Sapporo Snow Festival 札幌雪祭り　さっぽろゆきまつり

The Sapporo Snow Festival is one of the great snow festivals in the world. Each year more than two million people come to Sapporo to see the magnificent snow and ice sculptures. There are three different venues with: Tsudome, Susukino, and Odori. Tsudome’s time is from January 30th to February 4th. Both Susukino and Odori run from February 4th to 11th. Tsudome and Susukino are great sites to see, but the one that is the oldest, largest, and most famous is definitely the Odori park site in downtown Sapporo.

How It All Began

Sapporo’s Snow Festival started in 1950 when some high school students made several large snow sculptures in Odori park during the beginning of February. Ever since then more and more people have been getting involved including the soldiers from the local Defense Force base. There have been some minor disruptions from time to time, but the people of Sapporo always seem to find a way to think through them and have fun.