Snowgazing at Asia’s OTHER breathtaking winter festival.
For seven days every February, Sapporo, Japan, transforms into a winter wonderland for its annual Snow and Ice Festival. Now in its 59th year, this celebration of snow attracts two million visitors annually, easily outdoing Harbin’s famous ice festival, with its massive snow sculptures, a record-breaking snowman building contest and a staggering number of family-friendly activities spread across three venues in the city. This year, the festival will be held from February 5-11.

The festival began spontaneously in 1950 when local high school students started building snow sculptures in Sapporo’s central park, Odori Koen, now the main site of the festival. But it wasn’t until 1955, when the Japanese Self Defense Forces joined the fun sculpting snow for both training and team building, that the first truly massive structures began to rise from the blankets of white. The festival drew international attention in 1972, when it was held simultaneously with the Sapporo Winter Olympics. It's been one of the world’s top snow festivals ever since. Here's a site-by-site guide to getting the most out of your time in Sapporo.

Odori Koen, a park which runs through Sapporo’s center, serves as the main venue and the site of the festival’s opening ceremony. Here, immense snow sculptures are created through a laborious process by which thousands of truckloads of snow are transported to the city center, packed into wooden frames and left to solidify. Sculptors from around the world then dive in, carving elaborate structures, up to 15 meters tall and 30 meters wide, for the annual International Snow Statue competition. They leave behind hundreds of massive sculptures, depicting Japanese celebrities, pop culture icons (John Lennon being a perennial favorite), famous buildings like the British Museum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Great Wall as well as famous Japanese castles. For an unbeatable view of the sculptures, head to the top of the Sapporo TV Tower, open daily from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Get an eyeful of the cityscape by day or peer down on an illuminated wonderland by night. Down below, enjoy concerts and performances staged on the snow sculptures themselves.

Satorando, a park located south of the city and easily accessible by subway and shuttle bus, is the festival’s family nexus. The park features a 100 meter long tube slide, an eight meter children’s ice slide, a 1,200 sq. meter snow labyrinth, hot air balloon rides and old-fashioned horse-drawn sleighs. While the kids work their way out of the ice labyrinth, adults chill over at the ice bar, where the tables, chairs and even the glasses are made from ice, giving “on the rocks” a whole new meaning. Satorando’s big draw is the annual snowman-building competition, where everybody pitches in to break the previous year’s record. With the number to beat now at 10,000, event organizers need all the help they can get.

When night falls, head to Susukino, the center of Sapporo's nightlife and home to the festival’s ice sculptures which glow in iridescent glory at night. Fight crowds at the popular Bailey’s booth where you can tip a glass of Irish Cream served inside an ice structure. Don’t miss the bizarre ice sculptures that have real seafood frozen inside them, the food stalls made from ice where you can chow down on Sapporo's famous ramen noodles or the karaoke bar—made entirely of ice, of course. The low-key crowd checks out the traditional winter ceremonies held at the Betsuin Shinto shrine.

Details

CW Specifics: Make your travel plans now as many hotels are already booked out. Visitors should also bring lots of warm clothing and good footwear for Sapporo’s frigid temperatures and icy streets.

Stay: High rollers can’t beat the Keio Plaza. Location and spa facilities make it the best bet. US$221 dollars per night, www.keioplaza.com. Budget travelers opt for Ino’s Place, known for clean rooms and English-speaking service. US$30 per night, www.inos-place.com.

Play: Wow out over the ice sculptures and snowman army, then head for the Sapporo Beer Museum. Take full advantage of their guided tours and beer tastings—all free!

by Sienna Parulis-Cook