Most viewed - Sapporo 札幌市 |
At 5-chome was "Place Where Dreams Come True" featuring sculpture of Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Cinderella's Castle. Disney is popular in Japan.123 views
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The second site of the Sapporo Snow Festival is here in Susukino, a short walk from Odori Park. Susukino is a well-known nighttime entertainment area.123 views
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The exhibits explain about the history of Hokkaido's early settlement and development.122 views
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Rear of the triple-arch staircase.122 views
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Cannon balls122 views
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Building near Odori Park welcoming the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit.122 views
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Sapporo TV Tower anchors the east end of Odori Park.122 views
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They install wooden beams serving to reinforce the snow structures.122 views
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A Shinto shrine made of ice.122 views
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In the next block at 3-chome was the Snowboard Jump hill standing 24 meters high and 65 meters long. They held snowboard jump tournaments during the snow festival. Free to watch.122 views
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Mickey and Minnie Mouse122 views
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6-chome had this medium-size snow sculpture called Seitokai no Ichizon. 生徒会の一存122 views
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Illumination tunnel122 views
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The construction of the tower and installation of the clock was completed in 1881. The clock was made by Howard Clock Co. of Boston, MA. It is still in the Clock Tower, sounding its original chime.121 views
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I think this was the lion dog at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka.121 views
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Snow leopard at night.121 views
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Mini train was popular. Notice the long line in the background.121 views
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The Clock Tower was used as a drill hall and ceremony hall. After the college moved, the building was used by local citizens for cultural purposes such as a library and lecture hall.120 views
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Records of songs which mention the Clock Tower.120 views
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Construction wall for the upcoming Nissei Bdlg.120 views
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Snow Festival poster120 views
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Wedding chapel. Not for tourists, but you can take the elevator to the top floor for fine views of the surrounding area.120 views
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They turned out to be very lively. When you're dressed this lightly, it's best to move a lot to keep warm in freezing temperatures.120 views
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2 million people visit the Sapporo Snow Festival, many from China and Korea. Many of them would love to be in warm Hawaii.120 views
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Filling up the mold...120 views
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The large citizens' area feature smaller snow sculptures created by city citizens. Snow blocks are provided.120 views
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It was not the first time Iolani Palace was built at the Sapporo Snow Festival. In Feb. 1982, it was built of snow as one of the largest sculptures.120 views
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Taniwha by New Zealand120 views
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Freyderyk Chopin by Poland120 views
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Governor's desk in the governor's former office.119 views
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Look how beautiful this Iolani Palace ice sculpture is. I was red-faced not only from the cold, but also that no one from Hawaii did anything here.119 views
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Guess what this part will be.119 views
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Medium-size snow sculpture of Germany's Wartburg Castle. ヴァルトブルク城119 views
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German Square's main snow sculpture was this Dresdner Frauenkirche, a Lutheran Church in Dresden, Germany. フラウエン教会119 views
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Hatsune Miku was much photographed. 初音ミク119 views
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Back to the other end of Odori Park is the TV Tower.119 views
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Another room on the 2nd floor shows Hokkaido's international relations with sister states in Alberta, Canada; Massachusetts, USA; and Heilongjiang, China.118 views
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They are building the new underground passage right above the Namboku subway line which runs under Ekimae-dori.118 views
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Like the other big sculptures, various free entertainment was held on a stage in front of the Iolani Palace sculpture. This was the entertainment schedule. I was very disappointed to find nothing Hawaiian.118 views
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About the "Zoo of the Northland" in English.118 views
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Facing Mickey and Minnie Mouse was this PR booth by a soft drink maker. Inside was a display of Uemura Aiko's ski wear and skis.118 views
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A flag-raising game held in front of the ice sculpture. The Iolani Palace ice sculpture is 16 meters wide and 8 meters high. It was built with 700 large blocks of ice weighing 135 kg (298 lb.) each.118 views
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The Susukino ice sculptures compete for 1st and 2nd place awards.118 views
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Hokkaido History Gallery includes wildlife exhibit.117 views
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Sapporo TV Tower lookout deck.117 views
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The facade is shaped...117 views
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Shaping the pterodactyl117 views
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Even the veins look realistic. Pterodactyl made of snow.117 views
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John Lennon117 views
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Back of the snowboard jump hill.117 views
