Sapporo Snow Festival, featuring huge statues of snow and ice that are spectacular!

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Hokkaido in the north of Japan is the coldest part of Japan, and it becomes covered with large amounts of snow in the winter. 

The Sapporo Snow Festival that takes full advantage of this regional characteristic is held every year in Sapporo located in the center of Hokkaido. 

This event features many statues built of snow and ice displayed in a large park.

It is said that the Sapporo Snow Festival got its start when local junior high and high school students made six snow sculptures in the park in 1950. 

Currently it is attended by over two million tourists from other parts of Japan and overseas. 

There is a wide variety of snow sculptures, ranging from the world of mythology to animation characters. 

International snow sculpture competitions have been held in recent years, featuring elaborate snow sculptures from countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Finland, and New Zealand.

Carved ice sculptures have a refined beauty that looks almost like glass work.

In addition to snow sculptures, there are also buildings made of ice. 

I particularly like the buildings that mimic a palace that look extremely mystical when lit up at night. 

Because the structure melt away when winter is over, it is a limited time event that is definitely worth a visit.

Information

66th Sapporo Snow Festival

Date and time: February 5 (Thursday) to 11 (Wednesday/holiday), 2015

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