Yuki matsuri

I went to yuki matsuri this weekend, the snow festival in Sapporo (as in Sapporo beer, on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido).  The flight up to New Chitose airport was a little unsettling, because not one person at the airport checked IDs, not even at the security checkpoint.  I stayed in a hotel in the red light district of Sapporo, which was probably why it was so cheap, but it was actually quite nice.  Unlike Saitama, Hokkaido is serious about central heating and insulation, so the hotel room was much warmer than my apartment on an average night.  The first day, I went with some friends to Sapporo brewery.  It was a fair walk from Sapporo station but it was interesting to see how local shops and convenience stores use the large amount of snow to advertise.  At a park the snow that had been plowed off roads and sidewalks had been heaped up into a very nice sledding hill, complete with steps, and I had to slide down a couple of times.  The brewery itself was covered in snow and it started snowing when we got there—very pretty even if the snow did keep melting on my camera.  We found a good restaurant in the brewery with grill-it-yourself fare, including lamb and veggies.  The grill itself was in the shape of Hokkaido which was a nice touch.  I ate too much and tried the beer (although I opted not to do nomihodai—all you can drink).

In the evening we found a large Ferris wheel on top of a tall building, and I had to go for a ride to look out over the city even though I’m not too keen on heights.  After that we finally made it to the festival, and considering how all the snow and ice sculptures were lit up, I think evening’s probably the best time to go.  There were a lot of small snow sculptures, and when I say small I actually mean about seven feet tall on a base of five square feet.  My favorite small sculptures were Al Gore and The Scream, and there were a number of beautiful ones in what appeared to be a special section for the sculptures more geared towards the art of snow sculpting rather than advertising.  There were also about eight stage-sized snow sculptures, one advertising the new Narnia movie complete with dramatic music and a light show and an impressive Egyptian-themed sculpture.  And then there were the delicate ice sculptures, a few blocks of which were on a street near our hotel instead of in Odori Park where the rest of the festival took place.  I got my fill of souvenirs from the festival, including a small danpa, a panda with the colors reversed that appeared to be the mascot and marketing gimmick for this year’s festival.  Afterwards we went to find ramen alley and ate some delicious miso ramen at a very tiny but very popular ramen joint.  It was quite a change to have fresh ramen with a more complicated assortment of ingredients than I find in the instant ramen lunches.

The next day I took a bus to onsen in Jozankei, a beautiful spot in the mountains about an hour from Sapporo.  I got a ticket that included the bus fare both ways and a ticket to any of the onsen in the area.  However, not realizing I had many options, I naturally chose the onsen with the scenic view of the highway.  It was still relaxing.  Soaking in hot springs with the steam rising up around me while I take in the frozen winter landscape will never lose its charm, highway or no highway.