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Also in 5-chome was the snow festival's largest ice sculpture: Iolani Palace, Hawaii's most famous building and built in 1882 by King David Kalakaua as the royal residence.117 views
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Here and there at the Odori Park site, freebies were give away. This line was for miso paste.117 views
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Snow sculpture by Singapore117 views
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International food stalls117 views
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Second floor corridor.116 views
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Inside the former office of the Governor. There's a large conference table and the walls are decorated with portraits of past Hokkaido governors.116 views
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Petition for the return of the Northern Territories. As of late April 2008, over 80.3 million people signed the petition.116 views
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Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill's lookout deck.116 views
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Building an ice sculpture.116 views
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Also ski jumpers. 3丁目 スノーボードジャンプ台116 views
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People taking advantage of the picture-taking service in front of the Northland animals.116 views
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Booth for Poland.116 views
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Hanoman Duta by Indonesia116 views
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My YouTube video of Iolani Palace at the Sapporo Snow Matsuri in 2010.116 views
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Most of the rooms open to the public are on the 2nd floor.115 views
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A stately room. The governor's desk is in the right corner.115 views
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Construction machinery on Sapporo Ekimae-dori.115 views
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The road has temporary panels.115 views
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Now some photos of the 1982 Sapporo Snow Festival. This was when they built Iolani Palace out of snow (not ice). These are army trucks hauling in snow to the Odori Park site in early Jan.115 views
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Japan's Self-Defense Forces115 views
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Destroying Iolani Palace made of snow.115 views
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Hello baby!115 views
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Icy foundation for the ice sculpture.115 views
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Smaller snow sculptures made by companies and organizations also dot the festival site.115 views
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Baekje was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. 8丁目 韓国・百済115 views
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In 9-chome was this medium-size snow sculpture of Hokkaido University's Agricultural Dept. 9丁目 北海道大学農学部棟115 views
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Korea's sculpture was the sexiest of all.115 views
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Ghost Warrior Zhong Kui by Hong Kong.115 views
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Going to the 2nd floor.114 views
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Facing the Iolani Palace sculpture were food stalls such as this German almond food stall. I couldn't comprehend why there weren't any Hawaii-related stalls instead. How about selling macadamia nuts or having a Hawaii Visitors Bureau booth??114 views
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As I was watching all this entertainment, how I wished there would be hula dancers too. Iolani Palace, being the home of King David Kalakaua who promoted hula in Hawaii, is a symbol of the hula movement. 114 views
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And no one performed hula or anything Hawaiian in front of this Iolani Palace ice sculpture. It was sad and a wasted opportunity. They dance the hula everywhere in Japan except in front of an Iolani Palace sculpture?? Does that make sense to you?114 views
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A drawing of Iolani Palace helps the carvers to carve the sculpture accurately.114 views
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Pterodactyl wings114 views
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Head of T-Rex114 views
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This is a lion dog at a shrine in Fukuoka.114 views
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Smoking was prohibited while walking at the festival site, so these smoking stations were provided.114 views
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A food court faced the Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.114 views
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Ice slide at 10-chome called "Familyland."114 views
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10丁目 ちびまる子ちゃん114 views
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Grandmother's doll cabinet by Sweden114 views
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Ichiro snow sculpture/statue114 views
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Booth for signing a petition to return the Northern Territories (Habomai, Etorofu, Shikotan islands) off Hokkaido, held by Russia.114 views
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The skating rink next to the foot of the TV Tower had a Christmas tree with heart-shaped lighting not noticeable from the ground.114 views
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The Sususkino festival site features ice sculptures along the main road called Ekimae-dori which originates from Sapporo Station.114 views
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Brandenburg Gate in ice. The ice sculptures in Susukino are lit up until midnight.114 views
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Salmon114 views
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Staircase and G8 Summit sign113 views
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From Alberta, Canada113 views
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All they had to do is wear something Hawaiian and it would've been perfect. But of course, nobody thought of that.113 views
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Shaping up very well.113 views
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Food stall staff shouted to attract customers' attention.113 views
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About Dresdner Frauenkirche in English.113 views
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Side view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.113 views
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Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.113 views
