 Most viewed - Sapporo 札幌市 |
They take off the mold's wood paneling and start carving the huge block of snow. Scaffolding on all sides, almost like constructing a real building.126 views
|
|
126 views
|
|
Ice sculpture of a church in Helsinki, Finland126 views
|
|
In the next block at 3-chome was the Snowboard Jump hill standing 24 meters high and 65 meters long. They held snowboard jump tournaments during the snow festival. Free to watch.126 views
|
|
Snow leopard at night.126 views
|
|
126 views
|
|
At 5-chome was "Place Where Dreams Come True" featuring sculpture of Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Cinderella's Castle. Disney is popular in Japan.126 views
|
|
126 views
|
|
The second site of the Sapporo Snow Festival is here in Susukino, a short walk from Odori Park. Susukino is a well-known nighttime entertainment area.126 views
|
|
Rear of the triple-arch staircase.125 views
|
|
Cannon balls125 views
|
|
Sapporo TV Tower anchors the east end of Odori Park.125 views
|
|
125 views
|
|
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.125 views
|
|
125 views
|
|
The day after the snow festival ends, all the sculptures are promptly destroyed for safety reasons. With sadness, I watched it being destroyed. You can see the reinforcing wooden beams inside.125 views
|
|
They install wooden beams serving to reinforce the snow structures.125 views
|
|
|
6-chome had this medium-size snow sculpture called Seitokai no Ichizon. 生徒会の一存125 views
|
|
Hatsune Miku was much photographed. 初音ミク125 views
|
|
Building near Odori Park welcoming the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit.124 views
|
|
Snow Festival poster124 views
|
|
View of Odori Park from Sapporo TV Tower.124 views
|
|
They turned out to be very lively. When you're dressed this lightly, it's best to move a lot to keep warm in freezing temperatures.124 views
|
|
2 million people visit the Sapporo Snow Festival, many from China and Korea. Many of them would love to be in warm Hawaii.124 views
|
|
Rear view. HVB should round up the Hawaii folks living in Japan to help them promote Hawaii. Especially now, with the Internet, blogging, and word-of-mouth being so important for PR. But us guys in Japan haven't heard one peep from HVB.124 views
|
|
The facade is shaped...124 views
|
|
I think this was the lion dog at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka.124 views
|
|
Taniwha by New Zealand124 views
|
|
The Susukino ice sculptures compete for 1st and 2nd place awards.124 views
|
|
The construction of the tower and installation of the clock was completed in 1881. The clock was made by Howard Clock Co. of Boston, MA. It is still in the Clock Tower, sounding its original chime.123 views
|
|
123 views
|
|
About the "Zoo of the Northland" in English.123 views
|
|
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.123 views
|
|
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.123 views
|
|
It was not the first time Iolani Palace was built at the Sapporo Snow Festival. In Feb. 1982, it was built of snow as one of the largest sculptures.123 views
|
|
Here and there at the Odori Park site, freebies were give away. This line was for miso paste.123 views
|
|
Back to the other end of Odori Park is the TV Tower.123 views
|
|
Illumination tunnel123 views
|
|
Records of songs which mention the Clock Tower.122 views
|
|
122 views
|
|
Governor's desk in the governor's former office.122 views
|
|
Hokkaido History Gallery includes wildlife exhibit.122 views
|
|
Construction wall for the upcoming Nissei Bdlg.122 views
|
|
Sapporo TV Tower lookout deck.122 views
|
|
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.122 views
|
|
Filling up the mold...122 views
|
|
Guess what this part will be.122 views
|
|
Building an ice sculpture.122 views
|
|
The large citizens' area feature smaller snow sculptures created by city citizens. Snow blocks are provided.122 views
|
|
German Square's main snow sculpture was this Dresdner Frauenkirche, a Lutheran Church in Dresden, Germany. フラウエン教会122 views
|
|
10丁目 ちびまる子ちゃん122 views
|
|
Hanoman Duta by Indonesia122 views
|
|
