Sapporo Snow Festival opens for 1st time in 3 yrs with 160 sculptures

The annual Sapporo Snow Festival began Saturday in the Hokkaido capital, opening its venues to the public for the first time in three years and featuring 160 sculptures made from snow and ice.

The festival, one of Japan’s largest winter celebrations dating back to 1950, returned to an in-person format after being held virtually for the previous two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hokkaido is a popular destination for overseas travelers. The snow festival usually attracts more than 2 million domestic and overseas tourists every year, with 2019 seeing a record 2.74 million people visiting...