The 2024 Sapporo Snow Festival, one of the most popular winter events in Sapporo, Hokkaido, will be held for eight days from February 4 (Sun.) to 11 (Sun., national holiday)! Here are some of the highlights of each venue, including the powerful snow sculptures that line each site, the beautifully illuminated ice sculptures, and attractions for children and adults alike.

The 74th "2024 Sapporo Snow Festival" will be held for eight days from Sunday, February 4 to Sunday, February 11, 2024. The Sapporo Snow Festival began in 1950 when local junior high and high school students set up six snow sculptures in Odori Park, and has since become one of the three major snow festivals in the world and a major winter event attracting approximately 2 million visitors from Japan and abroad.

There are three main venues: Odori, Susukino, and Tsudomu. The Odori venue, located in the center of Sapporo City, features a wide variety of snow sculptures, including large, powerful snow sculptures and snow sculptures created by citizens, while the Susukino venue features fantastic ice sculptures lit up with lights. The Tsudomu venue, located on the outskirts of Sapporo, offers attractions such as a tube slide and a giant slide for families to enjoy.

■Odori Venue (Odori Park Nishi 1-chome to Nishi 11-chome)

Date/Time: Sunday, February 4, 2024 - Sunday, February 11, 2024 (national holiday)
A world of snow will appear from Nishi 1-chome to Nishi 11-chome in Odori Park in the heart of Sapporo. The festival will feature five large snow sculptures, small and medium-sized snow sculptures, citizen's snow sculptures, and winter attractions.

Sapporo Ekimae Dori (West 3 and 4 chome from Minami 4 to Minami 6 chome)

Date/Time：February 4 (Sun.) to 11 (Sun., holiday), 2024
At the Susukino venue, where fantastic ice sculptures stand side by side, visitors will be able to see and touch the ice sculptures and experience the world of ice.

Tsudomu Venue (885-1 Sakae-cho, Higashi-ku, Sapporo)

Dates: February 4 (Sun.) to 11 (Sun., national holiday), 2024
The Tsudomu venue is popular for its slides and snow rafts for parents and children to enjoy together. The indoor space will feature gourmet booths and rest areas, as well as attractions for children to play.

At Odori Venue 1-chome, you can experience curling and throw curling stones used in official games. Staff support is available, so beginners are also welcome! Also, on February 10 (Sat.) and 11 (Sun., holiday), a premium experience with a top curling team is scheduled.

*Image is for reference only.

THE IDOLM@STER™©Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.

Organized by Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. (supported by DNP Dai Nippon Printing)

The "THE iDOLM@STER" series, which started as a social game and has gained popularity through a variety of media mixes, will be the first snow sculpture. Hokkaido-born idols Chinatsu Aikawa, Anastasia, Otoha Umeki, Chiaki Kurokawa, Chiya Shirayuki, Anzu Futaba, and Miyuki Yanase make a triumphant return to their hometown to promote Hokkaido's charms. The snow sculptures will be based on the motif of a snow castle, and familiar mascot characters such as Pinyakorata and Ringoro will also make an appearance. There will also be sales booths and food and beverage booths at the venue.

Airship Orchestra" by Australian art and technology studio Enes

Sapporo International Art Festival (SIAF) is an art event held once every three years where you can see various art works. SIAF2024, the first winter event, will be held under the theme of "LAST SNOW. A "snow town of the future" will appear in Odori venue 2-chome.

JIKU" by Seiichi Saito of Panoramatics, in which three rays of light illuminate the sky above the venue.

MUJI Hut" at the venue by Ryohin Keikaku Co.

© Satoru Noda/Shueisha, Golden Kamuy Production Committee

The popular TV animation "Golden Kamui" will appear as a large snow sculpture. Based on the hit manga by Satoru Noda serialized in Weekly Young Jump, the snow sculpture is a collaboration with Upopoi (ethnic coexistence symbolic space) in Shiraoi Town, Hokkaido. The snow sculptures will be created by the "11th Special Forces Group, 11th Anti-aircraft Special Forces Group, and 11th Reconnaissance Group, 11th Brigade, Ground Self-Defense Force," which has been creating snow sculptures for the Sapporo Snow Festival for many years.

