Sapporo Yuki Matsuri

Sapporo Snow Festival ~ Hokkaido 2006

It's easy to feel a bit under the-hypothermic-weather while living in Northern Japan during the winter. The frigid temps inside our homes must play tricks with our minds as nearly 2 million of us ambitious folks head up to Hokkaido (the northernmost island of Japan) for what has become the largest festival in Japan. The Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (snow festival) proved to be a great way to celebrate all that white stuff I normally curse each morning. Mayumi invited me along with her pal Maiko on this short excursion. Maiko is a new best friend...really lovely, un-japanesey persona. She is an elementary teacher in Aomori-ken and former teacher in Taiwan. She speaks Japanese, English and Mandarin...I'm so envious!

We embarked on our journey, holding our breaths while boarding the ferry which was full of livestock, and arrived in Sapporo ready to see the sights.

(TOTAL: 1.5 days, 200 miles, 21 hrs by ferry, 6 hrs by bus, 2 hrs by train)

It felt great to be back in Sapporo. I made my way up there last August (about 2 weeks after landing in Japan) during the sweltering, oppressive heat. I think Sapporo is very progressive and diverse. They seem more into the international scene and in fact, made that one of the major themes for this year's snow festival. Most of the large sculptures were representations of different famous landmarks in other countries (Taiwan, Cambodia, Australia and France).

The sculptures are incredible, pictures can't capture the size and ambiance. Hundreds and hundreds of sculptures made of ice and snow line the famous walkways of Odori and Susukino. Each piece of art is intricately designed by artists from all over the world. The larger sculptures, like the one below, also provided live entertainment (game shows, fashion shows, concerts). I most enjoyed the concerts---the variety of music punk, rap, JPop and classical, was a treat for the ears.



Below, a snowman building contest. Japanese-style snowmen have 2 balls......er....well, you know what I mean.

Lights, music, entertainment---Sapporo's Yuki Matsuri was most unforgettable. If you care to see the rest of my photos click on the link above and relive the Sapporo experience.

Lastly, snow and ice are only worthy of celebration IN Sapporo...

so let winter in Taneichi END NOW!