Five days of riding Hakuba's powder in Nagano, then dancing straight through
Snow Machine, the winter festival that fuses a music festival with a ski holiday, comes to Nagano's Hakuba Valley from March 2 to 7, 2027. For its stage, this Australian-born international festival has chosen the Japanese snow mountains that have long drawn skiers from around the world.
What is Snow Machine
A winter festival where a music festival and a ski holiday become one and the same. Across the five-day run, the sound keeps going: on the slopes by day, in the arena by night, and in the village bars into the small hours.
There's no sense of "entering a venue" here. You ride, you dance, you eat, you ride again. Dissolving the boundary between a holiday and a music experience is the festival's very design philosophy.
The venue isn't a single site — it's all of Hakuba
The venue is not one facility. It's the entire Hakuba Valley, spanning seven ski resorts. Attendees stay somewhere in the valley and spend five days moving from stage to stage by lift.
Hakuba's powder snow is why skiers the world over head for this valley, and it's why Snow Machine chose this place. Rather than a site built for a festival, the snow-mountain environment itself becomes the venue.
Over 30 acts across eight stages
The first lineup announcement includes Patrick Topping, Kettama, Lovebirds and Sam Alfred, with Risa Taniguchi representing Japan. Further artists will be announced in stages.
From house and techno through to bass music, it's a broad booking policy — and within it sit names that will resonate with Techno Japan readers.
-FESTIVAL STRUCTURE-
The day is built from four layers
Après Stages
On the slopes across the Hakuba Valley, daily from 11am. Carry the momentum of a morning's riding straight into the set.
Main Arena
When the lifts stop, the lights come up. Three nights, March 4 to 6, running on two stages.
Side Events
A party above the clouds at Iwatake, a night-ski rave, a disco brunch. This is where Snow Machine's legends have been born.
After Parties
From Goryu to Tsugaike, pop-up parties in the village's hidden bars running from midnight until morning. The best moments are usually the ones that never make it onto the schedule.
INFORMATION
Presale registration is currently open. Ticket prices and package details will be announced via notifications to registrants and on the official site.
In addition, Techno Japan's Instagram is currently running a campaign giving away Snow Machine 2027 tickets (worth $1,000 / approx. ¥150,000) to one pair of two winners.
Entries close August 31. Full entry conditions are on the campaign post at @techno.japan_.