©️ Hokkaido Shimbun

Hokkaido is a major thoroughbred breeding area. Hokkaido is a major thoroughbred breeding area in Japan, and many famous Thoroughbred horses have been produced in Hokkaido, where they are loved by their owners, trainers, and stable keepers as if they were their own children. This large snow sculpture depicts thoroughbreds running at full speed at the Sapporo Racecourse, aiming for victory in a race. Projection mapping will also be used to depict thoroughbreds running through the four seasons in the vast land of Hokkaido.

©️ Studio Dice/Shueisha, TV Tokyo, KONAMI

From the "Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters" anime series, the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", the ace monster of the main character's rival, Seto Kaiba, will be summoned as a snow sculpture!

Five Sapporo-based artists and craftsmen (Yukari Kawasaki, Fumihide Kumagai, Ikutaro Shimizu, Hiroaki Shimizu, and Hiroto Maeda) will create snow sculptures from the Arata Hongo Memorial Sapporo Sculpture Museum. They will create creative works that make the most of the characteristics of snow to entertain visitors.

©HBC Hokkaido Broadcasting Corporation 2024

The snow sculpture of Neuschwanstein Castle, which is said to be the model for the castle in the fantasy animation, was created based on the concept of "the true appearance of an old German knight's castle" in the 19th century, The beautiful castle, built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria at the end of the Romantic Road in the southern part of the Federal Republic of Germany, will be recreated with the skilled techniques of the "Sapporo Snow Festival Large Snow Statue Production Committee No.3 Snow Statue Production Group" and the enthusiasm of citizen volunteers.

©HTB

The motif of the snow sculpture, "Old Sapporo Station", is a reproduction of the third generation Sapporo Station building, which was completed in 1908 and used until 1952. When it served as Sapporo Station, the station building had a total floor area of 2,765 m2 and was a two-story wooden building in the Renaissance style, an architectural style that represented the cutting edge of fashion at the time. The symmetrically balanced building was talked about as a high-color building representing Sapporo.

©Nippon Ham Corporation, ©UHB

A large snow sculpture of "ES CON FIELD HOKKAIDO" and Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo appears in 10-Chome In March 2023, HOKKAIDO BALLPARK F VILLAGE, an area that includes a new ballpark for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, will be born." More than 3 million people from Hokkaido, the rest of Japan, and the world have visited F VILLAGE, which aims to realize "a ballpark the world has never seen before.

This year, the snow sculpture has evolved into a large snow sculpture that can be "played" as well as "watched" with the addition of a "slide" that anyone can participate in. Please enjoy the snow sculpture and the sight of Director Shinjo enjoying Hokkaido's winter sports.

Snow Miku 2024 © Crypton Future Media, INC. www.piapro.net Good Smile Company

The Snow Miku Snow Statue, which has gained popularity every year, will appear again this year. The character "Snow Miku", which supports Hokkaido, was created when a pure white snow statue of "Hatsune Miku" was made at the Sapporo Snow Festival in 2010, and since then "SNOW MIKU", a festival in which "Snow Miku" plays a leading role, has been held every year in Hokkaido. The theme for 2024 is "feast in the image of Hokkaido's winter".

In 2024, the theme will be "feast" inspired by Hokkaido's winter.

*Past events

The Susukino venue is centered on Minami 4-jo Nishi 3 and 4-Chome in front of Sapporo Station Street and is lined with fantastic ice sculptures under the theme of "Enjoying and touching ice". The large ice sculptures, ice sculptures with fish in them, and other ice sculptures shining under the neon lights of Susukino are fantastic and spectacular.

The Tsudomu venue is filled with attractions for children and adults alike, such as snow and ice slides and tube slides! Not only the outdoor venue, but also the all-weather indoor dome venue has fun projects and a gourmet court, so you can enjoy yourself to the fullest even in bad weather.

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