I’m sitting at my hotel in Hokkaido, having a tart and coffee. It’s warm in here even though I have the thermostat set to 23 degrees. I’m enjoying the warmth after several hours in the snow and cold today.
I got to Hokkaido yesterday in time to enjoy the ice and snow sculptures in Odori park and the entertainment for the final night of the Sapporo Winter Festival. Light snow constantly fell over everything giving the illusion of a snow globe. The scale of the sculptures is empressive. There is one of animals at the zoo and several of buildings. Most of the sculptures are done by Japanese but there is an International Park with sculptures representing the following countries: Finland, USA, China, Thailand, Korea, Bali, New Zealand, Singapore and Hawaii (yes I know it’s not a country). There were two other sites for sculptures too but I didn’t make it to either of them. And now it’s too late because I saw cranes tearing the sculptures apart as I walked to my hotel tonight.
Right opposite my hotel was one of he largest sculptures. A stage was created as part of the sculpture, one of several such stages created in Odori Park to host performances. Most of the Japanese performances that I’ve seen involved taiko drumming. These were unique in that there were no live instruments. Large groups of performers danced while one person on the sidelines called out/sang out. Considering how cold it was, I was surprised that the outfits were often sleeveless or bared the men’s torsos. In one outfit, the men stripped down to underwear. There was even a Japanense boy band who performed. One thing that strikes me when I watch Japanese performances with dancing is how much fun the participants seem to have. The audience was having lots of fn too, dancing and waving in time with the performers.
Today I simply walked around the city and went to the zoo. I’m heading to Otaru tomorrow.
More pictures when I get home …
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