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Sapporo Snow Festival Sapporo, Japan February 1981 Every year Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, hosts a seven day Snow Festival . If you ever have the chance to attend, do not hesitate. Dress for the cold and plan to be awed by the detail of the nearly 400 snow sculptures. I don't know how many people viewed the sculptures the year I attended, but it is estimated over 2 million people attended in 2007. The larger sculptures like the one shown in the photo had attached ice slides. The kids were having a ball. Soldiers offered assistance to the children and kept the lines moving efficiently. Everyone in my group tried the slides and discovered the reason why the children were able to zip down so easily: their snow suits. Trust me, blue jeans and wool pants do not work well for sliding. In front of every sculpture is an area for photos. My friends and I stopped for a Kodak moment. Shown are fellow teachers Margo Harper, Rae White, me, and Wendy Barry. More Snow Festiv...

Snow Sculpture Sapporo Snow Festival Sapporo, Japan February 1981 The snow sculptures at the festival were massive. I didn't realize until I scanned this image that the character is flashing the peace sign. For some reason, the Japanese (even today) commonly flash the peace sign in photos. More snow festival photos can be seen on these posts .

Cheers! Rae White Sapporo, Japan February 1981 Rae was a Language Arts teacher at Robert D. Edgren High School the last year that I was in Misawa. She joined the group that went to Sapporo in February 1981 to attend the Sapporo Snow Festival. While in Sapporo, we enjoyed Sapporo beer in a local pub. Another post of that evening adventure can be seen here . Snow Festival photos can be seen here if you missed them earlier.

Jack and the Bean Stalk Sapporo Snow Festival Sapporo, Japan February 1981 It was fun roaming around these giant snow sculptures. I can only imagine how much fun it was to carve them. Other posts about Sapporo and the Snow Festival can be seen here .

Snow sculpture Sapporo Snow Festival Sapporo, Japan February 1980 A couple of weeks ago, I posted a close-up of this sculpture . Today, I want to give you some idea just how large the sculpture really was. Note the snow structure to the left of the sculpture. That was over 10 foot high. Sitting next to the towering figure was this large sculpture of a sitting gentleman. Other Snow Festival photos and posts can be seen here .

Sapporo Snow Festival Sapporo, Japan 1981 Other photos from the Snow Festival can be seen here .

Odori Park Sapporo, Japan taken from Sapporo Tower February 1981 Some smaller ice and snow sculptures were located in Odori Park the year that I attended the Sapporo Snow Festival. Previous posts show the larger sculptures which were located at another park. Sapporo is a beautiful city. Average annual snowfall in Sapporo is 248 inches. Additional information on Sapporo's climate can be found here .

Misawa AFB Misawa, Japan January 1981 This man struggled to clear the walks just outside of my BOQ. All of this snow is the aftermath of one all-night storm. Once the walks were cleared, it was business as usual.  Nancy Stearns Misawa AFB Misawa, Japan 1981 My BOQ was fairly close to the school, and some days it was easier to walk than dig the car out of a snow bank. One major difference I noticed was the snow in Japan did not squeak underfoot like that in Wyoming. This was probably because, unlike Wyoming, the temperatures were not sharp or bitter cold: the cold in Japan was damp and chilled to the bone no matter how many layers were worn. Misawa is located on the northern edge of the main island ( Honshu ) of Japan. Storms consistently dropped more snow on the island to the north ( Hokkaido ) where the Sapporo Snow Festival was held every year. Snow sculptures can be seen on these posts .

Snow sculpture Sapporo, Japan 1981 The temperatures are heating up, and summer is here. It seems appropriate to share some photos the Sapporo Snow Festival. snow sculpture Sapporo, Japan 1981 Older posts can be seen here .

snow sculpture Sapporo, Japan February 1981 Last week, I had several questions about the snow sculptures at the Sapporo Snow Festival. I thought a wooden frame was used for the foundation, but a Google search proved I was wrong. The sculptures are definitely solid snow - click the link for images of the construction process.

Sapporo Snow Festival Sapporo, Japan February 1981 We toured some of the snow sculptures at night. This was one of my favorites. It didn't have the detail of the sculptures we saw the next day, but the emotion it conveyed was still strong. It was massive and impressive from every angle. If I remember correctly this was in the international section, where groups from other countries created entries, but I am not sure. I don't remember if prizes were awarded at the festival.

Snow sculpture Sapporo Snow Festival Sapporo, Japan February 1981

Sapporo Snow Festival Sapporo, Japan February 1981 Cinderella was one of my favorite snow sculptures. Notice the slide on the right side of the sculpture. You can see a close-up in last week's Foreign Friday . Isn't the detail on this carriage wonderful?  Even Cinderella's lost, ice slipper is on the step. 

Traditional kimono of Northern Japan Sapporo, Hokkaido Japan February 1980 Hokkaido is the upper island in the Japanese chain, and its culture is very different from the island of Honshu . The photo of above was taken when I visited Hokkaido for the Sapporo Snow Festival. Other photos taken on that trip can be seen here . In my opinion, the traditional clothing worn in the typical tourist photo, shown above, has a distinct Alaskan air which begs the question - are the native Alaskans descendants of the Ainu , the Nivkh or the Orok people?

February 1981 Sapporo, Japan This woman was clever to take a sled to the Sapporo Snow Festival grounds because it was a large area and required a lot of walking. Her daughter was having fun being pulled around, and the mother was able to cover the area quickly. We saw a lot of children on the grounds but not many sleds. Obviously, this wasn't the mother's first "rodeo," and she came prepared.

Drinking Competition Sapporo, Japan February 1981 I joined several friends for a weekend at the Sapporo Snow Festival in February 1981. One evening we went to a German bar just down the street from our hotel. The place was hopping with live music and a rowdy crowd. Close your eyes and imagine German music and a mix of Japanese and German beers in a crowded Japanese city. The evening was a lot of fun. My friends "volunteered" me to take part in a beer-drinking competition. The contents in the mugs clearly show who had real talent for this event. (The woman to my right in the black kimono won with amazing speed.) I discovered it is extremely difficult to drink beer through a straw: I don't recommend it.

Some of the restaurants in Japan had small grills in the center of the table which allowed guests to prepare their own food. Sapporo, Japan February 1981 Rae, Wendy, Eleanor, Vi, Lee, Margo, and Nancy Sapporo, Japan February 1981 Notice that we are seated on cushions around the low table. All of these women, as well as those at the table in the background, were teachers in Misawa and flew to the northern island (Hokkaido) for the Sapporo Snow and Ice Festival. Previous posts about the festival can be found here .