Sapporo Yuki Matsuri

The snow festival in Sapporo is quite famous throughout Japan, and draws a large crowd each year. Since I went early (Wed-Fri), it was not very busy and I had unobstructed views of the sculptures. There are three main sections of the festival. The largest sculptures are in Odori Park. The buildings made of ice are probably big enough to walk through. Different countries contributed to the festival. My favorite was the Japanese temple. They also had a large whale shark, Sponge Bob, penguins, a large head, and much more. Canada’s contribution raised some eyebrows.
There was also a Japanese boy band performing in front of one of the sculptures. The picture speaks for itself.

Ice carvings
In a different section of Sapporo, the “entertainment” district, there were ice carvings. They also had ice bars that served alcohol. I liked the Bailey’s Ice Bar. Only 200 Yen for a drink!
This are also has a street called “Ramen Alley” that is famous for it’s butter ramen. We found a place that was pretty good. Turns out that butter ramen is a miso, shoyu, or salt based soup with a large hunk of butter in it. Noodles and pork too. I tried the miso. It was really good.