160 ice and snow sculptures at first full-scale Sapporo Snow Festival in 3 years

Описание: The 73rd Sapporo Snow Festival was held from February 4 to 11 at the Odori and Susukino sites in Chuo-ku, Sapporo. This was the first full-scale Snow Festival in three years, and the main Odori venue was crowded with locals and tourists from first thing in the morning, as many overseas visitors from Asia, Europe and the United States enjoyed a total of 160 snow and ice sculptures.

　The Susukino site opened on the evening of the 4th, with 60 ice sculptures, including those with seafood such as horsehair crab and Pacific saury frozen inside the ice. An ice sculpture contest involving 10 chefs from Hokkaido and beyond was also held, with participants carving blocks of ice with chainsaws and other tools. A man visiting with his wife from Higashi-ku, Sapporo, smiled as he said, “There are many people; I feel as if Sapporo has come back to life.”

　At the Odori site, 100 snow sculptures were lined up, including five large-scale snow sculptures, one of which was a reconstruction of ‘Embley House’ (Odori West 7), a building associated with Florence Nightingale, who laid the foundations of modern-day nursing. Projection mapping, in which images were projected onto snow sculptures, began at 5:30 p.m. at the Odori West 5 and West 8 venues, where visitors enjoyed watching the magical scenes.

　A couple from Hong Kong who were taking commemorative photos with a large-scale snow sculpture in the background, said, “It's so exciting; so artistic and wonderful.”