Sapporo Snow Festival - Part 1

It's made of snow!  Just snow!  Can you believe it?
This portrays the Central Golden Hall of Kofuku-ji Temple in Nara, Japan.

We make a quick flight (90 minutes) up to Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido, to attend one of the big Japanese events - the Sapporo Snow Festival.  This annual celebration started in 1950 with a few high school students making some snow statues.  It's now grown to over 200 items at three different sites and lasts for seven days.  These aren't your typical snowmen!

Recreation of the Taipei Guest House,
 complete with a performance stage in front of it.

We arrive at our hotel (more on that part of the trip later) as the sun is setting in the late afternoon.  After a quick unpacking of our suitcases, we walk over to see if this is worth the hype.  It is!  

The "snow" portion is set up along 12 blocks in Odori, a city park.  Each block usually has a showcase sculpture that has been built on a platform about 5 feet off the ground (to make it easier to see with the crowds of people).  These are enormous - as an example, the Arc de Triumph is about 57 feet high and 50 feet wide, about 1/3 of the size of the real one.

They're so big it's hard to take a
selfie with one, but we try!

Wait - did I take a wrong turn and end up in France?

We seem to be having difficulty with the crowds...until we finally see a sign that directs walking traffic in one direction, so you're going in a giant loop around the 12 blocks.  It's much easier to walk on the slippery snow and ice when you're not fighting the people, too!  It's also much more comfortable when you find this booth:

Hot drinks keep you toasty warm as you
walk around all the snow!

It doesn't come in the cute glass mug, but it stays hot
longer with the styrofoam and lid.

The Star Wars display is one of the favorites.  It has a three minute light show, accompanied by the Star Wars theme music.  It's spectacular! 

This exhibit is over 100 feet long!

It looks like metal, not snow.

Too cool!

Hyperspace!

Not all the sculptures are as big as the grandstand ones.  Most are about six feet high, which is still much larger than any snowman I've ever made! 

Japanese castle?

Look how the road inside continues down to form the nose.

Have to make sure the food truck doesn't collapse!

Every year certain regions of the world are invited to create a statue.  Portland, Oregon is welcomed annually since it's a sister city to Sapporo (one of the oldest relationships in the world).  Even though the team has been there four days, it's still under construction.  We recognize the reference to Voodoo Doughnuts, food trucks and the White Stag sign.  It's fun to talk with them, too - one guy is a graphic designer and another a sculptor.  I never thought about who actually makes the snow art, but it makes sense that those two professions are included.  They tell us a giant block of snow is dropped in the spot, and then they start to work on it.  I admire their dedication, because it's after 8pm on the third day of the festival, and they haven't gotten to see anything because they've been working the entire time.  

How horrible would it be if you fell off the ladder
and landed on your artwork?

They aren't the only ones still putting the final touches on their work!

Donald Trump even makes an appearance!   It took awhile, but I finally figured out why there is a pen and an apple with him.  (This will take a bit to explain.)  There is a Japanese comedian who created a fictional singer-songwriter.  He made this song and video, Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen, that went viral at the end of 2016.  It became a hit in Japan and other countries around the world (and before you laugh at Japanese music, it reached #77 on the US Billboard Top 100).  The dance was named the new "Gangnam Style," though I haven't been out to any clubs here to see it in action.  If you're curious, you can google "PPAP video" to watch it on YouTube  (and then see if you can get the tune out of your head).  And thanks to Wikipedia for solving the mystery for me!

"Pen...apple...uh!  Apple pen!"

Here's one of my favorites - Cup of Noodles!  It took us a second to figure out what it was, because it's represented as lying on it's side.  Since it's not up on a pedestal you have a better idea of the scale, too.  This is only one of the medium-size statues, though!

I'm 5 feet tall, so you have an idea how enormous this is!

I have a chuckle while looking at the back of one of the displays - apparently it's a great place for advertising!

I wonder if this is for sale at one of the food stalls?

One of the other giant artworks is of the Final Fantasy VII game.  It also has a light/sound show performed.  It's unbelievable - how long does it take to calculate the projection of the light on the uneven surface, which has to be over 100 feet long?

Before the show starts - see, just snow!

This show actually tells a story.

Is he a good guy or a bad guy?

I might have to play this game.

After wandering around for four hours, we still haven't seen it all - but we're ready to return to our hotel.  We stop by the next day to view everything in daylight, and take another photo of the Final Fantasy exhibit.  Unfortunately, we're too far away for you to get the proper perspective - it's huge!

Snow statue selfie!