Janelle and I woke early, excited about our first full day in Japan. Our main goal was to see the Sapporo Snow Festival (which in Japanese is called さっぽろ雪まつり ) and fortunately one of the ladies on the Nikko hotel staff gave us good information about taking it in. She also suggested we stop at a convenience store to pick up some kairo for our hands, since it was quite cold outside and that would make the day more pleasant even though we had gloves.
JR Tower Hotel Nikko Japanese Style breakfast (photo: TripAdvisor)
Before we left the hotel we had a buffet breakfast in the Sky J restaurant on the 35th floor (amazing views!) which had both western and Japanese-style items and was quite good. A couple beside us were having rice with a interesting brown shiny substance on it which I later found out was called natto, a fermented soy bean which is very smelly but seems to be quite common at meals in Japan. Also some small silver fish which I tried as well which were quite good, dried and had a nice crunch.
Rilakkuma Sapporo Snow Festival
We had never heard of kairo, but they were easy enough to find at a local Lawson’s convenience store. It turns out that they are hand warmers that you can tuck into your pocket. First you shake them vigorously, and some kind of chemical action takes place and they give off a gentle heat. Playing with them in the pocket during the day kept them activated and warm, and I was surprised that they still gave off a bit of heat the next morning, though nothing like the first day. They were an excellent investment at under a dollar each.
Hello Kitty Kairo hand warmer
We headed off on the subway, which was clearly marked and easy to follow, since each line has a color and letter associated with it, and each station has a number. That was easier than trying to sort out the long Japanese names which somehow all seemed similar to us. We made it with no problem to the Tsudome venue, which was the second largest in the Sapporo Snow Festival. There are a few names for the Tsudome, Sapporo Community Dome (札幌コミュニティドーム) is the official name but it is widely known for its nickname “Tsudome” (つどーむ). It was a better one to visit during the day, the lady from the JR Tower Hotel Nikko had said, and again, she was right.
There were wonderful statues outside, glittering in the sunlight like they were made of crystal. We had thought that there were only big ones, but there were ones of all sizes, including displays of little ones by members of the community. But there was also a lot more to do than just look at statues. There was a big hill with sledding and snow rafting which was so much fun to watch; the kids were precious in their snow suits, squealing in delight. We finally broke down and decided to join in, since there was no one we knew to make fun of us acting just like the children!
After checking out the outside activities, we headed into the Tsudome itself. There were carnival-style attractions for kids, a food court, and a gift section. Actually, it was really interesting going up and down the aisles seeing all the products that the area is known for. There was a person on a stage talking very fast and wearing a bright plaid suit, everyone was laughing so I guess it was a comedy number, but we could not understand since it was all in Japanese. We decided to have an early lunch there since the smells from the food booths were so enticing and we could see and point to the things we wanted.
Tsudome food stalls during Sapporo Snow Festival
Next we got back on the subway and headed to the Susukino Venue. Apparently it is the smallest of the Snow Festival sites, but it had lots of sculptures which were complicated and interesting to see. Actually, the street around the sculptures was also of interest to us, since it is one of the entertainment areas of the town, they said. We liked seeing the signs hung vertically with kanji on them; it seemed so foreign and yet in many ways was similar to home.
The bulk of our day was then spent in the Odori Park area of Sapporo Snow Festival. I would like to see the park in summer when it is green with trees and a lawn, stretching down the center of the town. I bet it is a pleasant place for a stroll or a picnic. Instead, it was a winter wonderland, full of ice fantasies and crowds pressing around to see them.
We took a short detour to see the Sapporo Clock Tower, since it was near the park and one of the famous landmarks of the city. The building looked like it would be comfortable in Wisconsin, similar to a wooden, white church. The snow on the roof and ground gave it a monochrome charm that looked like it belonged on a jigsaw puzzle.
The inside was a museum mostly about the college that the tower used to belong to. There was plenty of English to understand the displays, but to be honest, we were not as excited about the interior of a western-style building as we were in seeing the Snow Festival, so it was not long before we were back outdoors.
“A flapping of wings crane” at Sapporo Snow Festival
“Breathtaking” and “unbelievable” were two of the main words Janelle and I came up with for describing the sculptures in this venue. There were giant castles and monuments from around the world, glittering in the ice. Cute animals and even Disney characters frolicked, frozen in vignettes that appealed to young and old. As the day turned into evening, these sculptures were lit up with lights of all colors, making them glow with an inner radiance.
Ise Jingu @ Sapporo Snow Festival
Again, we were amazed at the variety of activities and things to do. I guess we had an image of just looking at a few sculptures, but there were booths selling souvenirs, food, and advertising things that escaped our recognition. There was a special snow course where you could try cross country skiing for free, though we decided against that when we saw the long line waiting. Instead, we enjoyed some time gliding on the ice skating rink. To be honest, we had never skated outdoors before, so that was a fun experience for us both. Somehow it felt more magical than skating on a rink of artificial ice indoors. One of the shows was in front of a beautiful snow sculpture by Hawaiian hula dancers. They had a great show but hope they didn’t get frostbite, it was pretty cold!
Hawaiian Hula Dancers at Sapporo Snow Festival
In the evening we took a break for dinner. We had heard about a place in the JR Station Tower which was called Ramen Republic and decided to try it and get out of the cold for a while. We found it on the 10th floor of a ESTA department store, and it felt like we had stepped back in time. There were paper lanterns lighting the shops, and an old steam engine next to a fake station. There were restaurants selling ramen, but also there were souvenir shops with ramen and related items.
What fun to look around; the rich colors and post-war city feel were a welcome change from the chill white of the festival outside. To be honest, I think Ramen Republic fit my image of Japan better than the cosmopolitan metropolis we found Sapporo to be.
We were at a loss of which ramen to eat, though. There were so many kinds, from brown soup with curly noodles and pork on top to noodles served on the side that you dip into a broth. Others had seafood in them, and others had almost clear broth. We ended up with one that is famous in Sapporo, with miso in the broth and corn and butter on top. It sounded a bit strange, but was hearty and warm, totally unlike the instant noodles that come to mind when we think of ramen. It wasn’t exactly a gourmet meal, but I know that we will be trying to recreate it when we get back home, it was so filling and delicious. We decided to try other variations of ramen later on the vacation.
Ramen Republic restaurant menu
The day was truly memorable, and it is hard to describe our child-like wonder. After dinner we went back to see the sculptures one more time in the full dark before retiring, exhausted, to our hotel room.
