Sapporo Snow Festival on Hokkaido | |
[영어뉴스] 최종수정일 / 2010년 02월 03일 |
The festival is thought to be an opportunity for promoting international relations. International Snow Sculpture Contest has been held at the Odori Park site since 1974, and 14 teams from various regions of the world participated in 2008.
The subject of the statues varies and often features an event, famous building or person from the previous year. And every year the number of statues displayed is around 400 in total. The best place to view the creations is from the TV Tower at the Odori Park site. Most of the statues are illuminated in the evening. The Sapporo Snow Festival Museum is located in the Hitsujigaoka observation hill in Toyohira-ku, and displays historical materials and media of the festival.
The Snow Festival began in 1950, when six local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park. In 1955, the Japan Self-Defense Forces from the nearby Makomanai base joined in and built the first massive snow sculptures, for which the Snow Festival has now become famous. Several snow festivals existed in Sapporo prior to the Sapporo Snow Festival, however, all of these were suspended during World War II.
The Snow holiday is truly a community effort, with voter’s groups both creating ice sculptures and helping tourists, particularly the disabled. They also provide traveller info and act as interpreters for the flood of foreign guests. Hotel reservations for the Snow festival should be made at least six months in advance.
If you enjoy traveling and would like to read more on some of the most famous places in the world, visit famouswonders.com.
2010 January 20th,
By reporter Choi Jung-in
hakboji@donga.ac.kr
저작권자 © 동아대학교 다우미디어센터 무단전재 및 재배포 금지