見席) are sold online in advance and at the box office on the day, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Our Kabukiza ticket guide has the details.
Snow festivals and winter trips
The 77th Sapporo Snow Festival runs February 4–11 at three sites: Odori Park, Tsudome (つどーむ) and Susukino.
The official FAQ says Odori is lit until 10:00 p.m. and Susukino until 11:00 p.m. (10:00 p.m. on the final night), so staying in Sapporo makes an evening visit simple.
In 2026, a skating rink on Odori's 3-chome block charged admission, with advance tickets on KKday. Details for 2027 are still to come. See our Sapporo Snow Festival guide for how the three sites differ.
Check hotel availability and rates in Sapporo for festival week
The Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival (千歳・支笏湖氷濤まつり) near New Chitose Airport runs January 30 to February 23. Admission is ¥1,000 on weekdays and ¥3,000 on weekends and holidays for visitors of junior-high-school age and older.
Its BLUE LINER shuttle costs ¥2,000 one way and is reservation-only through Asoview (アソビュー), a Japanese booking site. It stops at the airport's domestic terminal, not the international one.
Book by 8:30 p.m. the day before; same-day booking isn't possible, and tickets can't be refunded or changed. The operator hasn't posted when bookings open.
In Oga, Akita, the Namahage Sedo Festival (なまはげ柴灯まつり) runs February 12–14, 6:00–8:30 p.m. Tickets are ¥2,000, with a cap of 1,800 people a night.
Applications are scheduled to open December 1 on the festival site (in Japanese). Admission is paid in advance when you apply, and cash isn't accepted at the venue.
The festival's temporary bus (¥1,000 for the day) needs no reservation. Yokote's Kamakura snow-hut festival (横手かまくら) overlaps, on February 12–13.
Through March 7, day-trippers arriving by car at Ginzan Onsen (銀山温泉) must transfer to a shuttle at Taisho Roman-kan (大正ろまん館), and local-bus riders without an entry reservation are expected to transfer there too.
Tickets for all 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. departures, for the whole season, have been on sale since November 1.
Seats on 2:00–6:00 p.m. departures for February 1 through March 7 go on sale at 12:00 a.m. on January 1. Our Ginzan Onsen winter guide has the fares and booking steps.
If you were hoping to see the winter light-up at Shirakawa-go (白川郷), it's January only this season: January 11, 17, 24 and 31.
In Abashiri, the timetable for the Aurora (おーろら) icebreaker lists five sailings a day in February, though the page doesn't say which year it's for. Online booking was planned for early November but hasn't opened as of November 11. See our drift-ice cruise guide.
Still to be announced
These February details haven't been released as of November 11. We'll update this page when they are.
- Kabukiza February program: on-sale date and prices
- Pokémon Cafe: the booking date for February (see our Pokémon Cafe guide)
- Yokohama Chinatown: Lunar New Year events such as lion dances and parades (the lantern display runs through February 20; Lunar New Year falls on February 6)
- Nagasaki Lantern Festival (長崎ランタンフェスティバル, February 5–21): lighting times and any paid seating
- Tokamachi Snow Festival (十日町雪まつり) in Niigata, February 19–21: times and program, expected around December
- Sapporo Snow Festival: any paid extras for 2027
Traveling in January too? Our January booking guide covers that month.
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
