[Vidéo] Splendid ice sculptures: the Sapporo snow festival has started

After two “virtual” editions in 2021 and 2022 for health reasons, the famous Sapporo snow festival (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri) is being held again this year from February 4 to 11 in the capital of the island of Hokkaido, in the north from Japan. No less than 160 ice sculptures are to be admired in the main avenue of the city, some of which are made by the inhabitants.

Among the most interesting creations are representations of animals, such as the long-tailed tit shima-enaga, a bird living in Hokkaido. And 2023 being the year of the rabbit according to the according to the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac animals (known in Japanese as the line up), it is not uncommon to find sculptures honoring this small animal.

In the current context of the war in Ukraine, many ice sculptures have been made on the theme of peace.

Also not to be missed are five performances linked to the “Ballpark F Village”, a complex which will open in the neighboring city of Kitahiroshima in March and which will include a baseball stadium.

(See also our article: The amazing story of the Sapporo Snow Festival)

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]