Travel News Sapporo Snow Festival returns in 2023

[thomas]

After a three-year hiatus, the Sapporo Snow Festival kicked off on Saturday, 4 February, drawing admiring visitors from around the world. It marked the first time since 2020 that the event to be held on-site. This year, about a hundred snow sculptures are featured, including five gigantic ones each in excess of 10 metres tall. They are on display at the main Odori Koen park venue in this city’s Chuo Ward.

Photo credit: Asahi​

The novel coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of the festival for the past two years, so the events were held online instead. This year’s version did not provide food and drink booths, popular stops at past festivals, due to COVID-19 concerns. Among the sculptures on display are ones of major league slugger and pitcher Shohei Ohtani and Tsuyoshi Shinjo, manager of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. The sculptures are illuminated at night. The festival continues until Feb. 11.

Sapporo Snow Festival returns after 2-year COVID-19 hiatus | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

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