Sapporo Yuki Matsuri

This is going to be a MEGA-post. I should've broken up this post into at least two or three. Bear with me and enjoy the beautiful pictures!

Day 1
We flew out of Tokyo in the early morning of February 7th bound for the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival). While waiting to board the plane we caught an amazing view of Mt. Fuji. It's the snow-capped peak to the right of the airplane. It was much better in real life.















As with our previous trip to Sapporo, we stayed at the Prince Hotel. The hotel is conveniently located near Odori Kouen where the snow festival was being held. After getting settled into our rooms and donning multiple layers of clothes, we headed out. The streets were mostly cleared, but not salted. Some stretches of sidewalk where cleared and some stretches not at all. Ian and I were both very surprised to find the spacious walk-ways of Odori Kouen had not been cleared. Walking was difficult. Addison refused to walk and we didn't take our stroller, figuring she'd want to walk and play in the snow. We carried her the whole weekend.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"

"We Want to Protect the Earth and the Future of Our Children"

"Do Your Best! Consadole Sapporo Soccer Team"

"Sapporo Railway Station"

Addy and Ian with neko-chan (kitty)

Here's a famous guy.

The beer garden, of course!

"Relics of Egypt"

"National Treasure: Inuyama Castle"

PENGUIN!

Mobile Starbucks Hut

Looking into the hut

"A Mammoth Adventure at the North Pole"

Addy and Ian across from the Prince Hotel.

Several hours later we returned to the hotel. After warming up and relaxing some, we headed back out and ate dinner. Then we walked through more of the park. It really is a giant park.

Addy, Mommy, and Kitty-chan

Sapporo Railway Station all lit-up was holding a live performance.

View of Sapporo from our room on the 19th floor.
There were so many, many snow sculptures. I've just highlighted a few, especially the largest ones. To see all the sculptures from the first day, check out this slide show.

Day 2
The hotel has a really good breakfast buffet, which we happily partook. We went back to our room, added our layers upon layers and returned to Odori Kouen to see the rest of the snow sculptures. Amazing that we didn't see them all the first day, isn't it?

"The Seven gods of Good Fortune"
Addison really wanted to play on the ice slides on the first day, but we didn't feel she was wearing enough clothes. Since we dressed her as warmly as we could (without buying a snow suit that would be used for three days), we headed straight for the slides. Addy's the second slider in this clip.



Little Samurai, a popular cartoon character

Thomas is very popular in Japan.

Don't blink, you'll miss this clip.

"Freedom", characters from the anime series for Cup Noodle

"Tomodachi (friend) Slider" - Addy and Amanda are at the top left.



"Harmony with Nature: Shiretoko's Forest Companions"

This lady was playing a piano next to the above sculpture.

NHK's tv tower

Having finished seeing all the sculptures in Odori Kouen, we made our way back to the hotel and warmth. We rested a few hours, but then it was time to head back out for dinner. Addison really fought us about putting on her multiple layers again. Can't blame her, I didn't want to go back out either. But, since we don't know any Jingisu-khan (Genghis Khan) restaurants that deliver, we went back out. Genghis Khan-style restaurants serve grilled lamb, vegetables, and rice. We passed this tiny mom-and-pop restaurant early in our visit and decided to eat there. We were the only customers in a restaurant that can seat maybe a dozen people. It was cozy and delicious.
















After filling our bellies, we decided to venture to another area of Sapporo. In Susukino, there were many, many ice sculptures. At night the sculptures are lit up. Susukino is a very popular entertainment district. Many of the sculptures were sponsored by local bars. We saw ice carving and live penguins here too.

Addy, Amanda, and the mermaid.

The heart I'm holding
says
"Susukino Love"

Bailey's ice bar

Hot Bailey's and milk at the ice bar

We made it through three-quarters of the sculptures when Addison declared she was freezing. It was cold. We hoped in a taxi and made a quick trip back to the hotel to end our second day. Below are all the pictures from day 2.

By day 3 both Addison and I had had more than enough of the cold. After seeing the remainder of the ice sculptures in Susukino, it felt like there was nothing more to do. Unless we wanted to see everything again, which we didn't.

We decided to head to the airport and try to catch an earlier plane back. Of course, there weren't any openings. So we wasted 4 or so hours in the airport. There was a giant, inflatable, climbing, jumping area for kids and that helped speed things a bit. Having dinner helped use some of the time as well.

When we finally did arrive in Tokyo, we still had an hour's worth of trains to ride before we made it home. But, that wasn't the worst of it. Upon exiting the elevator at our station we were surprised to see it had snowed - a lot. It was sleeting as we left the shelter of the elevator entrance. Normally, the 10-minute walk home isn't a big deal. Not this night. The suitcase was acting like a snow plow in reverse; accumulating snow underneath as we walked. Addison woke up and was cold and crying. She refused to walk and I thought my arms were going to break. I've never been so grateful to walk in the door as I was that night. It was a MESS.

My final assessment - go to the Sapporo Snow Festival, but two days is all that is needed. Unless you really love the cold.