 Most viewed - HOKKAIDO 北海道 |
Nice cycling path goes quite far.107 views
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One girl takes notes as the others give her their test results.107 views
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Personal computers for public use inside Toya Mizunoeki in northern Lake Toya. Notice the G8 Summit flags.107 views
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Inside the former office of the Governor. There's a large conference table and the walls are decorated with portraits of past Hokkaido governors.107 views
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Another room on the 2nd floor shows Hokkaido's international relations with sister states in Alberta, Canada; Massachusetts, USA; and Heilongjiang, China.107 views
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Governor's desk in the governor's former office.107 views
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They are building the new underground passage right above the Namboku subway line which runs under Ekimae-dori.107 views
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Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill's lookout deck.107 views
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View from Akaiwa of Cape Takashima. Todo Rock island on the left.107 views
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Former Motosaburo Kaneko Store, built in 1887. 旧金子元三郎商店107 views
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Like the other big sculptures, various free entertainment was held on a stage in front of the Iolani Palace sculpture. This was the entertainment schedule. I was very disappointed to find nothing Hawaiian.107 views
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The facade is shaped...107 views
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Guess what this part will be.107 views
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The large citizens' area feature smaller snow sculptures created by city citizens. Snow blocks are provided.107 views
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Snow leopard at night.107 views
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Mickey and Minnie Mouse107 views
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Hatsune Miku was much photographed. 初音ミク107 views
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Back to the other end of Odori Park is the TV Tower.107 views
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Toya Shonen Shizen no Ie (Toya Nature House for Youth) is a lodging and seminar facility. 道立洞爺少年自然の家106 views
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How the lake was formed.106 views
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Inside Toya Mizunoeki, they sell local produce, tourist souvenirs, etc.106 views
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The sculpture on the right: Wave Play, by Kyuzaemon Orihara 折原 久左ェ門「波遊」106 views
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Fishes in Lake Toya106 views
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Lakefront promenade on the west end of Toyako Onsen Spa.106 views
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Top row has miniature versions of the tournament champion portraits awarded to the wrestler and hung in the Ryogoku Kokugikan. Bottom row of photos show his best career moments.106 views
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This is the main room of the Kitanoumi Memorial Hall. It includes half of a sumo ring (dohyo) with a mannequin.106 views
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Sculpture: Posing for a Photo in May, by 峯田敏郎「記念撮影五月のかたち」106 views
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Sculpture: Scene of a Portrait, by 湯川 隆「肖像のある風景」106 views
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Toyako Visitors Center and Volcano Science Museum in Toyako Onsen Spa.106 views
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Hello Hokkaido, it's been a long time since I've been here.106 views
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A stately room. The governor's desk is in the right corner.106 views
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Hokkaido History Gallery includes wildlife exhibit.106 views
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Petition for the return of the Northern Territories. As of late April 2008, over 80.3 million people signed the petition.106 views
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Construction machinery on Sapporo Ekimae-dori.106 views
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Wedding chapel. Not for tourists, but you can take the elevator to the top floor for fine views of the surrounding area.106 views
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Inside former Hyakujusan Bank, Otaru Branch106 views
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Old fire hydrant106 views
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Now some photos of the 1982 Sapporo Snow Festival. This was when they built Iolani Palace out of snow (not ice). These are army trucks hauling in snow to the Odori Park site in early Jan.106 views
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Destroying Iolani Palace made of snow.106 views
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Even the veins look realistic. Pterodactyl made of snow.106 views
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Building an ice sculpture.106 views
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Taniwha by New Zealand106 views
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Freyderyk Chopin by Poland106 views
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A path of stones lead to the Ukimido.105 views
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Around 1912, a Buddhist priest traveling north reached Toya village and rested at the Matsuhashi home. He gave a statue of Prince Shotoku Taishi to the family and said that they and the village shall prosper by taking care of it.105 views
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Upon the wishes of the local people, they built the Ukimido pagoda in 1937 and put the Shotoku Taishi statue on the altar inside. They also started the annual Shotoku Taishi Festival every July.105 views
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Silo Lookout Point in western Lake Toya is not on the lakeside road. It is on a highway running almost parallel to the lakeside road. Not really accessible by bicycle.105 views
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Scale model of a sumo drum tower105 views
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Sculpture: 峯田敏郎「記念撮影五月のかたち」105 views
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Finally, cherry blossoms near the lake water...105 views
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Sculpture: Scene of a Portrait, by 湯川 隆「肖像のある風景」105 views
