Most viewed - Sapporo Snow Festival 2010 第61回さっぽろ雪まつり |
Sapporo Snow Festival in Sapporo, Hokkaido is held for about a week in early Feb. These are photos of the 61st Sapporo Snow Festival held during Feb. 5-11, 2010. The main festival site is at Odori Park anchored on the east end by Sapporo TV Tower. 368 viewsI started exploring this site from here.
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Entrance to the dome. 245 views
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237 views
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Inside Sapporo Community Dome, nicknamed Tsu-dome.229 views
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An impressive snow sculpture of Michael Jackson drew crowds.228 views
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With a very impressive carving of animals, this was clearly the crowd favorite. "Zoo of the Northland" features endangered animals at the 61st Sapporo Snow Festival.227 views
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Michael Jackson snow sculpture at the 2010 Sapporo Snow Festival. Coiled wiring is used for the hair dangling below his hat.218 views
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Iolani Palace, a giant ice sculpture at the 61st Sapporo Snow Festival during Feb. 5-11, 2010. During the day, it has a translucent, blue look. This block is officially called the Mainichi Shimbun Ice Square210 views
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Chibi Maruko-chan snow sculpture.201 views
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Snow leopard, very impressive.200 views
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The Iolani Palace ice sculpture was especially beautiful at night, lit up with colorful lights. It was built by over 250 members of the Japan Ice Sculpture Association, most of whom were chefs working at Sapporo hotels.200 views
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A cutie poses with a fake salmon in front of the Northland sculpture.165 views
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Beautiful at night as well. The snow festival sculptures are lit up until 10 pm nightly during the festival. It's too cold to keep standing to watch something for more than 20 min. It's best to keep moving.140 views
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Kraithong by Thailand137 views
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Another ice slide.137 views
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Honu snow statue by Hawaii135 views
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Snow raft rides for 300 yen.131 views
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They had a Yamaha keyboard player providing music coordinated with the colorful lighting. 2丁目 ウィンタースポーツ王国・北海道128 views
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128 views
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Okadama Airport is right next door.126 views
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Entertainment held here included a talent contest for young wannabe idols.125 views
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Honu "flying" turtles by the Hawaii team.125 views
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Female snowboard jumper 124 views
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Steller's sea eagle オオワシ124 views
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Michael Jackson snow sculpture 122 views
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6-chome also had the festival site's largest food court called, "Hokkaido Winter Food Park." There was also a large TV monitor showing how the snow sculptures were designed and constructed.122 views
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Dresdner Frauenkirche means "Church of Our Lady."122 views
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Homer Simpson snow sculpture/statue122 views
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The main sculpture in 2-chome. "Winter Sports Kingdom Hokkaido!"121 views
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Ice figures of winter sports athletes. When the freezing wind blows, your unprotected ears will feel it first. But in Sapporo, warm shelter is always nearby, either below ground or in a building.121 views
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Stage event 120 views
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Kraithong by Thailand showing an alligator killer.120 views
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Doraemon snow sculpture/statue120 views
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Hatsune Miku120 views
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In 4-chome was the first giant snow sculpture called "Zoo of the Northland" in STV/Yomiuri Square.119 views
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Mickey and Minnie lit up at night.119 views
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Odori Park is a long, rectangular park divided into numbered blocks called "chome." Next to the TV tower was 1-chome with a skating rink (free of charge) and 2-chome featuring a group of sculptures called Winter Sports Kingdom Hokkaido!118 views
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Figure skater. The weather was mostly cloudy with occasional light snowfall during most of the festival week. The temperature was around freezing, so wearing a ski cap or jacket hood kept my ears warm.116 views
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Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters pro baseball team is based in Sapporo. This sculpture depicts their victory parade.116 views
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My YouTube video of the Sapporo Snow Matsuri in 2010.116 views
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These blocks of ice lighted in red have carved reliefs of various winter sports. I was in Sapporo for three days and visited the festival sites every day, during the day and evening.115 views
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115 views
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Display of Uemura Aiko's ski wear and skis used in previous seasons. Uemura is a freestyle mogul skier who is competing in the Vancouver Winter Olympics.115 views
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Dream of Hanbat by Korea.115 views
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At a few of the big sculptures, they offered to take a picture of you in front of the sculpture with your camera. At the same time, they offered to sell you a picture they took with their camera.114 views
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Moomin snow sculpture/statue114 views
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Penguins112 views
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"Zoo of the Northland" sculpture lit up at night. 112 views
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Unicorn for 2nd place.112 views
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Bear and cubs111 views
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111 views
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111 views
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Gorilla111 views
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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.111 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.111 views
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Mini train was popular. Notice the long line in the background.110 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.109 views
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6-chome had this medium-size snow sculpture called Seitokai no Ichizon. 生徒会の一存109 views
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Illumination tunnel109 views
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Dragon ice sculpture wins a 1st place award.109 views
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108 views
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108 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.108 views
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Snow leopard at night.107 views
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Mickey and Minnie Mouse107 views
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Back to the other end of Odori Park is the TV Tower.107 views
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Hatsune Miku was much photographed. 初音ミク106 views
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106 views
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Taniwha by New Zealand106 views
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Freyderyk Chopin by Poland106 views
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People taking advantage of the picture-taking service in front of the Northland animals.105 views
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Booth for Poland.105 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.105 views
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Medium-size snow sculpture of Germany's Wartburg Castle. ヴァルトブルク城105 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105 views
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Snow sculpture by Singapore105 views
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Hanoman Duta by Indonesia105 views
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Back of the snowboard jump hill.104 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.104 views
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Smaller snow sculptures made by companies and organizations also dot the festival site.104 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.104 views
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My YouTube video of Iolani Palace at the Sapporo Snow Matsuri in 2010.104 views
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Also ski jumpers. 3丁目 スノーボードジャンプ台103 views
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103 views
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About the "Zoo of the Northland" in English.103 views
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Here and there at the Odori Park site, freebies were give away. This line was for miso paste.103 views
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The Gift, by the Netherlands.103 views
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Ichiro snow sculpture/statue103 views
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103 views
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Booth for signing a petition to return the Northern Territories (Habomai, Etorofu, Shikotan islands) off Hokkaido, held by Russia.103 views