Another room on the 2nd floor shows Hokkaido's international relations with sister states in Alberta, Canada; Massachusetts, USA; and Heilongjiang, China.121 views
|
|
121 views
|
|
121 views
|
|
Pterodactyl wings121 views
|
|
Even the veins look realistic. Pterodactyl made of snow.121 views
|
|
121 views
|
|
Medium-size snow sculpture of Germany's Wartburg Castle. ヴァルトブルク城121 views
|
|
Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.121 views
|
|
International food stalls121 views
|
|
My YouTube video of Iolani Palace at the Sapporo Snow Matsuri in 2010.121 views
|
|
Most of the rooms open to the public are on the 2nd floor.120 views
|
|
120 views
|
|
Look how beautiful this Iolani Palace ice sculpture is. I was red-faced not only from the cold, but also that no one from Hawaii did anything here.120 views
|
|
120 views
|
|
Destroying Iolani Palace made of snow.120 views
|
|
Head of T-Rex120 views
|
|
Shaping the pterodactyl120 views
|
|
This is a lion dog at a shrine in Fukuoka.120 views
|
|
Back of the snowboard jump hill.120 views
|
|
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.120 views
|
|
Dirt sprinked on the snowy and icy paths gives your shoes better grip. It is very easy to slip and fall while walking on Sapporo's icy roads and sidewalks.120 views
|
|
120 views
|
|
Snow sculpture by Singapore120 views
|
|
The skating rink next to the foot of the TV Tower had a Christmas tree with heart-shaped lighting not noticeable from the ground.120 views
|
|
119 views
|
|
119 views
|
|
119 views
|
|
Second floor corridor.119 views
|
|
Inside the former office of the Governor. There's a large conference table and the walls are decorated with portraits of past Hokkaido governors.119 views
|
|
A stately room. The governor's desk is in the right corner.119 views
|
|
They are building the new underground passage right above the Namboku subway line which runs under Ekimae-dori.119 views
|
|
Construction machinery on Sapporo Ekimae-dori.119 views
|
|
119 views
|
|
119 views
|
|
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?119 views
|
|
119 views
|
|
Also ski jumpers. 3丁目 スノーボードジャンプ台119 views
|
|
Booth for Poland.119 views
|
|
Smoking was prohibited while walking at the festival site, so these smoking stations were provided.119 views
|
|
A food court faced the Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.119 views
|
|
Korea's sculpture was the sexiest of all.119 views
|
|
Booth for signing a petition to return the Northern Territories (Habomai, Etorofu, Shikotan islands) off Hokkaido, held by Russia.119 views
|
|
Salmon119 views
|
|
118 views
|
|
Going to the 2nd floor.118 views
|
|
Petition for the return of the Northern Territories. As of late April 2008, over 80.3 million people signed the petition.118 views
|
|
Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill's lookout deck.118 views
|
|
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118 views
|
|
|
118 views
|
|
John Lennon118 views
|
|
People taking advantage of the picture-taking service in front of the Northland animals.118 views
|
|
Smaller snow sculptures made by companies and organizations also dot the festival site.118 views
|
|
Food stall staff shouted to attract customers' attention.118 views
|
|
About Dresdner Frauenkirche in English.118 views
|
|
Smaller snow sculptures dot 9-chome.118 views
|
|
Sento-kun, official mascot for Nara's 1200th anniversary. Not a good likeness, but acceptable.118 views
|
|
Playing with grandpa.118 views
|
|
About the Hawaii team's snow statue.118 views
|
|
Grandmother's doll cabinet by Sweden118 views
|
|
Ichiro snow sculpture/statue118 views
|
|
118 views
|
|
The Sususkino festival site features ice sculptures along the main road called Ekimae-dori which originates from Sapporo Station.118 views
|
|
117 views
|
|
Staircase and G8 Summit sign117 views
|
|
From Alberta, Canada117 views
|
|
The road has temporary panels.117 views
|
|
Most postcards of Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill show only this famous statue. So I had no idea that there was also a little tourist village.117 views
|
|
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??117 views