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New Chitose Airport, another welcome sign as we head for the baggage claim area.105 views
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Inside New Chitose Airport at the check-in terminal, more G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome signs.105 views
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The train to Lake Toya is also decorated with G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome sign.105 views
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By early May, police already started to invade the Lake Toya area.105 views
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Most of the rooms open to the public are on the 2nd floor.105 views
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Staircase and G8 Summit sign105 views
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The road has temporary panels.105 views
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Japan's Self-Defense Forces105 views
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A drawing of Iolani Palace helps the carvers to carve the sculpture accurately.105 views
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Hello baby!105 views
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Icy foundation for the ice sculpture.105 views
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People taking advantage of the picture-taking service in front of the Northland animals.105 views
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Booth for Poland.105 views
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Also in 5-chome was the snow festival's largest ice sculpture: Iolani Palace, Hawaii's most famous building and built in 1882 by King David Kalakaua as the royal residence.105 views
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Medium-size snow sculpture of Germany's Wartburg Castle. ヴァルトブルク城105 views
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German Square's main snow sculpture was this Dresdner Frauenkirche, a Lutheran Church in Dresden, Germany. フラウエン教会105 views
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Snow sculpture by Singapore105 views
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Hanoman Duta by Indonesia105 views
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Nakajima islands as seen from northern Lake Toya.104 views
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The Ukimido houses a small statue of Prince Shotoku Taishi. Inside, it still looks quite new.104 views
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Birds around Toyako104 views
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The other half of the building is the Sobetsu History Museum. This panel shows how Lake Toya was formed.104 views
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Artifacts of early Hokkaido settlers.104 views
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Sculpture at Kimundo-no-Ie: To the Shore in Summer, by 神田比呂子「夏～渚へ」104 views
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G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit countdown at Toyako Visitors Center and Volcano Science Museum in Toyako Onsen Spa.104 views
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G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome sign on window of Toya Mizunoeki in northern Lake Toya.104 views
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Second floor corridor.104 views
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From Alberta, Canada104 views
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And no one performed hula or anything Hawaiian in front of this Iolani Palace ice sculpture. It was sad and a wasted opportunity. They dance the hula everywhere in Japan except in front of an Iolani Palace sculpture?? Does that make sense to you?104 views
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Shaping the pterodactyl104 views
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John Lennon104 views
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Back of the snowboard jump hill.104 views
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Facing Mickey and Minnie Mouse was this PR booth by a soft drink maker. Inside was a display of Uemura Aiko's ski wear and skis.104 views
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Smaller snow sculptures made by companies and organizations also dot the festival site.104 views
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A flag-raising game held in front of the ice sculpture. The Iolani Palace ice sculpture is 16 meters wide and 8 meters high. It was built with 700 large blocks of ice weighing 135 kg (298 lb.) each.104 views
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My YouTube video of Iolani Palace at the Sapporo Snow Matsuri in 2010.104 views
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Left side of Ukimido pagoda, Lake Toya103 views
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Behind Ukimido pagoda, Lake Toya103 views
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Kitanoumi-beya stable sign at top, and various award certificates.103 views
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Windsor Hotel in the distance.103 views
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Cherry blossoms and the Nakajima islands.103 views
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Carp fish103 views
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After pushing my bicycle up the long slope from central Sobetsu, I went back on the lakeside road and again went uphill to Sobetsu Park, famous for ume plum trees.103 views
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Beef103 views
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Flowers on the ground.103 views
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On the shore of Lake Toya is binoculars through which you can see the Summit venue, the Windsor Hotel.103 views
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As I was watching all this entertainment, how I wished there would be hula dancers too. Iolani Palace, being the home of King David Kalakaua who promoted hula in Hawaii, is a symbol of the hula movement. 103 views
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Sure it's cold to perform here. But look at these girls in shorts. They weren't shivering. This is another local wannabe Hokkaido girl group called "Cream."103 views
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All they had to do is wear something Hawaiian and it would've been perfect. But of course, nobody thought of that.103 views
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On the final night of the snow festival, they had yosakoi soran groups perform. They turned out to be the entertainment climax in front of Iolani Palace.103 views
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Pterodactyl wings103 views
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This is a lion dog at a shrine in Fukuoka.103 views
