 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.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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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.110 views
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The day after the snow festival ends, all the sculptures are promptly destroyed for safety reasons. With sadness, I watched it being destroyed. You can see the reinforcing wooden beams inside.110 views
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Mini train was popular. Notice the long line in the background.110 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.109 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.109 views
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Records of songs which mention the Clock Tower.109 views
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Construction wall for the upcoming Nissei Bdlg.109 views
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Snow Festival poster109 views
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Filling up the mold...109 views
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Filling the mold for a tall neck of a dinosaur.109 views
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Ice sculpture of a church in Helsinki, Finland109 views
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A Shinto shrine made of ice.109 views
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I think this was the lion dog at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka.109 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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The exhibits explain about the history of Hokkaido's early settlement and development.108 views
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Sapporo TV Tower lookout deck.108 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.108 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.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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Inside the former office of the Governor. There's a large conference table and the walls are decorated with portraits of past Hokkaido governors.107 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.107 views
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Governor's desk in the governor's former office.107 views
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They are building the new underground passage right above the Namboku subway line which runs under Ekimae-dori.107 views
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Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill's lookout deck.107 views
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107 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.107 views
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107 views
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The facade is shaped...107 views
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Guess what this part will be.107 views
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The large citizens' area feature smaller snow sculptures created by city citizens. Snow blocks are provided.107 views
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107 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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A stately room. The governor's desk is in the right corner.106 views
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Hokkaido History Gallery includes wildlife exhibit.106 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.106 views
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Construction machinery on Sapporo Ekimae-dori.106 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.106 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.106 views
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Destroying Iolani Palace made of snow.106 views
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Even the veins look realistic. Pterodactyl made of snow.106 views
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Building an ice sculpture.106 views
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Hatsune Miku was much photographed. 初音ミク106 views
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Taniwha by New Zealand106 views
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Freyderyk Chopin by Poland106 views
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Most of the rooms open to the public are on the 2nd floor.105 views
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Staircase and G8 Summit sign105 views
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The road has temporary panels.105 views
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Japan's Self-Defense Forces105 views
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A drawing of Iolani Palace helps the carvers to carve the sculpture accurately.105 views
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Hello baby!105 views
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Icy foundation for the ice sculpture.105 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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104 views
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Second floor corridor.104 views
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From Alberta, Canada104 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?104 views
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Shaping the pterodactyl104 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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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. 103 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."103 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.103 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.103 views
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Pterodactyl wings103 views
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This is a lion dog at a shrine in Fukuoka.103 views
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John Lennon103 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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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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Going to the 2nd floor.102 views
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Hokkaido History Gallery occupies another room on the 2nd floor.102 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??102 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.102 views
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Head of T-Rex102 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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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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From Massachusetts, USA. The famous Dr. William Clark was from this US state.101 views
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Poster for the return of the Northern Territories101 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101 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 1882.101 views
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Foot of Sapporo TV Tower. An elevator takes you up to the top lookout deck.101 views
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Rear view of the Iolani Palace ice sculpture. Scaffolding propped up colored lights.101 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.101 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.101 views
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Shaping up very well.101 views
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Brontosaurus101 views
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Hong Kong snow sculpture.101 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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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).100 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?100 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.100 views
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Para-para dancer100 views
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Each giant snow sculpture becomes a pile of snowy rubble.100 views
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The Sapporo Snow Festival also features at least one giant ice sculpture. The foundation is made of ice.100 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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Many of the ice sculptures are also advertisements.100 views
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Gundam100 views
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Red bricks99 views
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The Iolani Palace ice sculpture had a slim profile. This is a side view.99 views
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In the late afternoon, they start to light up the sculptures. 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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Photos of international sister state exchanges.98 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.98 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 1959.98 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.98 viewsおい、ハワイ州観光局はまったくいないぞ。
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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??98 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.98 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.98 views
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The international section of sculptures.98 views
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Back of Dresdner Frauenkirche.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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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.97 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。97 views
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97 views
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They continue filling the giant box with snow. They are making Iolani Palace out of snow.97 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.97 views
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The reinforcement beams are covered with snow. A crane is used to carry the snow to high places.97 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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Buddha snow sculpture/statue97 views
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Crabs and fish frozen in this ice sculpture.97 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.96 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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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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There's also the Northern Territories Room with exhibits clamoring for the return of the northern territories (Shikotan, Habomai, Etorofu). now occupied by Russia.95 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).95 views
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Scale model of Hawaii's Iolani Palace made of wood, painted white. Built for the 33rd Sapporo Snow Festival in 1982.95 views
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Another boy group called B-Luck.95 views
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Notice how the colored lighting varied between dark orange and white lighting.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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