Sapporo Snow Festival Kicks Off
Sapporo, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)--An iconic annual snow festival kicked off in Sapporo, the capital of the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, on Tuesday, featuring a total of 202 snow and ice sculptures at three venues.
The Sapporo Snow Festival will run until Feb. 11.
Five giant snow sculptures, each about 10 to 13 meters tall, were set up at the Odori Park main venue. Among them is one based on the famous red brick building that was once used as the Hokkaido government's main office building, which is a major tourist spot, and another from a popular video game character.
Among sculptures created by locals are those of a carved wooden bear, a popular souvenir of Hokkaido, and Haruka Kitaguchi, a native of the Hokkaido city of Asahikawa, who won gold in the women's javelin throwing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"We want many people to enjoy and find their favorite sculptures," an official of the event's executive committee said.
(2025/02/04-14:02)
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