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Baekje was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. 8丁目 韓国・百済102 views
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Korea's sculpture was the sexiest of all.102 views
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Ghost Warrior Zhong Kui by Hong Kong.102 views
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Here and there were souvenir stalls for official merchandise of the snow festival. 102 views
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International food stalls102 views
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102 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.102 views
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Brandenburg Gate in ice. The ice sculptures in Susukino are lit up until midnight.102 views
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The Susukino ice sculptures compete for 1st and 2nd place awards.102 views
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Wolves101 views
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About Dresdner Frauenkirche in English.101 views
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Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.101 views
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Grandmother's doll cabinet by Sweden101 views
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Round Dance for Peace by Russia (Novosibirsk, Sapporo's sister city)101 views
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Another 1st place winner101 views
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T-rex101 views
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Back of the "Zoo of the Northland" sculpture.100 views
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Smoking was prohibited while walking at the festival site, so these smoking stations were provided.100 views
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Candle lights100 views
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Food stall staff shouted to attract customers' attention.100 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. 2010.100 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100 views
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Side view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.100 views
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Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.100 views
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Castle in Noda, Chiba.100 views
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Sento-kun, official mascot for Nara's 1200th anniversary. Not a good likeness, but acceptable.100 views
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Playing with grandpa.100 views
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10丁目 ちびまる子ちゃん100 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. 100 views
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About the Hawaii team's snow statue.100 views
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Smiling Great Buddha by People's Republic of China.100 views
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Bowl of Life by USA (Portland, Oregon, Sapporo's sister city).100 views
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100 views
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Many of the ice sculptures are also advertisements.100 views
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Gundam100 views
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99 views
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Tora-san in an ecological car. (Tora means tiger, and 2010 is the Year of the Tiger.)99 views
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About the Baekje Royal Palace in English.99 views
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Ultraman by Navy Misawa in Aomori.99 views
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Ice slide at 10-chome called "Familyland."99 views
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Ice slides for kids.99 views
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11-chome also had a cross country ski track where you could try out ski walking for free.99 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.99 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.99 views
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The Sususkino festival site features ice sculptures along the main road called Ekimae-dori which originates from Sapporo Station.99 views
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98 views
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Back of Dresdner Frauenkirche.98 views
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98 views
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Night view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.98 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98 views
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Smaller snow sculptures dot 9-chome.98 views
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A food court faced the Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.98 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.98 views
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The Chibi Maruko-chan snow sculpture marked the 20th anniversary of the cartoon's TV broadcast.98 views
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More international snow statues.98 views
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Ghost Warrior Zhong Kui by Hong Kong was very impressive.98 views
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Another tiger98 views
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Odori Park at night during the Sapporo Snow Festival in Feb. 2010.98 views
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More snow sculptures in Odori Park.98 views
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Another definition of "frozen fish."98 views
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Salmon98 views
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Sign for 7-chome.97 views
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Too tall to be Chibi Maruko-chan.97 views
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Sauna, Sisu, and Sibelius by Finland.97 views
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Eastern Skunk Cabbage snow sculpture/statue 座禅草97 views
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97 views
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97 views
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Buddha snow sculpture/statue97 views
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Crabs and fish frozen in this ice sculpture.97 views
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Crossing the road to 6-chome. 6丁目96 views
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TV event in front of Dresdner Frauenkirche.96 views
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96 views
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Mother helping son to study.96 views
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Strange English on sign. 96 views
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This booth gave away hot matcha green tea.96 views
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The last block in Odori Park was 12-chome featuring numerous small snow statues made by city citizens.96 views
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Okinawa's shiisa96 views
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96 views
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95 views
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Dresdner Frauenkirche snow sculpture lit up at night.95 views
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Rear view of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.95 views
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Scale model of Baekje Royal Palace snow sculpture.95 views
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The last giant snow sculpture at Odori Park was at 10-chome. It was the famous Chibi Maruko-chan.95 views
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Chibi Maruko-chan at night.95 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.95 views
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Chibi Maruko-chan classmates94 views
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94 views
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Hideki Matsui in Godzilla's mouth.94 views
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In the foreground is the snowboard jump hill. At the top is the Northland animal sculpture.94 views
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94 views
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When you see this building, it means you are at the end of Odori Park and snow festival site. This is the Sapporo Municipal Museum.93 views
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93 views
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On-chan92 views
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Rear of Chibi Maruko-chan snow statue.92 views
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92 views
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92 views
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91 views
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Eagle catching fish91 views
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Map of Tsu-dome snow festival site.91 views
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Chibi Maruko-chan90 views
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90 views
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Shuttle bus from Sakaemachi Station to Tsu-dome.90 views
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90 views
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Frozen fish89 views
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Pulsating heart. The snow festival is held near Valentine's Day.89 views
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Hina matsuri dolls89 views
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This is Sakaemachi subway station, the closet station to the third snow festival site at Tsu-dome (Sapporo Community Dome).89 views
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Long life and happiness88 views
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88 views
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87 views
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87 views
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Ice slides at Tsu-dome87 views
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Tsu-dome snow festival site.85 views
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