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How to Enjoy the Hiroo Horsehair Crab Festival

The Horsehair Crab Festival has been put on hold for the past three years but will finally be held again in 2023. This article will give you all the details you need to know about the Festival.

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When is it?

The Horsehair Crab Festival is held on the following dates and times.

Event Date Time
December 11th 2022 (Sunday)
09:00～13:00

What is the Hiroo Horsehair Crab Festival?

The Horsehair Crab Festival is a once-a-year event that celebrates a variety of Hokkaido cuisine with the Horsehair crab at its center. Some of the more popular dishes are the boiled horsehair crab (perfect with some lemon zest) and the horsehair crab soup (perfect to complement the cold Hokkaido winter). Other high quality Hokkaido specialties such as shishamo, octopus, whelk, fresh salmon roe, and salmon roe are also sold at the festival.

Fun Things to do

The Biggest Attraction.. 2 Meters?

Fresh Horsehair crabs are boiled in a massive, 2-meter pot and served in a hot soup. It’s by far the most popular attraction at the festival loved by both locals and tourists alike.

Horsehair crab is known for its sweet, juicy taste and firm meat. Its sold here in limited amounts so be sure to get there before its sold out.

Fresh Seafood

Although the main focus of the festival is the horsehair crab, visitors can taste a variety of other famous Hokkaido seafoods such as shishamo, salmon, octopus, salmon roe, etc. Every vendor is so popular that there are lines that go for blocks — make sure to get there early if you want to eat!

Crab Eating Competition

Competitors eat crab out of a container as fast as they can, and the containers are weighed at the end to see who ate the most in five minutes. Although there is no fee to participate, you must enter a lottery at 9:30 a.m. at the venue location and be chosen randomly to participate.

If you win, you get to take home one free Horsehair Crab！

Handy Things to Know Before Going

Dress for Winter Conditions​

February is an especially cold month in Hokkaido where the temperatures will regularly fall below 0. Dress accordingly — Snow caps, mittens, thermal underwear, scarves, snow boots, and heavy, waterproof coats and pants are a necessity. Do not underestimate the cold!

Fees

Although general admission to the venue is free of charge, be sure to bring enough money to buy all the food you want to eat. Hot drinks are served free of charge which will be helpful against the cold.

Parking

There will be a large parking lot (~2500 cars) prepared for the event. Parking in this lot is free for all visitors.

How many people will attend?

The last time the event was held was in 2019 when it attracted about 15,000 visitors.

The 2022 event is expected to draw a large number of visitors, as it will be the first time the event has been held in three years.

How to get there

The Hiroo Hairy Crab Festival is held at a special venue in Seaside Park Hiroo.

There are bus stops near Seaside Park Hiroo where the Hiroo Hairy Crab Festival is held, so we recommend taking the bus and walking to Seaside Park Hiroo.

Take the “60 Hiroo Line” bus and get off at the “Seaside Park Iriguchi” stop. After that, it is an 8-minute walk to the venue.

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed our article on the Hiroo Horsehair Crab Festival please check out our other articles in our Hokkaido Series!

Over 15,000
Event Attendees
Hiroo District, Hokkaido
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KOYO
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