|
|
117 views
|
|
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.117 views
|
|
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. 117 views
|
|
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."117 views
|
|
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.117 views
|
|
All they had to do is wear something Hawaiian and it would've been perfect. But of course, nobody thought of that.117 views
|
|
117 views
|
|
Japan's Self-Defense Forces117 views
|
|
Hello baby!117 views
|
|
117 views
|
|
Baekje was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. 8丁目 韓国・百済117 views
|
|
117 views
|
|
Scale model of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.117 views
|
|
In 9-chome was this medium-size snow sculpture of Hokkaido University's Agricultural Dept. 9丁目 北海道大学農学部棟117 views
|
|
Ice slide at 10-chome called "Familyland."117 views
|
|
Here and there were souvenir stalls for official merchandise of the snow festival. 117 views
|
|
Eastern Skunk Cabbage snow sculpture/statue 座禅草117 views
|
|
Gundam117 views
|
|
Poster for the return of the Northern Territories116 views
|
|
116 views
|
|
116 views
|
|
In the late afternoon, they start to light up the sculptures. 116 views
|
|
116 views
|
|
Seeing these naked guys dancing on ice in front of Iolani Palace made my day. It was my festival climax before I had to leave to catch my 8:50 pm flight back to Tokyo.116 views
|
|
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.116 views
|
|
A drawing of Iolani Palace helps the carvers to carve the sculpture accurately.116 views
|
|
116 views
|
|
Shaping up very well.116 views
|
|
Each giant snow sculpture becomes a pile of snowy rubble.116 views
|
|
Hong Kong snow sculpture.116 views
|
|
Back of the "Zoo of the Northland" sculpture.116 views
|
|
Tora-san in an ecological car. (Tora means tiger, and 2010 is the Year of the Tiger.)116 views
|
|
Side view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.116 views
|
|
The Chibi Maruko-chan snow sculpture marked the 20th anniversary of the cartoon's TV broadcast.116 views
|
|
Smiling Great Buddha by People's Republic of China.116 views
|
|
Ghost Warrior Zhong Kui by Hong Kong was very impressive.116 views
|
|
Round Dance for Peace by Russia (Novosibirsk, Sapporo's sister city)116 views
|
|
Ghost Warrior Zhong Kui by Hong Kong.116 views
|
|
116 views
|
|
116 views
|
|
Odori Park at night during the Sapporo Snow Festival in Feb. 2010.116 views
|
|
Many of the ice sculptures are also advertisements.116 views
|
|
115 views
|
|
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 1882.115 views
|
|
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).115 views
|
|
Rear view of the Iolani Palace ice sculpture. Scaffolding propped up colored lights.115 views
|
|
Unfortunately, there was no sign in English explaining the Iolani Palace ice sculpture. I looked at this list of supporters and sponsors and found no one from Hawaii listed.115 viewsおい、ハワイ州観光局はまったくいないぞ。
|
|
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?115 views
|
|
Para-para dancer115 views
|
|
|
115 views
|
|
Icy foundation for the ice sculpture.115 views
|
|
Back of Dresdner Frauenkirche.115 views
|
|
Entering 7-chome which was the HBC (Hokkaido Broadcasting Co.) German Square. 7丁目 HBCドイツ広場115 views
|
|
About the Baekje Royal Palace in English.115 views
|
|
Rear view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.115 views
|
|
Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.115 views
|
|
The Gift, by the Netherlands.115 views
|
|
More international snow statues.115 views
|
|
11-chome also had a cross country ski track where you could try out ski walking for free.115 views
|
|
More snow sculptures in Odori Park.115 views
|
|
Brandenburg Gate in ice. The ice sculptures in Susukino are lit up until midnight.115 views
|
|
Another 1st place winner115 views
|
|
From Massachusetts, USA. The famous Dr. William Clark was from this US state.114 views
|
|
Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill is accessible by a 10-min. bus ride from Fukuzumi Station (Toho subway line). See the famous statue of William Clark on the fringe beyond the parking lot.114 views
