A series of ice sculptures coming together in the festival's Susukino area

Held every year during the month of February, the Sapporo Snow Festival is one of the most important annual events in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, known for its spectacular snow sculptures displayed along 11 blocks of Sapporo's central Odori Park. Additional attractions can also be found at two separate sites - in the Susukino entertainment district and at Sapporo's Sports Exchange Facility, nicknamed Tsudome.

Assembled from hardened ice and snow with the aid of machines then finished by hand, the sculptures themselves range from modestly sized to several stories in height, with subject matter including tourist destinations, anime and pop culture memes. Although the festival will be held from February 4-11, I arrived in the city two days ahead of time to see how the preparations were going and to get a preview of this year's sculptures.

Otani Shohei in one of the Citizen Squares
Self Defence Forces staff at work on one of the larger murals

While the areas containing this year's five major pieces were cordoned off, I was nonetheless able to get some sneaky pictures from around the perimeter, getting a sense of their sheer scale and the logistical effort involved. I was especially interested to see that, as in previous years, uniformed members of Japan's Self Defence Forces made up a significant part of the work crew.

The themes for the big five include two iconic buildings - the Otaru Ginrinso Ryokan and the Former Hokkaido Government Office Building, the popular anime series "That time I got reincarnated as a slime", the upcoming video game "Monster Hunter Wilds" and a piece entitled "Thoroughbreds racing to Sapporo", celebrating Hokkaido's long history as a producer of thoroughbred racing horses. Of the five, two will make use of projection mapping to create dynamic visual effects, while one is described as incorporating a slide.

The character of Rimuru Tempest from "That time I got reincarnated as a slime"
A large relief sculpture called "Thoroughbreds racing to Sapporo"
The same piece seen from a different angle
Work in progress on the sculpture depicting the Otaru Ginrinso Ryokan
A team works on the "Monster Hunter Wilds" piece with the help of a boom lift
A sculpture depicting the Former Hokkaido Government Office Building
A Self Defence Forces crew work on the building's famous octagonal spire

In the two "Citizen Squares" set aside for smaller works by the public, the atmosphere was friendly and buzzing with anticipation as dozens of teams, many representing companies located in the city, rushed to finish their pieces. One team, staffed with volunteers from the elderly daycare service Cocoro, even invited me over to place a single decorative scale on their beautiful artwork featuring a large salmon.

Members of the Cocoro team pose with their work
An ice daruma
Pikachu from the Pokemon series

Spread across the various squares, I also found a wide range of medium-sized sponsored artworks with professional-looking crews, with subject matter ranging from ubiquitous cooking products to the latest anime series.

A piece celebrating Hello Kitty's recent 50th anniversary
Another medium-sized work promoting Kewpie mayonnaise

Apart from the artworks, visitors will be able to take part in a range of activities, ice skate on a temporary rink and buy hot or alcoholic drinks from several vendors.

The temporary ice rink

After exploring the Odori Park site, I took a 10 minute walk south to the much smaller secondary festival venue in the Susukino entertainment district. Here, divided into five separate blocks, visitors will find ice sculptures including the winners of competitions held throughout Japan, a handful of interactive attractions, a food and drinks corner and an illuminated avenue.

An ice sculptor at work with a chainsaw
A complex work in progress
A piece by the APR corporate group, highlighting the Nikka Whisky brand
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