Sensation of Sleeping in an Ice Building, This Seasonal Hotel Only Exists During Winter

JAKARTA - Japan is known for having a variety of unique hotels that offer unusual overnight experiences, ranging from futuristic capsules to traditional ryokans that are hundreds of years old.

In the middle of a row of inns, a seasonal hotel in the northern region of Japan has stolen the spotlight by offering the sensation of staying in a building made entirely of ice.

Citing Kyodo, Thursday, this ice-based hotel reopened for the winter last Tuesday in the Tomamu ski resort area, Hokkaido. Uniquely, the hotel building is formed from one intact ice structure without a connection.

"We want people to really feel the cold of winter through this experience," said Hoshino Resorts Tomamu General Manager Iwao Watanabe, as quoted by ANTARA.

The temperature inside the hotel ranges from minus 5 to minus 7 degrees Celsius. In order to maintain comfort and safety, this inn only accepts one group of guests per day.

This ice hotel operates until February 20 and all the stay schedules for this winter season have been sold out.

The process of making it is done by spraying a mixture of water and snow into a large balloon at night with very low temperatures. After freezing, the balloon is released and produces an ice structure with a diameter of about 8.5 meters and a height of up to 3.5 meters.

All interior parts, including walls and ceilings, are made of ice. However, the management provides special sleeping bags to help guests survive the cold temperatures during the night, as explained on its official website.

Not far from the hotel, there is an Ice Chapel which is part of the ice dome complex known as Ice Village. This chapel has been the location of more than 660 weddings and this year celebrates its 20th anniversary.