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Playing with grandpa.113 views
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The Gift, by the Netherlands.113 views
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Round Dance for Peace by Russia (Novosibirsk, Sapporo's sister city)113 views
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Here and there were souvenir stalls for official merchandise of the snow festival. 113 views
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Another 1st place winner113 views
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Hokkaido History Gallery occupies another room on the 2nd floor.112 views
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Poster for the return of the Northern Territories112 views
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Scale model of the Iolani Palace made of wood, painted white. Built for the 33rd Sapporo Snow Festival in 1982. The palace is in Honolulu, Hawaii, built by King David Kalakaua in 1882.112 views
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In the late afternoon, they start to light up the sculptures. 112 views
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No Hawaii events/entertainment in front of the Iolani Palace ice sculpture at the 2010 Sapporo Snow Festival. Hula is so popular in Japan, and no one danced hula in front of Iolani Palace in Sapporo??112 views
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Even though I was seeing all this entertainment totally unrelated to Hawaii, I have to say that the icy Iolani Palace made a great backdrop for these performers.112 views
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Brontosaurus112 views
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Each giant snow sculpture becomes a pile of snowy rubble.112 views
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Candle lights112 views
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Tora-san in an ecological car. (Tora means tiger, and 2010 is the Year of the Tiger.)112 views
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Next at 8-chome was the Baekje Royal Palace of Korea. The sculpture is 25 meters wide and 18 meters high. Apparently it was built on the occasion of the Great Baekje World Festival to be held during Sept.-Oct. 2010.112 views
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About the Baekje Royal Palace in English.112 views
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Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.112 views
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Smaller snow sculptures dot 9-chome.112 views
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Ultraman by Navy Misawa in Aomori.112 views
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Sento-kun, official mascot for Nara's 1200th anniversary. Not a good likeness, but acceptable.112 views
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Dirt sprinked on the snowy and icy paths gives your shoes better grip. It is very easy to slip and fall while walking on Sapporo's icy roads and sidewalks.112 views
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About the Hawaii team's snow statue.112 views
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Sauna, Sisu, and Sibelius by Finland.112 views
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Bowl of Life by USA (Portland, Oregon, Sapporo's sister city).112 views
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11-chome also had a cross country ski track where you could try out ski walking for free.112 views
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Eastern Skunk Cabbage snow sculpture/statue 座禅草112 views
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It was worth the wait. The night views of the snow festival was very nice. This is Odori Park at night during the Sapporo Snow Festival.112 views
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Odori Park at night during the Sapporo Snow Festival in Feb. 2010.112 views
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More snow sculptures in Odori Park.112 views
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Many of the ice sculptures are also advertisements.112 views
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Gundam112 views
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From Massachusetts, USA. The famous Dr. William Clark was from this US state.111 views
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Most postcards of Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill show only this famous statue. So I had no idea that there was also a little tourist village.111 views
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This was not the first time Iolani Palace was at the Sapporo Snow Festival. It was also featured in Feb. 1982 when it was made of snow (photos below).111 views
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It was very impressive and made my trip to Sapporo worthwhile. The lingering question remained: Where was the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau??? Why weren't they here passing out Hawaii PR brochures?111 views
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Get in touch with people from Hawaii living in Sapporo/Hokkaido. They would volunteer to pass out Hawaii brochures or maybe even perform hula on the icy stage.111 views
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Para-para dancer111 views
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Sure it's cold to perform here. But look at these girls in shorts. They weren't shivering. This is another local wannabe Hokkaido girl group called "Cream."111 views
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On the final night of the snow festival, they had yosakoi soran groups perform. They turned out to be the entertainment climax in front of Iolani Palace.111 views
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Seeing these naked guys dancing on ice in front of Iolani Palace made my day. It was my festival climax before I had to leave to catch my 8:50 pm flight back to Tokyo.111 views
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They even included a now statue of King Kamehameha, the king who unified the Hawaiian islands. Iolani Palace actually does not have a statue of King Kamehameha. But there is a statue of him across the street from the actual palace.111 views
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The Sapporo Snow Festival also features at least one giant ice sculpture. The foundation is made of ice.111 views
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Hong Kong snow sculpture.111 views
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Wolves111 views
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Back of the "Zoo of the Northland" sculpture.111 views
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Sign for 7-chome.111 views
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Ice slides for kids.111 views
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The Chibi Maruko-chan snow sculpture marked the 20th anniversary of the cartoon's TV broadcast.111 views
