73rd Sapporo Snow Festival 2023

Over a period of eight days from 4^th – 11^th Feb 2023, the City of Sapporo (Japan) is delighted to finally be able to host the 73^rd Sapporo Snow Festival. Though the festival is an infamous annual tradition dating back to humble origins in 1950, this is the first time in three years that the event has taken place due to the coronavirus pandemic. This edition will be particularly special as a celebration of 100 years since Sapporo was officially administered city status.

The main site will be the renowned Odori Park which spans 1.5 kilometres over the city centre. As a northern city, the festival makes good use of Hokkaido’s abundant powder snow, featuring five colossal sculptures each over 10m tall. Sculptures are primarily created by the Japanese Army as a form of training and the Sapporo Snow Festival Snow Sculpture Production Committee. As the sun falls, the sculptures come to life with multicoloured lights and projection mapping, a prominent media art.

Other unmissable sights include:

• A sculpture with a snow slide
• Snow sculptures created by citizens
• An ice curling park
• A park where visitors can play in the snow

Visitors can also enjoy an icy wonderland at the ice skating rink and “Crystal Street” at the nearby Susukino site.

In anticipation of the festival, the computer graphics feature Sapporo’s Scenery 100 Years from Now (created during the city’s series of educational workshops Creative Knock 2022) was transformed into a Winter Edition. This time, a variety of CG snowmen created by participants during the first workshops can be found dotted amongst the futuristic scenery. The feature will be displayed on the AUMIRU screen – one of the largest screens in Hokkaido – during the same period as the festival.