For one week in February in Hokkaido’s capital,
Sapporo, a winter event is held called Sapporo Snow
Festival also known as Sapporo Yuki Matsuri.
In 1950, some local high school
students built 6 snow
statues in Odori Park and attracted about fifty
thousand
people to the first Sapporo Snow Festival. Then in
1955,
the Self Defense Force from the Makomanai base,
joined in to make the first humongous snow
sculptures.
Also if the snow fall is not heavy in Sapporo, the Self
Defense Force would transport snow from outside the
city. Their participation in the festival still continues
today and is considered a training exercise for them.
By
1959, 2,500 people participated in making snow
sculptures. It was also the year the media first
reported
about the festival nationwide. The Makomanai base
became the official second area for the Snow Festival
in
1965 and hosted the largest sculptures during the
festivities. Then in 1972 the Winter Olympics held in
Sapporo gave the opportunity to the media to report
about the festival on an international scale. This gave
rise to the International Snow Statue Competition,
which
started in 1974, and has teams competing from
different
countries especially from Sapporo sister cities
(Portland,
Munich, Shenyan, Novosibirisk and Daejeon). A new
aspect of the festival was added in 1983 at Susukino
where there are ice sculptures illuminated by neon
lights
on the street. The new attraction made Susukino the
third official site of the Sapporo Snow Festival. The
following year in 1984 the length of the festival was
extended from two days to being a week-long
celebration. In 2005 the Makomanai site was closed
off
and Satoland was made the temporary second site. It
was not until 2009 when the Tsudome became the
official second site.
Odori Park is the main site of the Sapporo Snow
Festival. Here you can enjoy snow and ice sculptures
of
various sizes. Some are based on famous characters
like Doraemon, Mickey Mouse, Star Wars, etc. It is
also
there area where concerts and different events
happen.
Then the Susukino Site, located in the entertainment
district, exhibits numerous different ice sculptures
where
you experience touching the figures or even sit on
them.
The neon street lights of the area illuminate the
sculptures to further enhance the fantasy. The
Tsudome
features a more family friendly environment. There
you
can go snow rafting, ice sledding, snowboarding,
skiing,
etc. Each of the sites has places to eat, but it is
recommended to try the seafood, which Hokkaido is
famous for.
Please see below for
tours that include Sapporo Snow Festival:
