Dusk settles on the picturesque city of Sapporo. Mountains ringing the city have illuminated ski runs that can be seen at night. The snow festival includes snow and ice sculptures at three locations, with the main attraction in Odori Park. Odori Park is in the downtown, and is one block wide and 12 blocks long. The sculptures are illuminated for night viewing.

The city of 1.8 million manages to graciously host well over a million visitors for the week-long festival every February.

This "ice palace" is backlit with colored lights. The large sculptures have a stage in front on them for evening performances of singing, dancing, contests, and even a frisbee dog.

This dramatic tableau was about 30 meters high. The penguins are appropriate for a tribute to Antarctica, but the sled dogs (needed for dramatic effect) are a bit out of place. The exhibit sign notes (with a wink) that they must be on an ice floe.

The carvings are done with extraordinary precision and attention to detail.

The lighting on this Japanese castle changed colors continuously.

Stuffed toy sales seemed a little slow this year, but not for lack of effort. Popular concession foods are sweet potatoes (a great idea), squid on a stick (good idea if you like squid), and a peculiar fermented drink (yecch).

The festival goes on during the day as well. Here are some pictures.
 

copyright 2000 Roy Latham, go to the Travel Photo Index.