|
|
No Hawaii events/entertainment in front of the Iolani Palace ice sculpture at the 2010 Sapporo Snow Festival. Hula is so popular in Japan, and no one danced hula in front of Iolani Palace in Sapporo??114 views
|
|
114 views
|
|
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.114 views
|
|
114 views
|
|
Brontosaurus114 views
|
|
Wolves114 views
|
|
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. 2010.114 views
|
|
Ultraman by Navy Misawa in Aomori.114 views
|
|
Too tall to be Chibi Maruko-chan.114 views
|
|
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. 114 views
|
|
Sauna, Sisu, and Sibelius by Finland.114 views
|
|
Bowl of Life by USA (Portland, Oregon, Sapporo's sister city).114 views
|
|
Another tiger114 views
|
|
It was worth the wait. The night views of the snow festival was very nice. This is Odori Park at night during the Sapporo Snow Festival.114 views
|
|
Crabs and fish frozen in this ice sculpture.114 views
|
|
T-rex114 views
|
|
This is the real Iolani Palace in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is next to Hawai'i's State Capitol in downtown Honolulu's King Street.114 views
|
|
Red bricks113 views
|
|
The place has a large parking lot and restaurant, shops, and wedding chapels. A little tourist village has formed over the years since the Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill opened in 1959.113 views
|
|
The Iolani Palace ice sculpture had a slim profile. This is a side view.113 views
|
|
113 views
|
|
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.113 views
|
|
Another boy group called B-Luck.113 views
|
|
Now see how another giant snow sculpture is built. It's the same process. A giant box is filled with snow.113 views
|
|
The Sapporo Snow Festival also features at least one giant ice sculpture. The foundation is made of ice.113 views
|
|
Candle lights113 views
|
|
Sign for 7-chome.113 views
|
|
113 views
|
|
The last block in Odori Park was 12-chome featuring numerous small snow statues made by city citizens.113 views
|
|
Okinawa's shiisa113 views
|
|
113 views
|
|
Skating rink at the foot of the Sapporo TV Tower. I decided to go up the tower to photograph the night views of the Odori Park festival site. It took about 30 min. to get on the elevator to the lookout deck. 700 yen admission.113 views
|
|
Another definition of "frozen fish."113 views
|
|
113 views
|
|
Hokkaido History Gallery occupies another room on the 2nd floor.112 views
|
|
Foot of Sapporo TV Tower. An elevator takes you up to the top lookout deck.112 views
|
|
A trio of girls perform the para-para dance.112 views
|
|
The reinforcement beams are covered with snow. A crane is used to carry the snow to high places.112 views
|
|
112 views
|
|
112 views
|
|
Ice slides for kids.112 views
|
|
Chibi Maruko-chan classmates112 views
|
|
This booth gave away hot matcha green tea.112 views
|
|
Buddha snow sculpture/statue112 views
|
|
In the foreground is the snowboard jump hill. At the top is the Northland animal sculpture.112 views
|
|
112 views
|
|
There's also the Northern Territories Room with exhibits clamoring for the return of the northern territories (Shikotan, Habomai, Etorofu). now occupied by Russia.111 views
|
|
111 views
|
|
The international section of sculptures.111 views
|
|
Crossing the road to 6-chome. 6丁目111 views
|
|
Dresdner Frauenkirche snow sculpture lit up at night.111 views
|
|
TV event in front of Dresdner Frauenkirche.111 views
|
|
Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.111 views
|
|
Castle in Noda, Chiba.111 views
|
|
Hideki Matsui in Godzilla's mouth.111 views
|
|
I just CANNOT BELIEVE that HVB's English and Japanese Web sites neva even mention the Iolani Palace at this year's Sapporo Snow Festival.110 views
|
|
ハワイPRの絶好のチャンスを完全に無視、逃がす。２百万人の来場者へのPRがパー。HPにもまったく掲載なし。110 views
|
|
110 views
|
|
110 views
|
|
Notice how the colored lighting varied between dark orange and white lighting.110 views
|
|
|
110 views
|
|
On-chan110 views
|
|
Mother helping son to study.110 views
|
|
Strange English on sign. 110 views
|
|
|
|
