The Sapporo Snow Festival is a famous yearly festival in Japan held over seven days in February. In the year 2004 it was held from February 5 to 11. In the year 2005 it is planned to take place from February 7 to 13.

It is one of the largest winter events in Japan. Many teams from various foreign countries come to participate. It is thought to be an opportunity for international communications. About two million people come to see the enormous beautiful snow statues made from hard work, lining up in Odori Park.

The topic for the statues varies, and it is likely to feature an event or famous person from the past year. For example, in 2004 there were statues of Matsui Hideki; the famous baseball player who plays for the New York Yankees. There are even long slides made from ice which people can actually slide down!

The Snow Festival began in 1950, when local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park. In 1955, the Japan Self-Defence Forces joined in and built the first massive snow sculpture, for which the Snow Festival has become famous. Sometimes, in years when the amount of snowfall is less heavy than usual, the Self-Defense Force brings snow from other places to open the festival.

External links

• Official Sapporo Snow Festival site (Japanese) (http://www.snowfes.com)
• Official Sapporo Snow Festival site (English) (http://www.snowfes.com/english/index_e.html)
• Images from Sapporo Snow festival (Openhistory.org) (http://www.openhistory.org/pics/snow_fest/index.html)

ja:さっぽろ雪まつり th:เทศกาลหิมะซัปโปโร