Yuki Matsuri

While Okinawans are celebrating cherry blossoms, the folks on the island of Hokkaido are still in the middle of winter. I went to Sapporo for a few days to see the snow festival. The weather was warmer than I expected, dipping only slightly below freezing during the day. The biggest attraction was a park full of giant snow and ice sculptures. Some of these were gigantic, and I have no idea how people made them. Really quite impressive. (If you want a closer look, try clicking on the photos. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.)

In this photo, you can see just how big the sculptures are.