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Ghost Warrior Zhong Kui by Hong Kong was very impressive.111 views
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Okinawa's shiisa111 views
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T-rex111 views
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Clark Chapel on the left, and on the right is the Sapporo Snow Festival Museum which opened in 2001. It used to be a wedding chapel. さっぽろ雪まつり資料館110 views
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Rear view of the Iolani Palace ice sculpture. Scaffolding propped up colored lights.110 views
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ハワイPRの絶好のチャンスを完全に無視、逃がす。2百万人の来場者へのPRがパー。HPにもまったく掲載なし。110 views
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110 views
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Back of Dresdner Frauenkirche.110 views
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Entering 7-chome which was the HBC (Hokkaido Broadcasting Co.) German Square. 7丁目 HBCドイツ広場110 views
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Rear view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.110 views
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Scale model of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.110 views
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Castle in Noda, Chiba.110 views
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Too tall to be Chibi Maruko-chan.110 views
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At 11-chome, the International Square featured small snow sculptures made by international teams. As listed on this sign, fourteen national teams participated in 2010. 110 views
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Smiling Great Buddha by People's Republic of China.110 views
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More international snow statues.110 views
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Buddha snow sculpture/statue110 views
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Skating rink at the foot of the Sapporo TV Tower. I decided to go up the tower to photograph the night views of the Odori Park festival site. It took about 30 min. to get on the elevator to the lookout deck. 700 yen admission.110 views
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Red bricks109 views
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Foot of Sapporo TV Tower. An elevator takes you up to the top lookout deck.109 views
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The Iolani Palace ice sculpture had a slim profile. This is a side view.109 views
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The color lighting scheme also varies slightly. The sculpture is basically backlit with green lights in the middle and orange lights on the sides. At the same time, blue lights shine on the front of the sculpture.109 views
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The international section of sculptures.109 views
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Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.109 views
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Chibi Maruko-chan classmates109 views
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The last block in Odori Park was 12-chome featuring numerous small snow statues made by city citizens.109 views
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Another tiger109 views
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Crabs and fish frozen in this ice sculpture.109 views
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Another definition of "frozen fish."109 views
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This is the real Iolani Palace in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is next to Hawai'i's State Capitol in downtown Honolulu's King Street.109 views
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Photos of international sister state exchanges.108 views
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The place has a large parking lot and restaurant, shops, and wedding chapels. A little tourist village has formed over the years since the Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill opened in 1959.108 views
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Unfortunately, there was no sign in English explaining the Iolani Palace ice sculpture. I looked at this list of supporters and sponsors and found no one from Hawaii listed.108 viewsおい、ハワイ州観光局はまったくいないぞ。
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I just CANNOT BELIEVE that HVB's English and Japanese Web sites neva even mention the Iolani Palace at this year's Sapporo Snow Festival.108 views
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Now see how another giant snow sculpture is built. It's the same process. A giant box is filled with snow.108 views
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The reinforcement beams are covered with snow. A crane is used to carry the snow to high places.108 views
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Mother helping son to study.108 views
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Strange English on sign. 108 views
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The last giant snow sculpture at Odori Park was at 10-chome. It was the famous Chibi Maruko-chan.108 views
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This booth gave away hot matcha green tea.108 views
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In the foreground is the snowboard jump hill. At the top is the Northland animal sculpture.108 views
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Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill is accessible by a 10-min. bus ride from Fukuzumi Station (Toho subway line). See the famous statue of William Clark on the fringe beyond the parking lot.107 views
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Approaching Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill. The place is open every day from 8:30 am to 6 pm or 7 pm during spring and summer. Slightly shorter hours during winter (Oct.-April).107 views
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The local Self-Defense Forces build the giant snow sculptures. Power shovel piles up the snow inside a rectangular mold or box made of wood.107 views
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They continue filling the giant box with snow. They are making Iolani Palace out of snow.107 views
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Crossing the road to 6-chome. 6丁目107 views
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Dresdner Frauenkirche snow sculpture lit up at night.107 views
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TV event in front of Dresdner Frauenkirche.107 views
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There's also the Northern Territories Room with exhibits clamoring for the return of the northern territories (Shikotan, Habomai, Etorofu). now occupied by Russia.106 views
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