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Also ski jumpers. 3丁目 スノーボードジャンプ台103 views
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About the "Zoo of the Northland" in English.103 views
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Here and there at the Odori Park site, freebies were give away. This line was for miso paste.103 views
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The Gift, by the Netherlands.103 views
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International food stalls103 views
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Ichiro snow sculpture/statue103 views
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Booth for signing a petition to return the Northern Territories (Habomai, Etorofu, Shikotan islands) off Hokkaido, held by Russia.103 views
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Nakajima islands102 views
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Ukimido Park102 views
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Some photos are captioned with memorable quotes by Kitanoumi.102 views
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Award from Czechoslovakia in 1978.102 views
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Cherry blossoms and Lake Toya with the Nakajima islands.102 views
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Eastern Lake Toya, with pretty lake colors.102 views
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Kimundo-no-Ie Hot Spring and campsite.102 views
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View of Mt. Usu and Showa-Shinzan (left) from Sobetsu Park.102 views
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Inside New Chitose Airport's Central Plaza, more G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome signs.102 views
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Inside New Chitose Airport's Central Plaza, G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit countdown.102 views
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Welcome sign in front of JR Toya Station, the closest train station to Lake Toya.102 views
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Toyako Culture Center with G8 Summit flags.102 views
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G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome sign at Mt. Showa-Shinzan.102 views
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Going to the 2nd floor.102 views
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Hokkaido History Gallery occupies another room on the 2nd floor.102 views
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The first floor was the main office.102 views
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Facing the Iolani Palace sculpture were food stalls such as this German almond food stall. I couldn't comprehend why there weren't any Hawaii-related stalls instead. How about selling macadamia nuts or having a Hawaii Visitors Bureau booth??102 views
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They even included a now statue of King Kamehameha, the king who unified the Hawaiian islands. Iolani Palace actually does not have a statue of King Kamehameha. But there is a statue of him across the street from the actual palace.102 views
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Head of T-Rex102 views
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Baekje was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. 8丁目 韓国・百済102 views
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Korea's sculpture was the sexiest of all.102 views
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Ghost Warrior Zhong Kui by Hong Kong.102 views
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Here and there were souvenir stalls for official merchandise of the snow festival. 102 views
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The skating rink next to the foot of the TV Tower had a Christmas tree with heart-shaped lighting not noticeable from the ground.102 views
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Brandenburg Gate in ice. The ice sculptures in Susukino are lit up until midnight.102 views
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The Susukino ice sculptures compete for 1st and 2nd place awards.102 views
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Personal computers for public use inside Toya Mizunoeki in northern Lake Toya. Notice the G8 Summit flags.101 views
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Ukimido101 views
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Close-up of cherry blossoms. Doesn't look like the Somei-Yoshino type.101 views
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One thing I like about photographing human-figure sculptures is that they are very good at keeping still for my camera.101 views
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Road to Mt. Showa-Shinzan.101 views
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More arrows point downward to show where the road edge is, when there is deep snow.101 views
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Passed by two small Shinto shrines...101 views
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At the top of the park's hill is a lookout deck. However, you can also walk on the slope and see the plum blossoms up close.101 views
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Picture-taking point101 views
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Snow in the refrigerated warehouse. In winter, they use a snow plow/blower to shoot the snow into the room. The temperature is adjusted by ceiling fans and the wall shutters which can open or close.101 views
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Official logo of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit on the Toyako Culture Center.101 views
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G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome poster.101 views
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G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit merchandise: T-shirts101 views
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From Massachusetts, USA. The famous Dr. William Clark was from this US state.101 views
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Poster for the return of the Northern Territories101 views
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Clark Chapel on the left, and on the right is the Sapporo Snow Festival Museum which opened in 2001. It used to be a wedding chapel. さっぽろ雪まつり資料館101 views
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Scale model of the Iolani Palace made of wood, painted white. Built for the 33rd Sapporo Snow Festival in 1982. The palace is in Honolulu, Hawaii, built by King David Kalakaua in 1882.101 views
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Foot of Sapporo TV Tower. An elevator takes you up to the top lookout deck.101 views
