Yuki Matsuri in Sapporo, Hokkaido

Several years ago, I read a short story by Barry Lopez about his experience in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s islands; the story as I remember it described wild land, roamed by bear and fox, which at the time I didn’t realize existed in Japan. It was also the first detailing of Japanese onsen (hot spring baths) that I’d read. The narrative carried a feeling of mystery, as Lopez looked off the northern coast of the island, across Russian waters; needless to say, I have wanted to see Hokkaido for myself for some time now.

I was visiting for the 60th annual Yuki Matsuri, a festival in Sapporo involving giant snow/ice sculptures, entertainment, and activities, so I knew the trip would not parallel Lopez’s whatsoever, but I was still excited. Others along for the trip (a group of English teachers from the Shizuoka area) were even more anxious with anticipation: there were a few people whose hometowns rarely, if ever, saw snow. (They were a bit shocked to hear that when I left home for Japan, there was about a foot of snow on the ground and more falling.)

We flew from Tokyo to Sapporo and went to Odori Park to see the grand snow sculptures:
And what is a festival without food on a stick?

We went to the Sapporo Factory and Bier Garten for dinner:Of course, a snowball fight ensued.

Downtown, one street was lined in ice sculptures...some awesome, some odd:

The next day we walked through a seafood market, then visited the Tsudome (Community Dome) for more snow-stuff:

We also took a bus to a small, nearby resort village, Jozenkai, to visit a rotemburo! It was absolutely awesome to be sitting in an outdoor hot spring pool, with snowflakes gently falling into the tub...there was also a spitfire grandma and her grandson, throwing snowballs over the wall to the men’s side.

Foot onsen by the Jozenkai bus stop!

Fluffy flakes fell every day in Hokkaido, adding to the beauty of this excellent winter vacation. From the snow of Sapporo, I returned to Shizuoka for one whole day before taking off for my next destination, a climate on the opposite end of the scale...