Festivals of snow and light

According to the festival's official site, the Sapporo Snow Festival began in 1950 when local junior and senior high school students placed six snow statues in Ōdōri Park.

In 1955 the Self-Defense Forces joined in making statues for the first time, making large-scale sculptures possible. An international snow sculpture contest began in 1974, and the festival spread from Ōdōri Park to other sites across the city.

Begun with a handful of small statues, the festival has grown with the hands of citizens, the Self-Defense Forces and teams from abroad. In a land of long winters, snow is both a burden of daily life and something to be shared with delight — the snow festival shows both.