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Rear view of the Iolani Palace ice sculpture. Scaffolding propped up colored lights.101 views
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The color lighting scheme also varies slightly. The sculpture is basically backlit with green lights in the middle and orange lights on the sides. At the same time, blue lights shine on the front of the sculpture.101 views
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Even though I was seeing all this entertainment totally unrelated to Hawaii, I have to say that the icy Iolani Palace made a great backdrop for these performers.101 views
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Shaping up very well.101 views
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Brontosaurus101 views
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Hong Kong snow sculpture.101 views
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Wolves101 views
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Smoking was prohibited while walking at the festival site, so these smoking stations were provided.101 views
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About Dresdner Frauenkirche in English.101 views
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Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.101 views
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Playing with grandpa.101 views
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Grandmother's doll cabinet by Sweden101 views
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Round Dance for Peace by Russia (Novosibirsk, Sapporo's sister city)101 views
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Another 1st place winner101 views
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T-rex101 views
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Silo Lookout Point100 views
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I left the lakeside road and took a side trip to the center of Sobetsu town.100 views
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This river leads to Sobetsu Falls.100 views
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Color charts are used to assess the water quality. This is for phosphoric acid.100 views
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Next to Toya Station is the Toyako Town Hall, also with a G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome sign.100 views
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G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome sign on the edge of Toyako Onsen hot spring.100 views
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G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome banner at a gas station in northern Lake Toya.100 views
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G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit welcome sign on entrance of Toya Mizunoeki, a shopping and rest house in northern Lake Toya.100 views
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Across from the former Nippon Yusen Kaisha is this Unga Park which has former warehouses of Nippon Oil, built in 1920. 運河公園100 views
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This was not the first time Iolani Palace was at the Sapporo Snow Festival. It was also featured in Feb. 1982 when it was made of snow (photos below).100 views
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It was very impressive and made my trip to Sapporo worthwhile. The lingering question remained: Where was the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau??? Why weren't they here passing out Hawaii PR brochures?100 views
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Get in touch with people from Hawaii living in Sapporo/Hokkaido. They would volunteer to pass out Hawaii brochures or maybe even perform hula on the icy stage.100 views
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Para-para dancer100 views
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Each giant snow sculpture becomes a pile of snowy rubble.100 views
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The Sapporo Snow Festival also features at least one giant ice sculpture. The foundation is made of ice.100 views
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Back of the "Zoo of the Northland" sculpture.100 views
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Candle lights100 views
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Food stall staff shouted to attract customers' attention.100 views
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Next at 8-chome was the Baekje Royal Palace of Korea. The sculpture is 25 meters wide and 18 meters high. Apparently it was built on the occasion of the Great Baekje World Festival to be held during Sept.-Oct. 2010.100 views
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Entering 7-chome which was the HBC (Hokkaido Broadcasting Co.) German Square. 7丁目 HBCドイツ広場100 views
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Side view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.100 views
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Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.100 views
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Castle in Noda, Chiba.100 views
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Sento-kun, official mascot for Nara's 1200th anniversary. Not a good likeness, but acceptable.100 views
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10丁目 ちびまる子ちゃん100 views
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At 11-chome, the International Square featured small snow sculptures made by international teams. As listed on this sign, fourteen national teams participated in 2010. 100 views
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About the Hawaii team's snow statue.100 views
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Smiling Great Buddha by People's Republic of China.100 views
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Bowl of Life by USA (Portland, Oregon, Sapporo's sister city).100 views
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Many of the ice sculptures are also advertisements.100 views
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Gundam100 views
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Takarada Nature Footpath along the lake shore. 財田自然観察道99 views
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Northern Lake Toya includes the Takarada Nature Footpath along the lake shore. 財田自然観察道99 views
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Ukimido pagoda juts out into the lake on a narrow islet connected by a stone bridge.99 views
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View from the Ukimido's tiny balcony.99 views
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Volcanic rock which you can touch. Toyako Visitor Center99 views
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