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What gets an otaku out of the house in the middle of a snow storm?
The Sapporo Snow Festival of course!
Every February in Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, the week-long Snow Festival is held in Sapporo.
Hundreds of snow and ice sculptures are displayed each year. The subject of the statues varies year by year but they usually feature pop culture, famous buildings or people and events including musical performances.
The sculptures are made by a special unit of the Self Defense Force, staff from Sapporo City Hall and local volunteers.
The scale of these sculptures vary widely with some being massive like the Tyrannosaurus Rex & Kamuysaurus display. These two dinos once roamed Hokkaido millions of years ago. Kamuysaurus was Japan’s first complete fossil of a large herbivorous dinosaur and its name comes from Kamuy which means god in Ainu, the language spoken by the indigenous people of Hokkaido.
The craftsmanship is also very impressive. The amount of detail that is finely carved for these temporary sculptures is something to admire. Take this angler fish sculpture for example!
The snow sculptures can be divided by “official” company sponsored and those built by volunteer citizens.
Let’s take a look at the 2023 anime snow sculptures!
Official Snow Sculptures
It wouldn't be Snow Fes without "Snow Miku!" Our favorite vocaloid has many different forms but in Hokkaido, she embodies winter.
Snow Miku was created based on a snow sculpture of Hatsune Miku that was created for Sapporo Snow Festival 2010. She can be seen with her pet, “Rabbit Yukine.”
At night, using projection mapping Snow Miku gave a little performance!
The girls take a break from studying and enjoy the snow!
Arona, the main mascot of Blue Archive makes an appearance sculpted in snow!
"Giving help that's not asked for is what makes a true hero!"
Yudias Velgear, the main character from "YU☆GI☆OH! Go Rush!!" makes an appearance ready to duel!
Unofficial Snow Sculptures
Anya was by far one of the most popular characters making an appearance at Snow Fes. She had several different snow sculptures built by different community groups and drew a large crowd for taking pictures. I think they did a great job capturing smug Anya’s “Heh” face!
"I'll give you my heart. In exchange... show me your dreams."
Totoro, Mei and Catbus!
Nezuko ditches the bamboo muzzle for something a little more tasty!
What's a Chiikawa? No one really knows! But who cares, they are small and cute!
Hope you enjoyed this one!
Until next time!
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