Sapporo Snow Festival 2018

Imagine a very cold place where temperatures dip way below zero degrees Celcius for weeks on end, with plenty of snow and ice. One can either struggle to keep warm and stay alive or ... create a whole tourist industry around a snow festival!

This started in 1950, when a group of local highschool students decided to carve a modest public display of 6 sculptures in Odori Park, which attracted 50,000 visitors. Over the years, the festival became famous & now gets 2 million visitors every year!

In 1987, Theresa and I escaped our steamy tropical island on a group tour to Hokkaido during the Snow Festival (Above left, is a snapshot of Theresa next to King Kong). In 2018, Sapporo celebrated its 69th edition and Theresa can be seen at right, pitching in with the locals!

This time, we decided to cobble our own itinerary, having already worked out the super-efficient Japan Rail (JR) transport system. Amazingly, these public transport trains still manage to run like clockwork in whichever season and changeable weather! Staying at hotels within 5 to 10 minutes' walking distance from the mainstreet JR stations made good sense, especially as the festival organisers organised most happenings right in the heart of town. For Sapporo, the central Odori Park was transformed into a magical winter wonderland, with Sapporo Tower's commanding overview of the Park.

In the intervening years, sister cities like Asahikawa and Otaru in Hokkaido, have also cottoned on to the idea. Thus, our trip this time round was far more interesting, with time spent experiencing their different interpretations. The "Snow Light Path" in Otaru was much more intimate and romantic while Asahikawa's ceremonies were on a grander scale, on account that their venue sprawled over a much bigger riverside esplanade. We shall elaborate more on these other celebrations in the next few blog postings...

Noboribetsu, Hokkaido's hell valley

As we had planned to see more than just the city snow festivals, our first 3 nights' stay was based in Sapporo, to view the pre-official preparations, recce the land and fit in a special side trip to Hokkaido's Jigokudani (Hell Valley) in Noboribetsu. Picture at left was taken in 1987.

We chose a reasonably calm day to do a whole-day exploration of this fantastical region of active hotsprings, fumaroles, geysers and vents. Take a walk with us, and appreciate how the Japanese are very stoic and have adapted well to this most inhospitable environment.

They have even discovered the miracle "cures" of onsen. Taking to the plentiful hotspring waters to warm the body and calm the mind, amongst other putative benefits.

Of course, one cannot really appreciate the whole experience unless you stay in one of the local onsen hotels. The smell of hydrogen sulphide, the micro weather systems and the threat of earthquakes are a reminder to humanity that change is a constant in life. One must always be prepared for all eventualities, while enjoying the moment.

Asahikawa, city in the mountains

We spent the next 4 nights up in the mountain city of Asahikawa. This coincided perfectly with the grand opening of their 59th Snow Festival. It kicked off with fireworks on the first night, over a humongous snow stage, set up by the riverside esplanade.

In the daytime, exquisitely carved snow and ice sculptures were displayed for the public to enjoy and these were also illuminated at night. Food vendors catered to the hungry locals and tourists like us, eager to sample the local favourites.

Knowing Theresa, she also couldn't help but try tobaganning down the longest ice slide, custom-built behind the massive stage (see sidebar picture sequence at left).

Having done our research in advance, we also bundled in multi-day trips to the relatively nearby Asahiyama Zoo. Just 60 minutes one-way on a dedicated local bus service, the zoo has made a name for itself by hosting a special twice-daily Emperor penguin parade within its precincts. This usually gets underway in late December once there is permanent snow cover on the grounds, which in good years, might last till early March.

These magnificent Emperor penguins are released from their fenced enclosure and shepherded along a loop trail within the zoo grounds. It's considered their winter exercise regime, witnessed by the hordes of tourists who line up behind markers along this trail.

This certainly beats a long journey to the tip of South America, followed by a treacherous and arduous ocean cruise to Antarctica, just to see them in the wild !

In line with the snow festival in Asahikawa, the Zoo also extended it's closing hours to put on a special "snow light" illumination. Pure magic!

Lake Shikotsu, so blue and so very cold

We didn't realise it initially. In 1987 our group tour included the beautiful Lake Shikotsu night illuminations for us.

The 90-minute bus journey from Sapporo to Lake Shikotsu was certainly worth the effort. We marvelled at the many carved snow sculptures, as well as hand-crafted creations of pine branches which were sprayed with the blue waters of the lake and lit up with green fairy lights.

Lake Shikotsu is so deep that it never freezes over even in sub-zero temperatures. The snow artists had to work daily on these creations for 2 months prior to the official illumination in February. All this work cannot go unappreciated, so we simply had to capture their "labour of love" on digital film.

The lakeshore is so cold, especially at night, that frostbite quickly sets in even with hand warmers and special thermal gloves. Luckily, the authorities had thoughtfully installed radiators in shelters to save fingers and toes...

Otaru, city by the sea

Most tourists know that this little seaport city of Otaru is easily reached by JR train from Sapporo in under an hour. Thus they think of it as a simple side excursion for fresh seafood or a casual night amble along the canal to experience it's low-key snow festival.

Not for us though. After evolving our travel style over the past 15 years, we realise that travel is about putting down roots at each mini destination. To feel less stressed by familiarising ourselves with the local landmarks and discovering the less-trodden paths.

By basing ourselves for 3 nights at the Dormy Inn Premium Hotel, we were close to everything worth exploring like the Otaru Canal Illuminations as well as the old Temiya Railway line's "Snow Light Path".

Choosing the best night for clear skies made a difference in our photography as can be seen from our pictures. Light snowfall can be pretty in the day but it is truly magical at night.

We planned a day trip to Otaru Aquarium via local bus. The aquarium has its very own Gentoo Penguin parade which is delightful. These penguins are smaller than the Emperor penguins but they have great charisma and an attitude all their own. They even strike poses for the cameras.

Mt Tengu was another day trip of ours. It allowed us to lose ourselves in a wild wintry place, which was surprisingly accessible by local bus. We promised ourselves, after this trip, that someday, we shall return to explore Otaru in a different season.