Sapporo Snow Festival

We had come to see the annual snow festival, which was happening in several different locations around the city. Waku-Waku Tappy Land was at the top of my itinerary, mostly because of its ridiculously jolly sounding name, but also because my brochure claimed ice slides and hot drinks were involved. I pictured massive chutes wending their way through the streets, full of screaming riders whizzing past at speed. The reality was a little less thrilling, but fortunately by this stage I had already discovered how great the coffee in Japan is. I sipped my kafe-moka and watched small children slowly descending tiny ice slides into the arms of Waku-Waku staff members stationed at the end of each slope. The smallest children tended to run out of momentum halfway down the slide, and were gently shoved along for the remainder of the ride by the staff. Possibly the tamest snowsport ever, but one of the most charming.

The main part of the festival was a series of snow and ice sculptures in the middle of town, spanning seven or eight city blocks. In between the sculptures were vendors selling wintery festival food. I ate: toasted rice balls, seafood ramen, taiyaki (a custard-filled waffle in the shape of a fish), a tasty pork bun in the likeness of a piggy, oden (fish-based soup full of unidentifiable goodies) and an octopus leg on a stick. The last one was about as appealing as it sounds, but everything else was genuinely delicious.

The snow sculptures themselves were at their best at night time, when they were lit beautifully. The overriding theme seemed to be ‘German architecture’, of which there were several almost life-sized replicas. Further along was a series of smaller scale models, mostly comprising either cute Japanese cartoon characters (made by local groups) or mermaids/eagles/assorted mythological figures (made by foreigners). New Zealand’s entry depicted Maui wrestling desperately with a hideous serpent-like taniwha. Next door was a happy cartoon bento (lunchbox), each component smiling merrily as a snowy hand reached for the first riceball.